Saltwater in the air..

[thamobster]

Hey everyone. Just had a question to see if anyone has heard of this happening before. A person I know had a saltwater tank in the same room as some of his electronics, one being a big screen T.V. and supposdly the saltwater tank caused corrison to the T.V. I am not sure of the size of the tank he had but supposdly there is always salt in the air once you begin the tanks. I was wondering if this was possible b/c I have got a big screen in my room along with a 50 gal. tank and a computer. Anyone got any ideas?

 

[aquaman]

Well I will take a crack at this one...
Salt does not evaporate with the water so the only way his TV could have corroded from it salt water is if there was a fine spray of salt water hitting the TV in some way. He would have noticed this, there is no way he could not have, unless the TV was back to back with the tank, in which case it is just too close to begin with.

 

[elfdoctors]

I have heard of this happening. It is similar to what can happen from chlorine in a swimming pool.
A small amount of salt can be aerosolized into the air, particularly if you are running a skimmer and making lots of litle bubbles. This can be corrosive to electronics.

 

[moraym]

Over what time period is this corrosive do you think?
My larger tank will soon be near my electronics and television (TV on north wall, tank on west wall, 20-30 ft away). Tank is also near beautifully crafted wood pool table (6 ft away).
Can a dehumidifier or other filter pull any of this out of the air?
Thanks.

 

[moraym]

Bueller?

 

[elfdoctors]

I am not an expert in this area but I will take another stab at this. I imagine that this would take effect over months to years.
I do have some experience on the board of directors of a local fitness center. Almost all electronic equipment (e.g. stereos) in the pool rooom is usually non-operational within a year. However, chlorine aerosolizes easier and a swimming pool is a lot larger than a fish tank. I would expect you would not have to worry about anything happening for several years.
Another more pertinent example that I have heard about is shorter lifetimes for electronics for people who live by the ocean. Obviously you can smell the salt in the air.
I would also expect that a dehumidifier would decrease the range that these droplets could travel. However, your evaporative losses from your tank would increase.
Perhaps this might be a situation to buy the extended warranty. They would then have to replace the piece of equipment with no questions asked.

 

[moraym]

Originally posted by elfdoctors
Perhaps this might be a situation to buy the extended warranty. They would then have to replace the piece of equipment with no questions asked.
True, or buy everything at Costco.
As much as I dislike that store, my friend purchased a big screen TV (52") from Costco, and it broke 5 years later, through simple usage. He went to the store to just ask if they knew where he could get it repaired. Store manager said they did not know, but they have a 100% satisfaction guarantee, so bring it back. He brought in his 5-yr old TV, said he wasnt satisfied that it didnt last longer, and he received credit for the original purchase price. Now he's got the biggest TV available in HD, courtesy of Costco, and he's holding onto that receipt just in case.:happy: