SW tanks in the home?? problems?

[vrmmmpshhh]

hi, for those who have salt water tanks inside their house, do they give off a salty kind of smell, i am venturing into the world of salt water tanks with a 60ish gallon tank with fish only (dont like the idea of the corals being taken from the ocean and put to death in our homes) .

My uncle todl me that the 'smell' of salt water will start to rust things around the house and with the very expensive ornaments we have on display my mum wouldnt be too happy. Also the tank is directly under our stairway which is made up of steel.

 

[bobrob]

How the hell can the smell of saltwater rust things. Not to be rude but that sounds kinda crazy tho I may be wrong

 

[dattack]

If you are worried about the "saltwater" smell, you can run carbon and it will eliminate the odors.

Sometimes saltwater splashes/salt creep can occur around the area of the tank. You can either coat the steel bar with some paint or rustoleum if you are worried. Get a dehumidifier if you are concerned about your mom's knickknacks.

 

[vrmmmpshhh]

it does seem weird but where i live the law allows us to import second hand cars from japan. It is common knowledge that cars that are owned close to the beach tend to have more rust problems than those that are inland and this is looked for.

for others who have salt water tanks do any of you have a problem with the salt

 

[sinasster]

true... salt in the air can rust your car on the beach, but i dont beleive an aquarium can give off enough salt to rust you prized ornaments.

The aquarium does kinda smell like salt but it will not smell up the whole house.

 

[vrmmmpshhh]

excellent, thanks for that.. i cant wait

 

[eseow]

As far I know, I have NO smell from my small salt water tank. Also when I last checked, water evaporates, salt doesn't. What does rust cars and such on beaches is sea mist or spray, which is effectively sea water actually getting onto objects. You would not have this effect from a marine tank, unless it could produce waves like beach surf.

 

[toodles]

Actually, I have heard of damage from salt creep on things like drywall, window frames etc......that's why I have plastic behind both of my tanks. The 20g sits on a huge dresser w/mirror in the bedroom, behind the tank I have saran wrap covering the surfaces so it won't damage them. I change that out every couple of months or so. Behind the 55g is just a large sheet of plastic that I got at Home Depot (sorry, don't know the name of it). This covers the window and surrounding drywall from any damage. This is simply removed and washed every other month or so.
I should add that the damage I have read about takes ALOT of time to happen. Not something that will happen overnight! And also, any damage that occurs will be on things that are very close to the aquarium, not across the room.
HTH

 

[sinasster]

As for smell i just ment that you could smell it and tell that it was salt water.

salt creep will not be a problem as long as you can manage to keep the water in the tank without splashing it everywhere.. The plastic on the wall behind the tank is a good idea, I also keep an old towl on the floor behind the tank to protect the carpet.