davidm

I usually buy 'specialty' plumbing on-line from Mcmaster-carr. Great selection, and it arrives from NJ faster than I can get to HD. just an option.

consider making changes at the source of the humidity - cover the tank with glass or plexiglass to greatly reduce evaporation. When I did this I went from 25 gals/wk to 5 gals/wk in evaporation (180 gal open tank). Of course the evaporation was also cooling, so I needed to add a chiller to do this, but you may not need to (?). Personally I think this makes more sense, reducing the evaporation to begin with rather than letting the air humidity go up and then trying to vent it out - but it all depends of the degree and cost effectiveness of cooling a covered tank. just my opinion - good luck - David

Rik, if you're willing to come all the way out to Vienna you're welcome to borrow either my inverter (takes juice from a car battery and converts to 120V), which can run a very decent sized pump for circulation between your sump and tank and/or borrow my generator (which I haven't fired up in a while) which would run your tank + frig + more. LMK - David

I have automatic battery operated air pumps, a car battery inverter and gas generator. I must admit I almost never fire up the generator expect when the outage lasts more than a day. I think my wife and neighbors (but not my corals) appreciate this. What always gets me is the drop in the tank's water level. Nomally no matter how many holes I bore in the return to the main tank near the water line the return line always manages to suck some water back. Also, the drain lines manage to lower the water more than I would want - it probably wouldn't be a problem except some corals are hitting the water surface when it's at the normal level - I guess I should trim those back. What I'd like to find on the market is a RECHARGEABLE battery air pump. Finding batteries in the dark for those air powered pumps can be a pain. Anyone know of any? David update: if I get one of these, does anyone know how can I modify it, or put in an additional 'circuit' so it stays off until the 120V power goes out? http://www.drsfostersmith.com/product/prod...cfm?pcatid=8120 also has anyone considered having a gas cylinder (like those for Ca reactors) except filled with either 100% oxygen or room air with a value that turns on when the power goes out. I expect a 5# cylinder would last a long time, and you could put many bubblers on it. easy to keep track of the reserve with the pressure gauge. just a thought. thanks, David

I currently have a Euroreef CS8-3 skimmer and the Sedra5000 has about had it. euroreef recommends either upgrading to two Eheim 1262 pumps, which at ~$250 EACH is a bit much for me, or a Gen-X 6000 pump with impellar and venturi intake. Unfortunately this pump has a different output - 1" I think, which would require me to drill a new hole in the skimmer body. Not crazy about this idea. Anyone have any thoughts about this pump, whether this upgrade is worth it, and how hard it will be to drill and attach the Gen-X pump? I've read about the mesh wheel mods, and I don't think those are for me - I need something more plug and play and stable. thanks, David

I just threw some xenia out in the garbage because it was beginning to damage another coral. If you're close to the Vienna area you can by or I can drop some off. David

Evaporation worked for me for yrs - until someone went up into the attic and saw the results of all that evaporation (~25 gals/wk). this is my first summer with a chiller and a covered tank (evaporation 5 gals/wk) - and wish I'd done it sooner. David

I'll take the purple tang if it's still available. good luck with the move. David

Feel free to pick out some frags if you ever make it out to the Vienna area. sorry about your loss. I'm glad you didn't hurt yourself though - a broken glass heater in the tank with your hands in there as well could have been extremely dangerous.

sent PM on - Drop-in style chiller David

I like buying from McMaster-Carr. good selection, shipping is fast and not too expensive. I usually receive the items before I could make it to HD. David

Unfortunately the overall best solution is a chiller. Just one of those costs associated with halide-lit reeftanks :( After agonizing over this all day (instead of working of course) I think I've come to that conclusion. I could putz around and spend $100-$150 on a wet/dry vac + costs associated with tubing and venting, and plan on replacing the wet/dry vac every yr or so, or just bite the bullet on a chiller. I think I'm going to try to convince the wife on the latter tonight. Then I could keep the acrylic lids on all the time and greatly minimize evaporation without sacrificing cooling. the bullet to bite is of course the price tag. I think either a 1/4 HP or 1/3 HP (better) would be appropriate for my 180 gal with 3X400W MH's + sump. right now I'm leanig towards a TradeWind 1/3 HP drop-in for $750 (ouch). Pacific Coast in-lines run $520 for the 1/4HP and $900 for the 1/2HP, and I think I might need the 1/3 HP.

yes, I tried using a dehumidifier, but basically it wasn't enough. an earler post alluding to the problem getting exaggerated/inefficient once the extra humidity enters the entire space, in my case the entire house (not just room). The dehumidifier couldn't keep up, and it didn't last more than 6 months running 24/7. In the case of an enclosed room, it might be worth trying, but I think humidity would escape through the walls and ceiling (hence my problem in the attic) as well as getting taken up by the dehumidifier. Using a dehumidifier and air conditioner also doesn't work well in the fall and spring months when neither system is on for long enough to pull water out of the air. I was sorta driving myself crazy putting on the dehumidifier in the morning in March/April/May as well as Sept/Oct, heating up the house, only to need to turn on the AC in the afternoon when the temp outside hit above 75 and I needed to cool the tank and house- obviously this was very energy wasteful. I've come to realize, for me at least, evaporation and humidity is all about exposed surface area, from both the tank and sump- and that's what I'm trying to minimize.

I bought a model from McMaster Carr (19135K92) that pushes 148 cfm. However it has poor suction, which is what I need if I go with my original plan. I am hoping I won't need to run the Wet/Dry continuously, maybe just 10 minutes every hr or so, to remove the saturated air and permit evaporation if I need it for heat loss during the summer. I won't need to run it during the winter (except when it's 70 degrees in Jan!), as I won't need the evaporation for cooling, and the acrylic sheets during the winter should reduce the need for heating. I also agree, though, that I might ultimately need to bite the bullet on the chiller, and the high house humidity is causing my wife to freak out (rightly so) but, knock on wood, no signs of mold yet in the house or attic. thanks for the help and suggestions, keep em coming - David

any recommendations? I bought an in-line duct fan (don't remember brand) and although it can push air out, it doesn't have the suction I would need. I also would need it to have a suction that would work with smaller tubing (ie more like 1/2" tubing rather than 4" ducts). that's why i thought of a vacuum like the Wet/dry vacs. thanks for any help/suggestions - David

I've had the same problems with my 180 gal and 3X 400W MHs - and am still having them. I solved the heating issue with a moderately sized fan and an open canopy, but that has created significant humidity problems in the entire house and attic. To solve this problem I have decided to try covering my tank and sump with acrylic sheets which decrease the humidity (ie decrease evaporation) at night. During the day, these would also prevent both evaporation and heat loss (even worse than the original situation) so I'm planning to plumb tubing through these sheets on the tank to pick up the saturated air (humidity) and expel it from the house. I'm going to try using a HD wet/dry Vac to suck the air from between the tank and acrylic sheets and push this air out of the house. I know these wet/Dry Vacs make a lot of noise but i'm hoping I can tolerate that if I put it in the crawlspace or laundry room. Any comments on feasability? David

Also interested in the Marshall Island Helfrichi Firefish (2) Seahorses (4) Large Cleaner Wrasse / Red Coris Wrasse Royal Gramma Copperband Butterfly where are you located, and what prices did you have in mind?

I could probably round up 4-5 as well. David

photo of green plate on glass, plus bali slimer - (frags of both will be FS cheap on a different post). http://www.wamas.org/forums/index.php?act=...si&img=2393 http://www.wamas.org/forums/index.php?show...c=16334&hl=

Thanks for the replies. Right now it blocks a considerable amount of the front pane, and it's only going to get worse. I'll try scraping it slowly off bit by bit with a razor/magnet combo. What I'm most afraid of though, is getting frustrated, hacking too agressively and breaking the tank itself. It seems from the responses others have had similar problems and worked through it without diaster, so I'm a little less nervous. It's not a cap, but some green plating monti (I think). If anyone is interested (and I'll post another thread as well) I have tons of this stuff I need to get rid of. I'm also breaking off other large sections from elsewhere in the tank that is aggressively fighting other nearby corals.

I've been very neglectful and have let my green plate coral grow onto the front of my glass tank. It's grown onto and covers about a 1 ft x6" section. Anyone have any ideas how to remove it, and is there a danger of breakiing the tank itself? thanks, David

Rebecca, sorry to hear you're leaving the hobby temporarily, but I'm glad it's not a forced decision and it's one you're happy with. please put me down for: ORA Yellow stripped Neons( pair) $55.00 Fairy Wrasse $35.00 please let me know if they're still avail. thanks, David