Condensation on tank in summer..... Remedy

Now summer is here for us Aussies, I have a suggestion that helps greatly with condensation that occurs on our chilled tanks when the air gets humid.
Polish the exterior of the tank with shampoo. You only need a small amount on a paper towel,dampen the towel if no condensation present at time of polishing, otherwise condensation assists in spreading the shampoo. Once whole area is covered, polish off with dry paper towels.Do not wash off as this defeats the purpose, because the shampoo creates a barrier... inhibiting the formation of water on the outside surface of the tank. Be very careful not to get any shampoo inside tank... this solution meant for outside of tank only.
repeat process when condensation reappear, if water spills on tank between applications, just wipe over with paper towel, do not reapply shampoo unless condensation has reappear.
Remember only a small amount of shampoo is needed.Just enough to cause a slight film over the glass.

well i gave it a go and so far so good, its such a hassle because our humidity is about 90 per cent all the time and sometimes theres so much condensation on the floor that i have to check if the tank is leaking and i cant always see the little faces of my axies

with such high humidity, u may have to do it more often than I do, which can be generally every 2 or 3 weeks... some times longer... I am glad so far so good though.... smiles

Also good for mirrors in bathrooms, when they fog up during a shower...

(Message edited by jennycoyote on December 04, 2006)

I'm wondering if there might be something safer than shampoo. I would worry that, no matter how careful a person is, they might accidently get some in the tank, sooner or later. All it would take would be for the person to bump a wet siphon against the outside of the tank, then put it in the water...

I'd suggest trying some other things, like full-strength dechlorinating liquid (particularly the "thick" kind that contains slime-coat ingredients), or maybe petroleum jelly or cooking oil.

I did say a small amount....enough to create a slight film over the glass.....which needs to be polished off once applied. If one can't see through the glass on the tank, or it still looks foggy or milky then one has not polished it off enough, besides if it goes foggy, milky or overly sudsy then too much shampoo has been used.
The only way I could see it being transferred accidently into tank by a siphon for instance, is if so much was used that one couldn't see into the tank, because the shampoo was so thick because too much had been used and not polished off correctly. Why would anyone be so silly as to use so much that they can not see into the tank and watch their babies... may as well just put up with the condensation???
As for petroleum jelly or cooking oil, they are greasy, one could never get the glass to polish clear as I said earlier,one may as well put up with the condensation and the not being able to see their babies. I think the same greasy principle would apply to the declorinating liquid, with slime coat.

The only time one has to be careful when using this method, is when they apply it, DO NOT use to much and don't wipe it on so as drops or sudsy liquid falls into the tank.(and as I said if it's sudsy or there are drops?? then too much has been used. And be sure to polish it off with paper towel till the glass is completely clear.


Ok I tested the Cooking oil, as I suspected it leaves behind a greasy residue, can not get the glass completely clear. I did not have any petroleum jelly but feel confident that it would be even worse than the cooking oil, because it is thicker. Oh and the Slime coat based Dechlorating Liquid(Stress Coat) left behind a dry substance that only got dirtier from the paper towel.
Shampoo used in a small enough amount is greasy enough to apply thin film but not really greasy therefore is easy to polish off, and inhibits the formation of water on the surface of the glass. Humidity is a huge problem over here.

(Message edited by jennycoyote on December 05, 2006)

Hi Jenny,

Even a small amount of a surfactant like soap can be a problem to animals like axolotls as it can interfere with the animals' ability to breath and osmoregulate. Even a tiny amount can cause problems for the animal.

Ed

I certainly understand the condensation problem. I have this problem on the inside of one of my tanks, and wish I had a safe solution. I guess if oil doesn't work well, the petroleum jelly would indeed be worse.

I think I would relegate this suggestion (using shampoo) into the category of "things that may be perfectly safe for some, but shouldn't be given as public advice". There are a lot of kids and other inept people who read (or half-read) this forum. For them, using shampoo anywhere near an aquarium is a disaster waiting to happen. I hope you understand what I mean, and aren't offended.

OMG.... Yes I do understand the dangers, that's why I commented about not getting it in the tank..

If you think my suggest is wrong then delete it.

I tried to at least edit the original post but am unable to...because my instructions may not have been explicit enough.

One needs 2 or 3 drops of shampoo on a paper towel at the most for say a 4 foot tank, less for smaller. Mixed with a little water or the condensation on the tank,(usually the condensation) it is spread over the glass, then polish it off with dry paper towels till the glass is totally clean - clear. Condensation on our tanks is bad and there is a lot of water there to dilute the 2 or 3 drops of shampoo, the fact it has water mixed with the surfactant means it gets well polished off with the dry paper towel.

Having used this method last year and again once already this year, in my opinion the amount of surfactant left on the glass would be negligible...99.9999999999999% would have should have been removed by the paper towel when polishing the glass, I believe that one would need to roll the siphon or what ever over the complete surface of the treated glass, before even the smallest trace of surfactant could be detected, And even then I think one would be hard pressed to detect any...
But as I said, if you think my post/suggestion has the potential to be dangerous, then delete it,but since humidity it a big problem over here so much so people can have puddles of water under their tanks, I was just trying to help them, by sharing with them, what works for me...

I would not recommend using anything like dishwashing detergent or alike... due to it I believe being of a higher concentration of the said surfactant, because of it's grease cutting abilities.

Funny really looks like the only people reading this post anyway.. are you and Ed, and one other lady from Cairns, who says so far so good.. and I trust she didn't over use the shampoo. And from what she said, she had so much condensation that she had to keep checking the tank wasn't leaking... and couldn't see her babies faces. so if I have only help one person with the problem I am happy.

Yes I do agree there is potential for those who only half read information to get it wrong. But strangely I feel those who suffer the problem will have enough good sense to be responsible and follow instruction properly, especially since the communication between yourself Jennifer, Ed and myself has occurred.

Jenny stated the dangers and what to be careful of in her original post. Also this was a suggestion to help people who have the problem. i'm amazed that not 1 but 2 moderators found it necasary to negatively comment on the thread that is so helpful to a lot of people.


(Message edited by Ed on December 06, 2006)

Fair go mate - I'm not reading too much into what the mods are doing, whether they're power tripping or not - But I just took their posts for what they were - concerned warnings from experienced caudate owners. They were, in their own way, trying to help so that lesser experienced people don't accidentally kill their beloved axolotls. That's what I took away from it at least.

Thank you Dan for comments.... Though I don't feel the mods were negating my thread, but I was/am a little upset that it seemed all they saw was the word "Shampoo"

My remedy, when instructions are followed and good common sense is used.. works wonderfully with this very annoying problem.
I seriously don't believe there is anyone out there that would be so mindless to use so much shampoo that it could be potentially dangerous to their axies. And if there is, then they have probably already lost their axies to other means of tank contamination.
My mistake I guess is that i gave the reader too much credit.... ??????

I didn't see just the word shampoo, I understood that shampoo is a surfactant and according to Amphibian Medicine and Captive Husbandry (and associated literature) that surfactants (soaps) are not to be used in/on enclosures with aquatic amphibians. This is because even very small residues can be toxic and very irritating to the amphibians. This can even include residues that are left on a surface after repeated rinsing.

So it wasn't being negative to Jenny's idea or method but that there may be a significant risk according to the literature even with the tiny amount used.

Ed

What ever you lot.. this is just all so stupid...
what ever the intent of the mods... what ever my intent.... this has all turned into something it should never have become...

it's original purpose has been sooo lost... why did I even bother who knows...

A drop of vaseline (petroleum jelly) does indeed work well for me

i dont have problesm with condensation on my tanks but since adding my new 100ltr to my room i have major problems with condensation on my windows so i will try this on my windows

Jenny we don't have problems with tank condensation thankfully, but your tip has been extremely helpful in other areas of our house which get dripping condensation which constantly drives me nuts.