Indoor Pond

[JeffroM]

I'm considering building a indoor pond for freshwater stingrays. Which would need to be heated.

The problem I am envisioning is excessive evaporation. I don't see a problem for the rays but am concerned about my house and the humidity levels.

I spoke to someone knows a ray expert that has mulitple indoor ponds and indicated that the ponds all have covers on them similar to a hot tub. I don't want a cover as I would never get a chance to enjoy my pets if I had to take a cover off just to see them.

Does anyone know if there is something I can do to the house HVAC system to deal with the humidity so I wouldn't need a cover?

 

[simonbrown403]

I dont know about that but what about a large dehumidifiers, just an idea

 

[rdd1952]

There was a member (nc_nutcase) here earlier this year that was building an indoor pond for oscars and pacus. I'm sure that would have been heated. He hasn't posted in quite a while though. You may want to search for old posts of his that may discuss how he planned to deal with the humidity. He lives (or did) fairly close to me but I have sent him a couple emails in the last few months but got no response. I sent the emails through the forum so there possibly could have been a problem with them going through.

 

[MasterP]

i want an idoor pond with stingrays. well, good luck

 

[crazyelece]

A dehumidifier would work, however you would continuously be topping it off with water. Ever left the lid up or off on a tank, you can lose up to a couple gallons a week depending on the tank size. Just think what a pond would lose.

If you made the pond in a formal shape such as a square or rectangle, you could get a large piece of plexiglass and build a cover for it.

 

[andywg]

The best way to do this (as discovered by marein reefers who build 2000 to 4000+gallon reef tanks) is to build an extension on the outside of the house. This will stop the evaporated water from destroying your house (the reason the first guy who built a 4,000 gallon tank ripped it down). The fact the pond is on the outside of your house means the evaporation won't get in (unless you leave doors open etc.)

Then, you can just set up an extraction fan to outside to vent the extra moisture in the air. You will have to keep topping off, but then if you're doing a project this big you could easily incorporate an auto-top-off system (which would also eliminate the need for water changes too).

HIH

Andy

 

[smooth_bourbon]

a couple years ago when I was first on the fish forums there was a topic about an indoor goldie pond. It was super cool cause it was a big coffee table pond with a plexi glass cover on it. I would think this would work perfect for what you are talking about (I SO WISH I COULD FIND PICTURES OF IT NOW) anyways since it had a clear plexiglass cover you could still see and enjoy your fishies. Not to mention it was an awsome conversation piece, and the center focus of your room.

 

[Tropjunky]

How about a bit of glass to cover it then u could c them but also u'd beable to fix the humidity

 

[trace1]

have you not seen the pics on the 3.500 gallon tank thread. theres some pics on page 4 of some guy who has madehis indoor swimming pool into a freshwater pond, maybe you could find some info on there