Ballast question

[GnarleyMarley]

OK guys i have a question for you...

How many of you have your ballasts inside your stand? I would like to build a shelf to place my Radion ballasts inside of the stand i am building for my 60 cube, but i'm worried that the humidity inside the tank with the sump could cause issues. Does anyone run their ballasts in their stands or should i just suck it up and mount them on the rear of the stand?

 

[Reefing Madness]

I've got mine in my stand along with my sump. I don't have any issues with humidity. Sump on one side, ballasts on the the other, just sitting on the stand bottom.

 

[AZDesertRat]

When I built the stand for my 60"x18" 100G reef I made it 6" deeper front to back for two reasons. One is it gave me much more room underneath for the sump and equipment and two it gave me a 6" full width shelf in back for ballasts and the closed loop pump. Best thing I did!

 

[GnarleyMarley]

LOL thatsalmost exactly what i did my tank is 2x2 and my stand is 36x32 so i have a 6" tabletop on 3 sides and much more room under the stand. I have plenty of room for the ballasts and stuff just wanted to make sure the humidity in the stand wouldnt mess up the ballasts. I may mount a fan or 2 to the back of the stand to suck out some of the humid air. What do u guys think about that, Am i over thinking this????

 

[AZDesertRat]

If you are going to use a couple fans, place them so they blow cooler dryer air IN down low and have equal size exit holes up higher to allow the warmer damp air to escape. Fans wear out quicker when moving moist air.

I found when I built my totally enclosed canopy with two 120mm fans, one in each end blowing in and exit holes in the top above the reflectors, the tank stayed much cooler and dryer in the canopy plus it worked by convection even without the fans running.

 

[GnarleyMarley]

aweesome, I may do that, a buddy of mine recommended it, just wanted to get as many opinions as possible. I like the idea of mounting them low and having openings to let the moist air escape...

 

[AZDesertRat]

Nice stand, plenty of room to work!

I didn't put doors or openings on the sides of mine but when I built a powder coated steel frame, oak skinned stand and canopy for my buddies large 300+ gallon system I made it with doors on all sides plus each panel was held to the steel stand with hidden carriage bolts and wing nuts so could be completely removed for major maintenance. Same with the canopy, all sides were accessible.