Reef tank in mechanical room?

I had a large sump in my 2 car insulated garage for 3 years. it rusted ALOT of my tools. Yes, you will get corrosion.

 

What size is the room? What kind of lighting/ How are you planning on keeping the tank water cool. If you are using MH or T5 expect to have extra evaporation, you will evaporate more from sump than tank because of the flow of the water, so if your water temp is going to be on the higher side install exhaust fan (ceiling mounted). Keep sump AWAY from electrical, especially with saltwater (more conducive) and use space by panel and other items that can't be moved for storage

 

I have a large system (over 300 gallons) in a room off my living room. The "fish room" we'll call it, see lots of corrosion. Salt from evaporation hits every surface it can find. Everything is salty and requires constant maintenence to the room. If anything is of any value to you, I wouldnt suggest putting in that room.

 

Guys,

The question of whether salt evaporates is not open for debate. It doesn't. If it did, you would put salt water in your topoff.

As your skimmer proves however, salt water in a tank likes to form bubbles (thanks to proteins in it) and those pop frequently. This creates a salt spray that will mist and corrode things. This can be controlled, but not easily.

I had a sump in a very still closet and the electrical components did not corrode. In a room with better circulation, stuff could.

It's not evaporation however, it's spray.

 

Have to agree, salt does NOT evaporate only the H2O will. However, thsi does not take into account an splashing or popping that will occur.

Yes salt water is much more corrosive than regular water, however, plain water is also very corrosive!! You dont need a salt water pool or salty rain to see corrosion on any metal tools left outside to prove this. If the humidity is high than the regular water will cause just as many problems.

As a side note of this dicussion it does make me rethink my plans. My last build I put all the electrical timers and strips under the stand with drip loops for saftey. Now that I am building a new build and stand with a sump I am wondering if its a great idea to put all my electrical under the stand again with a sump

 

So the room is about 10x10 and the panel would be about 6 feet away. I am thinking with an exhaust fan and Louvered door humidity should be relatively low. There is no chance of splash due to the distance.

For setup electric I was going to wire 8 receptacles into the stand with switches. The switches would all be lutron switches. This would allow me to set up and control all 8 independently from my phone.

 

We all have a bunch of corrodable stuff in our cabinets with our sumps. I'd risk it.

 

10x10, just have some venting, suggest bring fresh air in and out, or use a dehumidifier in there.