Aquarium Co-Op the lid will stop most of the evaporation and will slow down the amount of water u are using I have 4 tanks in my bedroom and at first they did have lids and because I live in Australia it really hot and humid all the time my room was like a sauna so I got some lids and it change it dramatically by the way my names casey this is my dads RU-vid account love your video
blue is the winner. i grew up in a home surrounded by earth tones. tan, brown and more tan. lol. but blue is one of my favorite colors and i think will make the studio look great. have fun painting Cory.
Regarding your question from the end: yes, it makes a difference. My system was open top for 2 years. Now it's covered half way and evaporation is cca 1 liter/week instead of 2. On another system, there is 85 % cover. And there is an interesting phenomenon: the placing of the gap does make a huge difference because of the way air moves on that part of the room. It's about difference in temperature and in evaporation. In my case, having the gap on the front produces evaporation and cooling; the latter can be measured with any thermometer. So, I need to lift the top at every feeding.
I purchased some kio guppy fry off eBay a few months ago and there are now about the same size as the ones in this video. They actually look exactly like yours. Here's to hoping they change as they mature!
Wall color - if you are going to have serious light in there, then go with the dark blue; otherwise, go with lighter colors - Seattle is dark enough as it is. Wood - fresh coat of stain or oil? light sanding?? Window - go for double pane - will the keep the room warmer too! Tops - if you are using plastic - drill a feeding hole. When I lived in Seattle, I had a 100g (72x18x18) tank in the basement. The back 3 inches of the tank was open. The basement felt like a sauna. I covered about 4 feet of the back (so 4' x 3") with acrylic I had laying around and the humidity dropped quite a bit. Every little bit helps, as the moisture hits the top, and drips BACK into the aquarium. Just my $.02
Hey Cory, nice pair of guppies there! They're looking great! In my opinion, 95 percent covered tank is definitely much better than no cover as I've experienced that I'd have to do less top up of water in the past.
I had the exact situation you mentioned about evaporation on a 50 gallon low boy. Was running open top and losing about .75 - 1.0" of water per week. Covered about 90% of it with 6mm greenhouse siding and now losing very little water to evaporation. It has made a difference for me.
I can confirm. I don't have nice fitted covers on my 100 gallon, and the difference between covering like 75% of the opening space and none is drastic. Probably a couple gallons in a week. In fact, there's even a smaller but noticeable difference just leaving the hood on vs off even with the covers.
To address your condensation/evaporation issue, if you have any gap in the tanks you will get the same amount of evaporation as an open top. The difference in water level in the tanks is because the tank that is partially covered will form condensation on the lid and drip back into the aquarium making it look like it doesn't evaporate as quick. It might help to put an extra dehumidifier in your office or an exhaust fan. Or possibly even an air exchange unit, however since your area is pretty damp an air exchange unit may not work. Air movement is your best bet unless you can seal your tanks up 100% which would be impossible. Good luck Cory and great video! Keep a close eye on your mould issue, it's dangerous stuff, especially black mould. Coming from a family of plumbers and gasfitters. Have a wonderful weekend.
One solution to the humidity in the room is large extractor fans, better insulation of the house is a good thing as well. 10" in the walls, an 15" in the ceiling.
I think you should replace that window Cory, a double pane window will have less condensation from the temp difference. love the new guppies, also just to let you know right now levamisol is on amazon I just ordered some. same stuff Greg sells, levamed.
Agreed on the window. I broke an old, single pane window of mine doing a water change and had to replace it. I went with a commercial double pane, horizontal sliding window (double the cost), but never had any moisture on the inside again. It also made running siphon hoses out the window easier. I later replaced the other 2 windows in the room, totally worth it.
Aquarium Co-Op you could probably get a new window for around $100, installation would probably take a couple hours. it depends on the trim and siding. I used to do this for a living. if I wasn't 3 hours away I would come and install a window for you.
Where you see condensation and it is able to drop back into the tank causes the moisture to cycle back into the tank and less evaporation into the air. You should notice less water evaporation from the tank that is partially closed compared to the tank that has no cover at all.
I took my aquarium to Lowe's, they cut a thinner plexi-glass to fit just inside the ledge of the Aquarium. I cut out a half moon cut to put airline and heater cord through. I superglue a fancy knob to the plexi-glass to lift it to feed. I have an OTT natural sunlight lamp over it, which I purchased at JoAnn Fabrics on Black Friday super cheap.
You should make a customer table/shelves for your pc equipment to sit on, make it smallers but more compact allowing for more space. (make sure you put it against the wall aswell :)
good luck with the green water, hope u don't have a pH crash, just lost my big arowana to one, pulled him out, was over 2', last one for me for awhile, tearing down his tank and going to plant it. Love the videos!
I like the blue paint! And I do think having lid on 90% is better than none at all . I do that to one In my living room where I am to lazy to cut a notch for the hob , and it seems to keep the water in longer as opposed to no lid
Cory, closing the top of the aquarium for lets say 90% does make a big difference in comparison to an aquarium with no or almost no top. An nearly closed top will (almost totally) stop circulation of air right above the water level. With less circulation of air, it is more difficult for dry air to reach the really humid air right above the water level. Thats why there will be less evaporation of water from your tank. BUT from a certain point, lets say 75% closed( it could be more or less, I dont know), the air will start to circulate more intensly and you will start to evaporate water again at a rate same as it would be 100% open. Hope this helps. Greetings from Belgium!
Aquarium Co-Op If you want green water overnight, just add about a tablespoon of Miracle Grow to that plastic tote tank and stand back. You can almost watch it turn green. A teaspoon to a hundred gallons works for me.
You can do blue walls and then paint goldfish onto the walls 😄. And ever since I took the glass top off my 20G I've been losing a lot of water to evaporation more quickly than before. And the top still had a 2" gap at the back where the HOB filters are.
To add to the comments about evaporating water, look at all the bubbling water at the top of your tank. Without a top, the bubbles will pop and some of that water is escaping instead of hitting the top of the tank and dripping back down. I'd keep them covered as much as possible.
Water vapor rises strait up unless there is lots of airflow. If you left a hole to feed you would probably still stop most of the moisture from escaping. I went from a tank with no top to a tank with one on and I didn't have to replenish the water nearly as often. if you really wanted you could have a hole with a little peace of glass with a small handle to take of when feeding. then you wouldn't have to lift the entire lid.
Check the inside of the tops that are closed 90%. If there is water vapour condensing on them, then it is doing something to catch humidity. My guess is that there will be little difference. You're pumping air into each of the tanks so the humid air in the space above the water will be pushed out of any slits or holes to normalise the pressure.
Hi Cory. Have you considered a drip system feeding plant food into your water change system. that way your plants will all get a small feed with every water change.
OK Corey.....We love you!!!! We just checked out your most recent Koi Vids......It is killing us!!!! Our yard is the size of a postage stamp....AAAARRRGGGGGG!!!!! Koi is a long shot for us.....WAAAHHHHHH!!!!! You should be proud though!!!! We went to Lowes, bought our first shelving unit....got our first" Pet Supplies Plus" 40 gallon breeder. for $40.00...(as opposed to $100)....Holy MOLY!!!! PERFECT!!!!!! We will keep on till we are full ..and then...We will do it again!!!! You have nooooooo idea how badly we wish we lived near you!!!! OOOOPS!!!!! Maybe not a good idea! LOL!!!! We'd be broke all the time! Anyway we love your videos!!!!!! Lucky for us....we live only 2 and 1/2 hours south of Chicago....we are planning to see allllllll of you in November...FINGERS CROSSED!!!!
Dude use plastic flaps like in warehouse s and meat packing places with heated air blowing down across the outside of your office. That'll knock the humidity down in your office. Hope it helps. Nice tour of your place.
I was just researching the evaporation from fish tanks and what I could find was the temperature of the tank and the temperature of the room kept at the same temperature would help with evaporation
Hey Cory, I'm no expert, but in my experience covering the tank about 90% is much better than not covering it. My reasoning for that is that the cover keeps the air near the water surface warmer, and more humid ( at least closer to the water temp). The greater the difference between air temp and water temp, the greater the amount of evaporation, and the more moisture the air holds, the less the amount of evaporation.
I believe this is probably true for most tanks, I wonder about tanks with airstones though as we are injecting air and forcing it out the top. but perhaps that'll happen even with a fully covered top.
From a chemistry perspective covering more of the tank should reduce the amount of water evaporating. If you want to get fancy, covering like 75% with a dome esque shape will also in theory trap water vapor until it re condenses into the tank.
For the lighting I would go to lowes and grab a "comercial electric" 4 foot led shop light (about $50) and hang it up on the ceiling. I got one for a tank and it was WAY too bright. This way you can use your existing light for the green water!
hey cory few things. can you explain to someone who lives somewhere that doesn't get cold how do the koi survive in bellow freezing temps do they go dormant? also could you please do a video about different types of live food. also nice logitech mouse .
I have a small gap on my top lid and it saves a good amount of evaporation as opposed to no lid. When I had no lid I kept topping off water every couple of days but the tank is in the basement where its quite cold.
Golf towels would work well for you because they come with a hole/hook so they'd be easy to hang on the rack. You'd have to look around to get a discount/cheap one because a nice one would be a waste of money. You could also look into designing your own ;)
Probably too late, as you've already done it!!, but I like the blue on the left too. Another great video Cory. Keep up the good work. Best wishes from the UK.
90-95% will greatly reduce the amount of evaporation. You will still have evaporation but at a slower rate. Then the dehumidifier will then be able to keep up. If you wish to cover only a small portion of the tank, alway cover where the air bubbles break the surface and it will prevent a lot of evaporation from quickly leaving the tank. You'll still have moister in the end but highly reduced.
Is like doing nothing, the smallest gap will let out ALL the heat in the water... not sure about the humidity though, I'm in Sarasota where the humidity is always above 70%...! Keep up your awesomeness...!
no matter what the tanks evaporate at the same rate as long as it is the same temperature. Humidity created in a closed tank will speed up the process of condensation though. more water condensing on the lid will put more water back into your tank, so the more the tank is covered the more water will stay in the tank. kind of like when you're in a humid room but the door is kinda open it's still humid in that room, the more closed the door the more humid it stays. 95%closed will be way more humid (inside tank) than none. as for outside humidity, having the tank partially covered is better than having no cover but only marginally. the room will eventually get humid again as time goes on because of how many tanks you have in that room, i don't think any commercial dehumidifier can catch up with that many heated tanks being even only partially open if they're open at all times. if you close all the tanks at the end of the day and keep the dehumidifier running i think that would drastically reduce humidity and moisture in the room. it depends on size of room, temperature of tank, temp of the room, and the amount and quality of your dehumidifier. TLDR; lid closed 95% is better than nothing
For green water, have you tried the typical “grow” light bulb from home depot kinda place, just in a clamp lamp, super cheap and it work s well for me over a 20 gallon with a fat goldfish in it lol , I use the green water for my fry 😎👍🏻
maybe do a pole along the row of the tanks so all you do is lift the pole and every top opens on the row. much more efficient than one lid at a time. as for the evaporation I find with a lid the humidity will build condensation but it's much more effective with a full lid. the way I would attach the lid pole us a pvc end cap that has a screw or glue or ect. holding it to the lid that leads to a T fitting that so every lid can be connected by cheap pvc pipe.
For contrast My discus are in a system of 4-40's with a 10 gallon sump running around 82-84 degrees Before I got the tops cut, The system would evaporate around a gallon per day, The tops on with a feeding hole/cut out 4"X1.5" and the sump topless the system only goes threw 2 gallons every 10 days. I also run sponges in each tank that speeds along the evaporation. "this system was my work around the for water volume and stability issues that come with discus without having one bulky tank"
What 20quid wrote about water condensing on the tank side of the lid is correct (the droplets fall back into the tank water). However, he also said that it probably makes no difference - I agree with this also, especially if the lid opening is greater than 10% of the tank surface area. On a slightly different tract though, it would be interesting to have someone with theoretical or practical knowledge weigh in on the issue of a dehumidifier in a fish room such as yours. My thought is that the amount of water vapor in the air is always seeking equilibrium with the air temperature (especially where there is an unending supply of water to evaporate (such as a large fish room)). So running a dehumidifier pulls water vapor out of the air and disposes of the condensate to a location outside of the room but this just causes more liquid water from the vast supply to evaporate into the air - thus seeking equilibrium. I think a larger dehumidifier would just make it all happen faster but equilibrium really wouldn't change. From your experience does the dehumidifier make the room drier? I guess so otherwise you wouldn't be running it, maybe my thoughts are all wet and need a dehumidifier.
What you need to do is figure out what your evaporation rate is for you fish room. what i recommend doing is setting up two 10 gallon tanks fill both tanks to the same level then mark the side of them. Cover one tank 90% of the way and leave the other tank with out a cover. After one week check the levels of both tanks if they have both dropped down the same amount then there is no difference. If one is lower then the other you know what tank is evaporating less. That should give you a base line on if you should cover or not.
I think that is a good test Dave, I was thinking about doing it with my 20 gallons but I'd have to turn off the auto water change systems. With 10 gallons it would be pretty easy.
Ohh I really like the Grey/Blue! (Second option!) sorry I'm usually really updated with the vids but are we doing some sort of green water algae experiment?
Covering the tank 95% will be better than nothing. I like the middle color. Also the closer to 20% grey the more true the color reflection from your lighting. Assuming you are using neutral spectrum for video recording. ..
I would think open tank would evaporator more - but simple compare two tanks of same capacity side by side - one covered and one not covered - in a weeks time or two you should be able to see the difference - nice video
Go to lowes or Home Depot an get jomax. It is used to treat mold. I treat mold all the time in foreclosed homes. Wipe wall or floor with jomax then use kilz 2 to paint over it. Mold problem solved. You can paint over the kilz once it dries. If you don't want to do it this way, at least wipe the mold with a bleach an water mixture. Vinegar is not very effective on treating mold.
I got some guppies the other day I'm a first timer with freshwater tropical so didn't realise that if you put guppies in then you need females in aswell I just got 2 males and 1 beat the other one up I just saved him his fins were almost gone but hes fine now I'm gona get some females and breed them you lean something everyday with fish awesome hobby to get into you have a awesome shop aswell my friend awesome fish love that massive puffer you have
thanks I'm still learning about stuff a lot like about bristle noses want to breed them and would like to know from your experiences how much to feed them I don't have much algae in my tank and no real wood I'm going to get some tho but main question is how many time do you feed the bristle nose a week or in general iv heard a lot of things but would like to know your input iv got algae wafers but my other fish will eat them and I know that can hurt my other fish I'm not to sure
yeah I didn't think algae wafers were good I will look into what you recommend there's a male and female pair I'm going to breed and there's another 2 I have in another tank but not sure of the sex yet you tell from colour as well as bristles hey and they have to get to a certain size befor you know the sex hey I'm not sure sorry for all the questions
Dark blue looks great, you could go with white too so all the room looks brighter (light would reflect more but not sure how well will that work with the tank's reflections) Also I had a question. If you couldn't use CO2 in a tank, is it worth to use liquid CO2 like flourish excel? Thanks for the reply as always!
Aquarium co op do cover 90% of the aquariums it will drop the humidity. I know it from experience. I had problems with condensetion on my 400l 3 days an whater level would drop enough that my pump ran dry, till i covered like 70% of it . Now i can actually see the condensation form drops of whater on the covers and dropping to the aquarium. Hope it heps fellow fish lover.
you save water because the top stops the evaporation rate I run tops on my tanks and the evaporation rate has dropped and I don't need to add water as much.
In my experience, a top that covers 90% of the tank is better at stopping humidity/evaporation than a top that covers closer to 50%. How did you create the hinge with the twinwall polycarbonate panel? I'd like to add something like that to our FRT tank top.
cut a small feeding port in each tank cover. that way you won't have to open the covers; even partially. as far as the humidity, i'm thinking that a couple well placed extractor fans may solve the problem. good luck with what ever you do.
Great video Cory! I remember seeing them so I told you about them knowing you wanted them but didn't expect you to buy them that fast, I will say that I wouldn't think colony breeding wouldn't work as well with koi guppies, I mean I have never had them but I would imagine with the way there pattern is that they probably don't breed 100% true and that you're gonna get a lot of fry with splotches of color in the middle not enough color on the head etc so I would think to keep them from losing that pattern you'd have to selectively breed in a bunch of 10's but I know you probably don't have the time for that so I still think it's gonna be very interesting to see how they turn out with colony breeding in say 5 generations.
I'm thinking of going with a dark grey background color paint on my tanks...just gonna custom mix a bigger volume of paint in a color I like in an empty gallon paint can. I really like the black but it is too dark
The evaporation rate is constant for a given temperature, what results in less water leaving the tank is the water vapor in the air above the tank having nowhere to go other than back into the water. Basically, more humidity above the tank results in less water leaving the tank. Obviously full lids are best, but from my experience, but not having lids works best when the tank isn't completely full; like imagine a water condensing on the inside of a half full coffee cup. If it was full, the water vapor would leave. Drafts and surface agitation seem to cause the greatest difference for me, and partial lids seem to help quite a bit with this, because it strips that very humid air in direct contact with the water. Having a lid just over where the air bubbles surface is useful; with the surfacing of the air bubbles is many tiny water droplets creating lots of surface area and constant contact with new dry air. From my experience, not covered WITH an air stone evaporates at about 4 inches per month V.S. not covered WITHOUT an air stone at about an 3/4 inch per month. Personally, I have not notice a significant difference in a half lid to a whole lid on small tanks (10 gal). Larger tanks (55 gal) placing a lid over the side with the sponge filter does help quite a bit, likely due to the distance the air needs to travel. So basically, in my experience partial lids are only useful on long tanks when placed over the sponge filter. So a partial lid should help quite a lot on your 270 gal totes, but probably not a whole lot the smaller tanks in your fish room. Hope my experience helps.
