# do you ever consider the lack of airflow under your aquariums?



## neven (May 15, 2010)

I've been tearing down my 29 gallon today due to a leak, and i cant believe the mold i found under the tank! Theres no way this has been growing only since the leak started. Next stand i have im thinking of drilling a couple holes in the plywood and installing a computer case fan to make sure this doesn't happen, tomorrow i will post pictures. For now the stand is out of the house, and sprayed down excessivle in metricide (i used my half mask)


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## SeaHorse_Fanatic (Apr 22, 2010)

My stands are coated with saltcreep, which may be white and unsightly, but kills the mold spores I believe (pray, hope).


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## Morainy (Apr 21, 2010)

Yes, I've thought of this. Usually, I don't have a problem with water or mould under my tanks, but I have my Eclipse 12 on a wooden kredenza and totally destroyed the top because water wicks over the back of that tank when it's full and I didn't notice that for the first year. I had a 30 gallon on the same kredenza for over 10 years and only had a bit of mould at the edges. The reason that it was mouldy at the edges was that I foolishly put a towel under that tank when I set it up. Then, whenever I spilled water next to the tank, the towel would wick it under the tank at the edges. The towel became very icky-looking, too. But in 10 years, I never completely took down that tank as it was doing so well. I just cleaned it in place with the inhabitants in it. I only found out about the mould at the edges when I got a new tank.

I'd like to find a way to allow air circulation under tanks. Sometimes now I use pink styrofoam under my tanks -- T-Bore gave me some, and I found that it worked very well. However, it protects the wood and the tank but it doesn't allow air to move.


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## effox (Apr 21, 2010)

Neven, how exactly are you going to hook up a fan under your stand? I ask only cause of moisture issues (I realize it's a computer fan and therefore DC, probably running around 5 volts and a quarter amp) but would you put it on the side, have atleast a hole on one side, and blow air out it (suck it I guess) or would you blow air into it, and then out some how?

Just curious cause I never thought of this concept. I had mold on my windows and I was constantly getting sick, and when I realized there was mold, I cleaned it with bleach immediately, and I don't know if was just a placebo effect, or not, but I didn't get running nose, or feel like death as often as prior.


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## SeaHorse_Fanatic (Apr 22, 2010)

It was the mold effox making you sick. I changed out most of our windows to double glazed to stop it in the bedrooms especially.


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## neven (May 15, 2010)

well under the tank is a hollow area, so prior to the tank installation, holesaw one hole on one side, and another on the other end. Mount the fan blowing in on one of the holes and leave the other free. Now you got the circulation. With acrylic tanks you wont be able to do this, but glass should be no prob,


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## effox (Apr 21, 2010)

Would it benefit having one suck and one blow, do you think? Probably not necessary, I just like over kill, lol.


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## J'sRacing (Apr 25, 2012)

put a mist of salt underneath your tanks: problem solved.


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## effox (Apr 21, 2010)

Yeah, when I saw the mold in my bedroom (lots of heat in there with all the multimedia equipment bar fridge and two smaller tanks, I was thinking "this can't be healthy". I just never saw it since it wasn't the sliding part, and never moved my curtain.

As soon as I cleaned it, within a week I noticed I was feeling a lot better. Can't imagine how many billions of spores I must have ingested............... GROSS!


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## Sanka101 (Dec 15, 2010)

I kept a ten gallon on a on an extra self from a coated particleboard shelf on top of the shelf its self in my bedroom. The occasional spill here or there and water that wicked over the side from a fry net absorbed into the piece of board and when i took down the tank just that board its self was cover and filled with black, blue and white mold! The day I took that out i swear i felt instantly better. I found when my tanks are kept on solid wood I dont have the mold at all


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## neven (May 15, 2010)

the board of this tank was actually solid, so all the mold was just the surface area, but still it was a lot of the stuff for such a small area. Its been removed and disposed of, the undamaged areas i hadn't had the time to break down fully, but definately not going to reuse them. Lucky for us we have a Hepa air purifier in the kids room, which is powerful enough for the whole suite


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## Rastapus (Apr 21, 2010)

It can be a concern yes. We moved a 300 gallon that clearly had a few spills in the past. It was completely adhered to the carpet to the point it was difficult to even slide it free. The carpet was black underneath. I would think this would be bad for someone with allergies let alone anyone else. Of course you would need a bad spill I would think to get this stuff growing.


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## neven (May 15, 2010)

here are the picks of the mold, doesn't look as bad as it was in the pics though


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## Morainy (Apr 21, 2010)

Fascinating, Neven! (And gross. But more fascinating than gross.)


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## sarcastickitten (May 26, 2012)

hmmm well, I unfortunately can't pass on any words of wisdom, although the computer fan idea sounds fantastic! with input area and and and output... all f my stands are pen bottom... the tank is sunk into the stand so yu don't see the black rim and is just sits on a lip on the bottom... wow that discription doesn't make much sence, but I have no idea how to better describe it... no mold problems...


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## neven (May 15, 2010)

i know what you mean, your tank sits on the framwork of the stand, then you skinned the outside of the stand adding a lip to hide the bottom rim, but didn't bother to use plywood on top of the framework, since its not needed


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