Effects of Evaporation?

[GaryP]

Talk to one of these guys that are running 4-5 400 watt MH and see if they are having mold problems. I'm sure your evaporation isn't anything like theirs.

[don-n-sa]

I think you would be fine for a tank up to around 500g...but you should be venting into a large space where your ac will pick up the humidity.

The very large tanks need to be ventilated properly or you can ruin your whole house...do a search on RC for MR. 4000. He destroyed his home with his tank and is currently out of the hobby but still active on RC for advice.

[wtrujillo]

I think you would be fine for a tank up to around 500g...but you should be venting into a large space where your ac will pick up the humidity.

The very large tanks need to be ventilated properly or you can ruin your whole house...do a search on RC for MR. 4000. He destroyed his home with his tank and is currently out of the hobby but still active on RC for advice.

i can't imagine talking to the insurance adjuster on that deal. :sick

[eric]

All good points here. But if you're noticing more evaporation in the last few weeks, wait till the dry summer months.

I'd point out, you and your wife are going to be bothered comfort-wise in high humidity before any of your house/electronics are. And running the AC for even a short period of time can do wonders to dehumidify the place. Go outside and watch your condensate (hmmm, or collect. better than RO water discounting the grime in the pipe.)

But if *I* were building a new house with a 2-300 gallon tank in mind, I *would* plan trying to vent tank plume (listen to me and my cooling tower talk) outside. I'm considering it now, just for the reason of removing some of the additional humidity thus giving me more ability to evaporate.

But with that being said, if I were to have a larger tank like that, I'd have a chiller rather than trying to keep the temp down by increased evaporation.

[z28pwr]

I have a 380 gallon aquarium in a 1750 sq ft home and my humidity stays normal as long as the AC is running. If you are concerned about the humidity by a Humidistat from Radio Shack so that you can keep an eye on it. For the most part mine is around 50% with the AC on and 70% with the AC off.