Tanks in small rooms

[VistaReef]

Planning for a modest office tank (Waterbox AIO 35.2). My office is basically a 10’x10’ cube so it’s fairly cozy.

Wanted to get a sense of things one might need to plan for with tanks in small rooms.

A couple concerns top of mind is ambient temp affecting parameters, temp generated by the tank / light, humidity in a small space.

Curious to hear from those in similar situations

thanks!

PS- tank has to live in the room so changing locations isn’t an option.

 

[jda]

Windows open and so do doors. I know that this sound flippant, but too many people refuse to accept this.

Ambient air co2 could be your largest issue, but that is easily mitigated by open windows and doors. When you do this, humidity is not an issue either.

 

[thatmanMIKEson]

I have a 120g in a 10x 12 and I run a window a/c and dehumidifier, when the dehumidifier is of its very noticeable, I wouldn't go with out both in my situation.. I keep the room at 45% 77°f

 

[VistaReef]

Thanks for the input! Exactly the type of feedback I was looking for.

I still have not set up a tank yet as I needed more data. I purchased a standalone thermostat to monitor my office parameters. My temps range from 71-77, and occasionally peaking 78 when the door is shut and my workstation is revving up. I can easily keep it around mid-day 75-76 by keeping the door open. My humidity levels range from 52%-60%, but I live in a coastal city close to the ocean so this doesn't necessarily surprise me.

At this point I am not so worried about the numbers but how it feels to spend 8-12 hours a day in the room working. Trying to balance having a tank but not ruin my work environment.

I feel as long as I stay under 50 gallons it will likely be negligible.

 

[New&no clue]

here is my 30 gallon in my office 10x13

 

[thatmanMIKEson]

Thanks for the input! Exactly the type of feedback I was looking for.

At this point I am not so worried about the numbers but how it feels to spend 8-12 hours a day in the room working. Trying to balance having a tank but not ruin my work environment.

I feel as long as I stay under 50 gallons it will likely be negligible.

If your sensitive to smells, sometimes depending on the tank and setup they can have some different odors at different times, I've noticed the lower humidity helps with that also, I live in FL so my humidity is similar to yours.

I have a 48g cube(open top) in my living room and it also raised my humidity in the house during "winter" when the main a/c doest run. I also put a bigger dehumidifier in the main part of the house and it really helped. I would not run a tank in my house without one, plus it forces evaporation wich helps keep ph up if you use kalk it helps, and it can keep your tank cooler and avoid using a heater as much, but its more power use, for me its a must have especially in a small room..

 

[minorhero]

I have 2 tanks now in my office. I think the office is something like 10x8 feet. One tank is a 30 gallon freshwater, the other tank is a 45 gallon saltwater tank with sump. Its only recently been filled and I am still cycling it so I can't give longterm information on the saltwater setup. But I've had the freshwater tank for a year now. My office is in my basement and its definitely humid down there during the summer months. For that reason in my laundry room I run a dehumidifier. This is not even in the same room as the tanks, or even the next room over, its a room further away then that. BUT it still makes a big difference. I run the dehumidifier so it drains directly into a washdown sink.

Having it automatically drain is huge. Emptying a bin once a day is a nonstarter.

During the winter months when the house is drier the dehumidifier stays off and I honestly don't notice anything from the presence of the tank.

 

[Geebs19]

I am in a 10x12 office in my basement, there is no windows in this room so I leave the door open and have the fan on low at all times to circulate the air. The only time I notice anything is when I empty my skimmer, stinks the room up for a bit.

 

[vetteguy53081]

here is my 30 gallon in my office 10x13

Blocke the side of the glass that faces the window with black construction paper from Walmart
Other than that- nice location ( I'd never get any work done with a tank staring at me !)
Your water level seems a little low. Slow down the return pump very slightly and should raise level in the tank

 

[Geebs19]

Blocke the side of the glass that faces the window with black construction paper from Walmart
Other than that- nice location ( I'd never get any work done with a tank staring at me !)
Your water level seems a little low. Slow down the return pump very slightly and should raise level in the tank

the only thing that keeps me from staring all day right now is it’s fallow and now coral yet.

 

[New&no clue]

Blocke the side of the glass that faces the window with black construction paper from Walmart
Other than that- nice location ( I'd never get any work done with a tank staring at me !)
Your water level seems a little low. Slow down the return pump very slightly and should raise level in the tank

Lol. The side by the window is so full of coralline algae I doubt it would change anything. There are lots of tips and tricks on water levels with the IM tanks… but why fix what’s not broken.

apart from the tank we also have 5 office dogs and a cat. Needless to say not a lot of work gets done.

 

[VistaReef]

the only thing that keeps me from staring all day right now is it’s fallow and now coral yet.

Do you have any problems with light spill if you're ever on a video call?

 

[VistaReef]

here is my 30 gallon in my office 10x13

Carpet looks nice and clean! I have carpet in my office too. Was also concerned about damage over time.

 

[New&no clue]

Carpet looks nice and clean! I have carpet in my office too. Was also concerned about damage over time.

I have spilled many times on the floor. I’m not sure why it doesn’t look worse.

 

[Geebs19]

Do you have any problems with light spill if you're ever on a video call?

Oh ya, It always looks like I am in a blue room. But I also dont keep an overhead light on I just have a desk light. I kind of like just the lights from the tank.

 

[thatmanMIKEson]

Oh ya, It always looks like I am in a blue room. But I also dont keep an overhead light on I just have a desk light. I kind of like just the lights from the tank.

Don't look into the light!

 

[Susan Edwards]

I have a home office 10x10. I have a RS 3xl900 in the room--six months. To give an idea: Length of tank 79: Width 25.5. I have 21" on either side, about 3 feet from tank to desk.

Humidity was an issue during winter. Got a dehumidifier. Last couple months, with window open, sometimes overhead fan going, it hasn't kicked on at all so it must be all the rain. Right now with some rain and cold, room is 44%.

Smells can be an issue esp when you empty your skimmer cup. Noise is the other. Right now, my returns are deliberately making surface agitation as I medicated tank. Drives me nuts! One mp40 also makes a constant hum/buzz. Skimmer is pretty quiet. Trident goes off and dosers, and I hear them as well.

Room can get warm compared to rest of house. I open window, turn on fan. I'll be curious to see if I have to get a chiller or if fans will keep it cool. Or run the ac much lower. More noise.

The blue lights don't bother me. I only have 1 out of 4 overhead lights in the fan on. The pluses outweigh the neg.

Ph has been an issue so ordered a co2 scrubber.

tank day of set up.

Tank in feb. I can't even get a pic of the whole room lol's

 

[Tim'sReef]

I have 2 tanks in approximately a room 9x10. Like others said humidity is a problem but that can be solved in a number of ways. Heat might also be an issue in the summer but here I can fix that with some fans. One other thing is that all my needs for testing, water changes etc takes up lots of space so the room gets cluttered but that is just an issue of tidying up after you are done.

 

[VistaReef]

here is my 30 gallon in my office 10x13

Im also strongly considering this same tank. What has your experience been with it? Likes / dislikes? It seems like one of the small tanks that looks big than it is.

 

[New&no clue]

Below is from my build thread. I love this tank. It has been perfect for an office tank. It is excellent for being able to have several fish as well as being easy on maintenance. The length gives you multiple chambers in the back for lots of different options for filtration.

Tank Selection
-Tank Size: I was cautious of the size for a couple of reasons. I wanted something large enough to have several fish and house corals; however, not so large that tank maintenance and water changes became an issue. With a 30 gallon, I have enough room for 4-5 fish, and a 10% water change each week will only be 3 gallons.
-AIO: I wanted an all-in-one due to a reduction in plumbing and less chance for an issue to occur while away, such as a clogged overflow or return pipe.
Redundancy
-My goal is to switch the plumbing in the back for the return pump. Currently, there is one return pump with a split hose that goes to two returns in the tank. I plan to put an additional pump in the back and change the divided hose to two individual hoses that go to one return.
-Additional heater in the tank in case of a failure of the first
Filtration choices
-As this is an office tank, I don't want to be transporting dirty filter socks home every couple of days. I plan to remove the filter sock and put a media cup in its place. Then fill the media cup with filter floss.
-I went back and forth on a skimmer as it can be a mess to clean in a communal sink; however, I did decide to go with it.
-Additional filtration with media blocks.
Automation
-I haven't picked it yet, but thinking about buying it at Tunze Universal 3155 ATO. I had initially thought to save money, and I wouldn't buy an ATO and top off each day. However, I am leaning towards an ATO when thinking about it more.
-Auto feeder for weekends and holidays. I love feeding my fish because they get to know you as the food person, but I think it would be better to set up an auto feeder that way, it will be a consistent feed every day, and the fish can eat on weekends. I plan to do flakes and pellets, and then maybe a couple of times a week I would feed frozen.