# Open tanks and humidity



## Christian Hansen (Apr 27, 2006)

Hello
I am considering buying an all glass open tank, and was wondering what the experiences are with the open tanks and the room humidity ? Do the open tanks add a lot of humidity to the room they are placed in ?


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## eklikewhoa (Jul 24, 2006)

i have two tanks with open tops and i havent notice a great increase in humidity and this is with 3 other tanks in the house.


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## epicfish (Sep 11, 2006)

eklikewhoa said:


> i have two tanks with open tops and i havent notice a great increase in humidity and this is with 3 other tanks in the house.


Same, I have two open top 10 gallon tanks with pretty hot lighting. I lose an inch of water every 3-4 days from each tank and haven't really noticed an increase in humidity.


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## bpimm (Jun 12, 2006)

I have an open top 80, 30, 29, 25, 2, .5, .25 and as the others said no noticeable humidity issues.


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## wiste (Feb 10, 2006)

If you keep a fish room and keep the door closed then humidity will definitely rise.
I have a 75 gallon, three 29 gallon tanks and a 35 gallon hex in one room dedicated to fish.
I have a humidity indicator used to monitor humidity for a reptile and the humidity will rise and stay comfortable for a reptile (60 to 75%) in the room. However, just opening a door or providing minimal circulation will keep the humidity low enough to prevent any issues like warping wood.


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## werner (Jul 6, 2006)

It's very dry here in the winter and static electricity buildup around the home is common- zapping yourself on a light switch, flyaway hair, static-clingy clothes, etc. The evaporation from my aquarium (partially covered top) would prevent that in my house, so yes, it does make a difference. I have a humidifier now.


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## dan2ktj (Mar 14, 2005)

How often do you find fish have exited the aquaria? I have a SAE in a 12gal Nano Cube that has hit the cover more than a few times.


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## tropism (Jul 21, 2006)

Having open top aquariums does affect the humidity, but there are only two times that I actually notice the difference. 

One was when my air conditioner went out this summer -- at 95 degrees inside with no breeze from outside, it was really unbearable even with the ceiling fan on high. Usually I'm fine with it being 95 degrees, unless the humidity is also really high. I suspect that even without aquariums around I would have been suffering that time though. 

The other time is what werner was talking about -- during the winter when we have the heater on. Heaters can really suck the humidity out of a house, especially if the air outside is already dry itself and there's a big temperature difference between outside and inside. I sometimes have problems with dry skin, chapped lips, static, even nose bleeds in the middle of the night during this time, but never if I have my aquarium tops off. Come to think of it though, I didn't have those problems when I had an aquarium running in my bedroom that had a top with the back strip removed either.

---

dan2ktj, it would probably be better if you asked your question in a new thread, but I'm not sure exactly where I'd put it... probably in "Fish for the planted aquarium". To give you a quick answer though -- it depends on what fish you have (hatchet fish for example seem to be able to find even small holes in a top), and to a lesser degree, what size aquarium you have. A few fish that jump out of very small aquariums are ok in bigger aquariums. The only problem I've had with my open top tanks is that two of my fish (a sparkling gourami and an SAE) got a little to excited when I fed them, overshot the food, and ended up flying out of the tank. Now I just make sure I watch them after I feed them until the activity level goes down.


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## oblongshrimp (Aug 8, 2006)

i have had a 120gal open top planted tank for over a year and with SAE in it and of the 10 I have in there I only lost one due to him jumping out. I have heard that having moon lights at night helps so the fish can tell where the surface is (I have them for what its worth).


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## Ajax (Apr 3, 2006)

I haven't noticed any humidity issues with my tank. I have the indoor/outdoor temp/hygrometer from Radio Shack, and it never goes above 55%. While that may be high to some, I do live in Houston where it's always humid  I doubt with just a 10 gallon tank you will see enough evaporation to affect the humidity much.

As far as fish jumping out, it unfortunately does happen. I have lost 2 cardinals, 2 gold tetras and an O-cat of all things. Certain shrimp are also known to crawl or jump out.


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