Condensation Problem - Could be cold winters :)

[mntcfish]

Hi I live in Minneapolis where yes it seems to be winter 5 months out of the year. I recently have started getting the ball rolling on setting up my tank. So far for the last week while I wait for my live rock to arrive I have filled my tank up and added live sand. I turned on my heater and also started running my pump to clear up the cloudy water after adding sand. Tonight I went over after a few days to check on things and noticed the entire backside was soaked. I took off the hood and this also had heavy condensation on the plexiglass house the light and underneath the hood. After wiping everything down, I unplugged my heater and shut the lid back up.
I'm assuming the condensation occurred because of the drastic temp change. MY tank is in my basement, usually around 65 (day) and 59-60 (night) while the water was a balmy 78.
Any suggestions for curing this, as I can't keep this up once I add my live rock and eventually fish?
Should I move the tank to a warmer location, buy a dehumidifier, setup and Arctic Tank?
Any help is appreciated. Thanks

 

[ibanez]

I think the change in temp caused the condensation, It shouldn't come back when the tank stays a constant temp. If you set up a fan to blow across the surface of the tank it could help with condensation on the light, if I am understanding you correctly.

 

[socalnano24]

Its basic evaporation too, especially if your in the middle of winter your relative humidity in your basement may be a bit low, so its going to suck alot of water out of the tank and it will condense on contact sometimes. My windows of my apartment will get "dewey" on cold mornings if I don't leave a window cracked.

 

[mntcfish]

so should i keep my heater plugged in then to keep the temp constant? Any recommendations on how to deal with the moisture issue? Thanks

 

[mntcfish]

sorry i forgot to note that i have an oceanic bio cube - so there is a lid. No room for a fan to blow across. thoughts?

 

[socalnano24]

well no matter what the lid on your bio cube will have condensation on it, it gets even worse once your lights are on. If you keep the feeder lid closed it will simply dip back into the tank. Completely normal.

 

[ibanez]

I suggest leaving your heater on, and feed a little flake food to get the cycle started. I usually clean my glass hood each week when I do water changes to keep salt and stuff from building up. which light is on it?