Not sure if this is the correct place for this question as I am new to R2R. I'll give it a shot. I currently have a biocube 32 that has virtually zero evaporation as the condensation collects on the lid and drips back into the tank. Also, I have a new Trane AC system with humidity control which seems to contribute to the negligible evaporation from the tank. I am making plans to upgrade to a larger tank and have seen that the trend is to go rimless. My question is twofold. (1) with a rimless tank, how much evaporation can be anticipated with a 100 gal rimless reef tank? and (2) With high rates of evaporation, it seem that the household would be subject to undesirable humidity that must collect somewhere. Especially with some of the "small room containment" builds that are seen with through wall display tanks. Has anyone noticed or had problems with introducing humidity from aquarium evaporation within the household? i.e. mold, water collection on ceilings, walls or floors? or does the AC system keep up with the added humidity? If so, are there any precautions or proactive measures that must be taken to alleviate damaging the house?
Rimless Tank Evaporation.
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For reference I have a RedSea Reefer 250 (rimless tank) my guess is I have 55-60 gallons including the sump. I go through a gallon a day of top off water, I've not noticed any changes in the house.
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Well my tank is around 180g and I have an RO reservoir that holds about 18g and that will last about 2 weeks as a rough guide
I haven’t had any issues with humidity really, certainly nothing that would cause me concern
We don’t need AC (just open a door! Lol)
I haven’t had any issues with humidity really, certainly nothing that would cause me concern
We don’t need AC (just open a door! Lol)
GabeM
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Both of these questions are highly variable and depend on your environment and location.
1) I see about 1 gallon a day lost on my 50 gallon on average. Swings on temperature, this is anecdotal and you may see different results.
2) Air can only hold so much humidity, the higher your humidity the less ability it has to hold additional evaporated water. I would expect your AC to remove much of your humidity.We have over 100 gallons of water systems (Reef tank and turtle tank) and we do not have noticeable issues with humidity. I would ensure that if you have a small closed fish room you have it well ventilated with a vent with a fan.
1) I see about 1 gallon a day lost on my 50 gallon on average. Swings on temperature, this is anecdotal and you may see different results.
2) Air can only hold so much humidity, the higher your humidity the less ability it has to hold additional evaporated water. I would expect your AC to remove much of your humidity.We have over 100 gallons of water systems (Reef tank and turtle tank) and we do not have noticeable issues with humidity. I would ensure that if you have a small closed fish room you have it well ventilated with a vent with a fan.
I live out in AZ and have a 55 Rimless with a 25 gallon sump, I go through at least 5 gallons a week.. I have really not noticed is collecting anywhere. The only crappy part is when it gets super hot i do tend to notice it being more humid. To solve it I just keep a fan running in the tank room and it makes it not noticeable.
That sounds reasonable. Makes sense that the smaller the containment, the more noticable the induced humidity from evaporation of a volume of water would be. Is your fan a room a ventilation fan as GabeM suggests? That makes perfect sense and being closer to SE Asia where inexpensive room ventilation fans are readily available, I suspect that is what you have?
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If your A/C vent is blowing on your tank you will get more evap than if the tank is away from that air movement.
Same result from surface water movement from wave makers and return flows.
It all interacts with the environment in the house which is impacted by external weather changes outside.
Quite the multi-variable equation to solve actual evaporation. What I have noticed (with a garage system) is that I get more evap during external weather changes here in Southern California. When it's warm it is stable, when it is cold and wet outside, low, cold and dry outside high, and during transitional weather (usually accompanied by wind) highest, up to 2-3 gallons/24 hours.
My tank is 3-5 inches away from a painted garage dry wall, and the salt splash from the open tank has caused the paint to fail in a few spots where splash impacts the wall. HTH.
Same result from surface water movement from wave makers and return flows.
It all interacts with the environment in the house which is impacted by external weather changes outside.
Quite the multi-variable equation to solve actual evaporation. What I have noticed (with a garage system) is that I get more evap during external weather changes here in Southern California. When it's warm it is stable, when it is cold and wet outside, low, cold and dry outside high, and during transitional weather (usually accompanied by wind) highest, up to 2-3 gallons/24 hours.
My tank is 3-5 inches away from a painted garage dry wall, and the salt splash from the open tank has caused the paint to fail in a few spots where splash impacts the wall. HTH.
I have a 150 gallon system and evaporate about gallon and half a day. With the dryness of forced hot air in winter actually makes my house a little more comfortable. We run air conditioner 24 hours in summer with no issues at all.
Wow. Evap on steroids. I can see that it would actually be a benefit in your case. I spent time in Wyoming in the winter under wood burning stove...super dry air! The tank would mitigate that as a humidifier. Maybe in your case, the house benefits from the evaporation to sorta stabilize the house materials. Adding in winter and AC removing in summer. Who knows. Stick with that evaluation and get double benefit from reefing!
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