Salt all over my walls - wife says tank has to go!

[ontario1]

I need some advice. Not to long ago I switched from my standard lighting to a metal halide pendant lights so I could start collecting coral. Since then I have found a tremendous amount of salt forming on the wall behind the tank all the way up to the ceiling. This occured with the previous lighting system too but I had a cover then and it wasn't as bad. The new lights are far too hot for the cover and my local storekeeper advised me that covering my tank was a bad idea anyway. Is there anything I can do to stop the salt from accumulating on my wall? Otherwise the wife says I have to go back to freshwater...and who would want to do that?

 

[ophiura]

Can you describe your set up a little bit more, or take a picture? Do you have a canopy for the tank or just the fixture?

 

[ontario1]

100 gallon tank with 2 metal halide pendant lights. No canopy because the light fixtures wouldn't fit in it. This is a tank on a budget. I was able to get the lights and bulbs cheap, used at the lfs. I tried leaving the old plastic cover on the tank and I actually started to get the smell of melting plastic so I decided that was not a good idead. The tank is basically open on the top.

 

[maxalmon]

Something doesn't sound right... The only way you can get salt build up is to have actual water droplets or mist land on a surface and then evaporate, leaving salt behind as a residue. Microbubbles from a skimmer can cause this problem or perhaps your running an airstone?

 

[ontario1]

I have hang on filter as well as a hang on protein skimmer. Could they be causing it? If that is the case I could switch to a sump system. Or is there as cheaper approach?

 

[triga22]

Sumps are not to expensive. I did mine for about 130 including silicone,acrylic,overflow box, pipeing, pump, sand,rock,bioballs,cheato,bubble difuser. and filter padding

 

[chilwil84]

hang on back equipment will cause a good amount of salt creap from the splashing but up the walls to the ceiling is a little much you could try raising your water level until there is no waterfall splashing to see if it is the cause of your problem

 

[cadillac swang]

maybe shes setting you up, maybe shes splashing the water on the walls from your tank when your not around, maybe shes the one that needs to be let go. :cheer: jk
yea fill your tank up lil pass the return line of the hang on filter, and heres a question are your power heads pointed towards the surface of tank and how many if are.
i also have water jumping out of my tank on my fixture but i havent kicked any salt around while walking towards the tank or pass it. good luck buddy :joy:

 

[05xrunner]

something must be off...I had a Emperor 400 on my tank, Hang on skimmer and I dont even get any salt creep.
I have a Hang on fuge now, Skimmer, and a canister filter hang on. I still dont really get any saltcreep. I am not using a hood either. Is your water low or something and the water splashing into it making large bubbles to pop and throw salt around

 

[briand7878]

Get rid of the wife its only hard at the beginning. Ha ha

 

[cadillac swang]

Originally Posted by BRIAND7878
Get rid of the wife its only hard at the beginning. Ha ha

:cheer: :cheer: :cheer: :cheer:
lol

 

[bracebldrs]

if none of that works ,i know your on a budget but try a piece of plexi glass
put a finish nail in a corless drill and drill two holes in it ,and hang it like a picture behind tank to protect walls.just a sugest.

 

[ontario1]

I think maybe one of the reasons that I see it on my wall and no one else does could actually be the colour of the wall. It is a really dark red. So anything white shows up incredibly. I tried to suggest painting the room, but the decorating diva said no. If she wasn't so perfect, I would trade her in.

 

[bpd]

Originally Posted by ontario1
I tried to suggest painting the room, but the decorating diva said no.
ha ha ha ha
All that red is too much. You need a white accent wall.

 

[kat 4]

yah I had a red wall behind my tank with a full canopy too - when we moved had to re-paint the whole wall. Somehow it just gets on the wall- try to wipe it daily and see if that helps. I liked the red because you didn't need a background on the tank! But now we have tan and it works much better as far as salt goes..

 

[fishymaster776]

i dont know if this is possible for you but it is possible that you buy some wood or whatever and build a canopy over the tank and lights. i mean it wouldn't be that hard just like a dome wood canopy with 4 small holes drilled in it for the hanging lights and the electricity lines coming out. for feeding you could leave a small area open out in the front. if you stain it and modify it over time it wouldn't look so bad and it would solve your salt problem.

 

[anonome]

How high do you fill your tank, I have an open tank too and no splatter on the walls. My tank is about 9 inches away from the walls and fill it so the hob skimmer fills into the tank with no splatter. Maybe you just need to keep the water level up higher? :thinking:

 

[brucoh]

Do you use airstones on your tank? I used to get a tremendous amount of saltcreep when I used to use a airpump with an airstone in my tank. The rim of my tank looked like the rim of a margarita glass. Since I quit using airstones, I get no saltcreep at all and I've ran an open top tank for 2 years. I also do not have a sump, everything is HOB. What are you using for surface agitation? If you aren't using airstones, I'd say it has to do with the evaporation caused by your new lights and whatever you are using for surface agitation. Do your lights raise the temp of your tank when they are on? How much water do you lose to evaporation per day? Do you have to blow a fan across the surface of your water to keep your water temp down? If so, I've heard that that can cause alot of evaporation and that could explain salt all the way up the wall.
I tried to suggest painting the room, but the decorating diva said no.
So she won't budge on painting the room, but she's says you have to give up your saltwater tank if you can't figure out the problem? I see who wears the pants in your family.