Humidity from large Fish tanks ,heat savings- 600 gallon tank example
- Thread starter DIDYSIS
- Start date
I make tops out of clear polycarbonate. Very lightweight and easy to cut. It is hollow and insulates well. Looks likes a cross section of cardboard and doesn't sag. It is used on greenhouses and hurricane proofng windows. You can order it from glass shops for about 100 bucks for a 1/4x4x8 sheet(shipping is half that). Only about 10 lbs a sheet. Water tends to migrate into the ends causing calcium/lime scale buildup. They have a clear tape to solve this problem. Link to show product.
http://www.greenhousemegastore.com/product/polycarbonate-panel-6mm-clear/polycarbonate-panels
http://www.greenhousemegastore.com/product/polycarbonate-panel-6mm-clear/polycarbonate-panels
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Brave man showing off a sump with submerged bioballs..... 
Good looking set up tho, nice and simple. Interesting to see the sump just sitting on a few bits of timber like that, I think I always far overengineer things like that.
Good looking set up tho, nice and simple. Interesting to see the sump just sitting on a few bits of timber like that, I think I always far overengineer things like that.
Ohh I shot a bunch of video also. I am debating sleep or posting it. Lol. Might start a 600 gallon filtration. Edit you just helped me decided to do it.
Sent from my DROIDX using MonsterAquariaNetwork App
Brave man showing off a sump with submerged bioballs.....
Sent from my DROIDX using MonsterAquariaNetwork App
Brave man showing off a sump with submerged bioballs.....
Good looking set up tho, nice and simple. Interesting to see the sump just sitting on a few bits of timber like that, I think I always far overengineer things like that.
Yeah, and all those heaters are together........
I almost posted a new thread. I may have found the thread I've been looking for. I saw some others about fish jumping that really isn't the issue I'm trying to discuss. This is. I loose less water on my 29 gallon by percent than I do my 125 when the temperature is about the same. Right now, my 125 is cool so they're about the same but a new heater will fix that soon. The new one will be in the sump. The 29 has a lid that covers more of the tank. I think this is why water stays in it better.
I'm curious. If I cover up the 29 the rest of the way to a point that no air passes through it except by the OTR, would the fish be harmed? I imagine they'll still get air because the water will mix in the OTR and the small gap where it reenters will mix air again when it splashes back. Worst case scenario, I could add an airstone and the fish would have fresh air again.
My extended idea would be to place the glass on the water surface and let it pool to the edge. I would either want a curved piece such as plexiglass to keep air from trapping or some pieces siliconed together to make a low grade dip into the water. I would have the glass on the surface so light could penetrate better. I figure the trapped humidity under the glass that can't escape as easily or perhaps at all because I covered it so much more would collect all over the underside and make the light refract more. I think the distribution of light would give less light to the plants and maybe make the tank less clear to view. I don't know because I haven't tried it. I once kept a crab in a tank and sealed it similarly. At the time, I didn't worry about plants because I had none and I didn't have cost concerns (electricity or water) because the tank was only 10 gallons. The biggest thing I noticed as time went on was that algae grew directly under the light and had to be cleaned off very often. I'm not sure if this would also occur with the glass on the water surface or just if the humidity and water collection was high enough where it's trapped to let algae grow.
I'm not sure exactly how I'd do it but I think if the fish had the air they needed and algae didn't defeat the purpose, light would reach better to plants because neither water collection or the surface ripples would refract any light. Also, I wouldn't have to worry about fish jumping out as there would be no openning. I'm not sure that it wouldn't affect them in such a way that they would ram it or think they could pass through it as the the glass would be clear enough to make an illusion that the water continued upward.
Also! I'll be using LEDs in the future. I think the absence of heat in the air would help in either scenario. I could be wrong as the water heater will be running.
Feel free to comment on the idea. I'm not sure how well it would work and I'd like to hear from anyone that has tried or can speculate from their own experience(s). Hopefully this isn't too farfetched as it could potentially eliminate a good deal of water evaporation.
I'm curious. If I cover up the 29 the rest of the way to a point that no air passes through it except by the OTR, would the fish be harmed? I imagine they'll still get air because the water will mix in the OTR and the small gap where it reenters will mix air again when it splashes back. Worst case scenario, I could add an airstone and the fish would have fresh air again.
My extended idea would be to place the glass on the water surface and let it pool to the edge. I would either want a curved piece such as plexiglass to keep air from trapping or some pieces siliconed together to make a low grade dip into the water. I would have the glass on the surface so light could penetrate better. I figure the trapped humidity under the glass that can't escape as easily or perhaps at all because I covered it so much more would collect all over the underside and make the light refract more. I think the distribution of light would give less light to the plants and maybe make the tank less clear to view. I don't know because I haven't tried it. I once kept a crab in a tank and sealed it similarly. At the time, I didn't worry about plants because I had none and I didn't have cost concerns (electricity or water) because the tank was only 10 gallons. The biggest thing I noticed as time went on was that algae grew directly under the light and had to be cleaned off very often. I'm not sure if this would also occur with the glass on the water surface or just if the humidity and water collection was high enough where it's trapped to let algae grow.
I'm not sure exactly how I'd do it but I think if the fish had the air they needed and algae didn't defeat the purpose, light would reach better to plants because neither water collection or the surface ripples would refract any light. Also, I wouldn't have to worry about fish jumping out as there would be no openning. I'm not sure that it wouldn't affect them in such a way that they would ram it or think they could pass through it as the the glass would be clear enough to make an illusion that the water continued upward.
Also! I'll be using LEDs in the future. I think the absence of heat in the air would help in either scenario. I could be wrong as the water heater will be running.
Feel free to comment on the idea. I'm not sure how well it would work and I'd like to hear from anyone that has tried or can speculate from their own experience(s). Hopefully this isn't too farfetched as it could potentially eliminate a good deal of water evaporation.
Your post has me confused, specifically relating to how the glass is going to be placed over the water.
I'll state it this way: 1) if the water in the tank is fully enclosed and has no access to the outside atmosphere, the fish will die. 2) Since we know that people keep fish with tops on the tanks, we know that somehow the atmosphere is properly interacting with the water.
So, somewhere between those two conditions, fish will be fine and then they won't. At some point, oxygen levels will fall to lethal stages and co2 will rise to lethal stages and somewhere it won't. I don't think there are precise studies on that. But I wouldn't test it by having a glass cover rest in contact with a lot of the surface water (which is what I think you are suggesting.) My guess is that will restrict gas exchange dramatically and I'm skeptical than an airs tone or small opening will make up for that.
I'll state it this way: 1) if the water in the tank is fully enclosed and has no access to the outside atmosphere, the fish will die. 2) Since we know that people keep fish with tops on the tanks, we know that somehow the atmosphere is properly interacting with the water.
So, somewhere between those two conditions, fish will be fine and then they won't. At some point, oxygen levels will fall to lethal stages and co2 will rise to lethal stages and somewhere it won't. I don't think there are precise studies on that. But I wouldn't test it by having a glass cover rest in contact with a lot of the surface water (which is what I think you are suggesting.) My guess is that will restrict gas exchange dramatically and I'm skeptical than an airs tone or small opening will make up for that.
Well, you could easily (more or less, depending on your knowledge of chemistry) calculate how big and long a hole you would need to get very little evaporation and enough oxygen using Fick's 1st law of diffusion 
. In theory, anyway.
Hint 1: The concentration gradient for water will always be extremely low, as the difference in molar concentration between 20% relative humidity and 100% relative humidity is not all that big. The difference between oxygen concentration happens extremely quickly, making the diffusion of oxygen a much faster process than the diffusion of water.
Hint 2: You can probably eliminate most of thermal movement by completely covering with a glass lid and having a "diffusion exhaust" that has a lot of L shaped PVC.
Hint 3: http://www.tis-gdv.de/tis_e/misc/klima.htm
. In theory, anyway.Hint 1: The concentration gradient for water will always be extremely low, as the difference in molar concentration between 20% relative humidity and 100% relative humidity is not all that big. The difference between oxygen concentration happens extremely quickly, making the diffusion of oxygen a much faster process than the diffusion of water
.Hint 2: You can probably eliminate most of thermal movement by completely covering with a glass lid and having a "diffusion exhaust" that has a lot of L shaped PVC.
Hint 3: http://www.tis-gdv.de/tis_e/misc/klima.htm
Hello; You are likely correct about the top cover being a factor. There is another factor that may be in play. I believe it is sometimes refered to as the inverse square rule. For example when you double the size of an object, say go from a six inch diameter ball to a 12 inch diameter ball, the internal volume will increase by around a factor of four. In biology the common example is that a small mammal like a mouse loses heat much faster than a larger mammal because it's surface area is large compared to it's internal volume. A larger animal has a much smaller surface area compared to it's internal volume.
This may apply to evaporation and heat loss as well when comparing a small tank to a larger one.
I have run tanks with fairly tight lids and did find the loss by evaporation to be reduced. The lids were never anywhere near air tight so there was enough air exchange for the fish. I also always have at least a bubbler going as well.
