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Guitars and Salt Water Aquarium
Ok, here’s a question i haven’t seen on the forum before. I am thinking about adding a Salt Water Aquarium to my Art room/Guitar room. It would be a 32 gallon tank. It will be more of a reef tank than anything else. I have been on other forums and some say the salt doesn’t evaporate into the air some say they do. It will raise the humidity (which is good for me), we get pretty dry in the winters (Michigan). I’m looking at my gorgeous Taylor 562 right now and trying to imagine it with huge cracks in the surface (UGH!!). Can anyone give some insight?
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15 Replies
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This is a great question @Cadgirl – one with which I have zero experience. Looking forward to what everyone has to offer by way of experience and advice.
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I do know this @Cadgirl form chemistry courses, the salt (KCl, NaCl,MgCl, CaCl and others) will not evaporate into the air, but water (H2O) will. The warmer the air temperature (in the room) the more moisture can be held in the air (relative humidity).
Hope that helps, an aquarium sounds nice.
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@Cadgirl , Bill is right. There will not be any salt in the air from evaporation in the house. Only the humidity will increase with some water evaporation. Aquariums whether salt or fresh are great and are very peaceful to look at. This will be a great addition, but may require a fair amount of maintenance for a saltwater tank. Your guitars safe as long as the fish don’t splash any water on them. 🐠
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Very true @Bill_Brown regarding warmer air. It is why we are concerned with relative humidity and why we acclimate for temperature slowly so as to not create condensation. Temperature extreme will not hurt guitars but rapid temperature changes can create moisture where we don’t want it. A guitar coming in from a cold (40degree+) temperature could accumulate moisture when rapidly introduced to the warm environment. This works in reverse too. Taking a warm guitar into a cold space will force the trapped air to shed water as it cools. Humidipaks are a fantastic remedy for helping even out the cycle.
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I had a salt water tank years ago. Ha ha ha… talked to my nephew and he reminded me of the LED ‘day lights’ the night lights, the wave machines, etc. I would be tied down to the house because they need content maintenance. But, good to hear the water won’t affect anything. I still might get a tank, just go with fresh water instead. Thanks all.
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It’s funny how we forget things. Saltwater are content work. Vacations are out of the question because you have to babysit fish and coral. Power failures! The thought makes me cringe. But, i’m glad i made the post, so i won’t be afraid of putting in a fresh water tank.
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What a great question!! I never thought about fish tanks and guitars mixing before… This was a great discussion with lots of great advice 🙂
I’d keep a hygrometer in the room to monitor the relative humidity and temperature, especially with a fish tank. Too much humidity is more rare than not enough, but it can be just as bad for your guitars. Also I wouldn’t hang any guitars on the wall above the tank… One wrong move and it’s all over, oooops….
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Right now, my guitars are on the opposite side of where I would put a tank. But, i’m slowly migrating them to other rooms. If they are close by, I’m more to pick them up and play.
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Whether you go salt or fresh water; if you play guitar in that room; your fish will be very chill. 😉
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@Philb , I have a humidity monitor in my room. So i can keep an eye on it. I run a humidifier in my room in the winter and the humidity still stays on the low side so I think it would help. No, no no guitars are on the other side of the room.
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@Cadgirl
I was just trying to be clever; meaning chill as in cool; as they get mellow to the guitar playing. My wife says I miss on these occasionally, (and she is right 😂).I’m sure your fish are in good hands.
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@Philb I just want to keep it on the cheap side. I can lose interest in it really fast. The first time they all come down with ick or the water overflows. They’ll all be tossed out. 🙂
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It never fails to amaze me the diverse interests everyone has in the TAC community. I am sorry but am clueless on this topic, but enjoy the conversation never-the-less.
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@Cadgirl I’ve had aquariums before also; and while it’s an excellent hobby; it is a lot of work.
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@Philb , that’s what i keep thinking about. They are a lot of work. I have cats too, so I’d have to have a secure hood on it or i’d drown my cats. Then i priced them! EGADS.
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