I need some Help with this!! --- indoor pond

[CoraltheClownfish]

I am planning on making a large indoor pond for FW stingrays at my high school. This tank is going to be 10' x 6' x 1' so roughly 450 gallons. I want this to be indoors due to the extreme Florida weather. The problem is that my teacher thinks that this is going to cause mold to grow in the room. So is this true and if there would any way to prevent this. Any help would be greatly appreciated.

 

[CoraltheClownfish]

Anyone?

 

[Bige]

The tank would cause humidity. Mold, I dont think so. I have had 2 very large tanks side by side in a room that was very small. I had no mold. Just fyi, freshwater stingrays are pretty hard to keep. Make sure you do your homework. They are cool though. I have kept them in the past but they are illegal here now.

 

[CoraltheClownfish]

Ok thanks for that info I really appreciate it.

 

[jsoong]

Indoor ponds are pretty common in Canada ... You shouldn't have too much problem with mold in the room provided that:
1. The room is of a good size & well ventilated (so it doesn't get too humid).
2. There is not too much of a temperature variation - pond to room & also daily variation of the temp in the room - so there will be minimal condensation. <Also the room need to be fairly well insulated if you are in Canada - otherwise water will condense on the cold wall & that will give you mold ... But I don't suppose freezing weather is a problem in Florida!>

Our kid's school has an indoor pond (goldfish). It is in the central atrium (no outside walls) about 2-3000 sq feet and a 16' ceiling. No problems with condensation at all. <Of course, we have very dry winter in Alberta, so humidity is never a problem.... might not be able to generalize to very humid locales...>

Finally, a shallow pond has much higher surface area for evaporation, compared to tanks (esp. tanks with canopies), so the 2 are not totally comparable.

 

[CoraltheClownfish]

Ok well this winter and the last here in Florida have been unusually cold like one day it was in the teens (Farenheit) and then during the summer it is like an oven outside. the roms are pretty well insulated I believe being warm in the winter and cool during the summer. That is the reason why it is going to be inside. Mold or not, I highly doubt that there will be any with the upkeep of the room

 

[mr_X]

i recently broke down a 400+ gallon system that was in the basement. we did see mold, upstairs on the window sills and in the corner of the room, behind the couch, on the tile floor, in the basement.
it wasn't until i added a 12" exhaust fan in the tank room that ran 24/7 did it subside.
there would be puddles of water on the window sills. the evap was around 4 gallons a day.

that said, you could buy one of these, and be able to add some other fish as well-
American Farmland Round Tank 8 x 2 in Plastic - 2177188 | Tractor Supply Company

 

[CoraltheClownfish]

thanks Mr. X for that link and the info I will look into designing an exhaust fan into the room