A Reefaholic's 1000+ Gallon Mixed Reef System Build

I got a Winix WDH851 50-Pint Dehumidifier with Pump.

It has a pump in it and the same tubing we use for rodi. I run it straight to the drain and it runs and drains with no problems.. I have it set and it cuts on and off as needed. It even adjust the fan speed as needed to maintain the humidity.
 
Guess I should make a clarification. I have a 70 pint dehumidifier in my basement which is roughly 1,700 Sq Ft. Since the wall is open and I've been keeping the door open, the humidity has been staying at 40% with the dehumidifier running and was what I kept it at before.

http://www.lowes.com/pd_406444-2555...pl=1&currentURL=?Ntt=dehumidifiers&facetInfo=

I guess my question is with the dehumidifier running in the living space in the basement, should I run air exchanger, exhaust fan, hrv, or just another dehumidifier in the room?
 
Dustin1300 said:
Guess I should make a clarification. I have a 70 pint dehumidifier in my basement which is roughly 1,700 Sq Ft. Since the wall is open and I've been keeping the door open, the humidity has been staying at 40% with the dehumidifier running and was what I kept it at before.

http://www.lowes.com/pd_406444-2555...pl=1&currentURL=?Ntt=dehumidifiers&facetInfo=

I guess my question is with the dehumidifier running in the living space in the basement, should I run air exchanger, exhaust fan, hrv, or just another dehumidifier in the room?
Click to expand...

If you can run an air exchanger that would be the best. That worked amazingly on my old 140g tank, where the dehumidifier just ran and ran and heated up the room.
 
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How much water volume did you have in total? I'm pushing 1000+ gallons and likely will be expanding my frag system once my tank is up and going:D
 
I'm looking into the same humidity control in my fishroom. I've concluded that an HRV for the cool dry months (Oct-May I'm in MN!) and a/c + dehumidifier in humid summer months is best. I think an exhaust fan can work but with your water volume I would go with an HRV + very large dehumidifier and maybe look into a mini split dedicated to your fishroom for A/C (temp control). 1000+ gallons is a ton of water! (I wish I had your problem!)
 
Dustin1300 said:
How much water volume did you have in total? I'm pushing 1000+ gallons and likely will be expanding my frag system once my tank is up and going:D
Click to expand...

I had a 140g tank and 100g sump. In the winter months the humidity shot up to around 70 percent. There was wate condensing on the windows and in the corners on some walls. Ugh. What a mess. The hrv cleared that up completely.

The most effective thing I did was duct the air out of the canopy on the tank and into the air sealed fish room. An hrv intake in that room did the rest. It even worked well in the summer to contain the humidity from the tank into the one room, and preventing it from adding massive load to my AC system.
 
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Dustin1300 said:
How much water volume did you have in total? I'm pushing 1000+ gallons and likely will be expanding my frag system once my tank is up and going:D
Click to expand...
Is your fishroom/basement where all this humidity is occurring fairly air tight? If so an exhaust fan blowing air out of the house will create a negative pressure in there, and having a vent to a nice-non humid part of the house will bring in drier air, essentially functioning like an air exchanger (minus the heat saving characteristics).
 
I would go with either a large air exchanger or do what I did.... I am putting a minisplit in my fish room. This way I control both temperature AND humidity.... the cost of the minisplit in electricity will be cheaper than the dehumidifier and it wont be on as much...best of both worlds IMHO.
 
Hummm... I have a dehumidifier and it has taken a good hit on the overall house humidity... I think I am at homeostasis now.
 
I've been looking into this a lot and I've spoke to quite a few people. I'm likely going to add a small exhaust fan in the room now with a humidistat. Basement is staying at a steady 40-45% as a whole right now with the dehumidifier running at full tilt. Waiting on an e-mail back but likely ordering an all plastic/ceramic fan from a hydroponics store online.

In the winter I might look to adding an HRV but think from now until ~October it makes sense to just push air out. I'm skeptical about putting an intake in the room as we're near a couple fields and surrounded by neighbors with well manicured lawns that treat them a lot with pesticides/herbicides. Don't exactly want that showing up in the tank room!
 
Dustin1300 said:
I'm skeptical about putting an intake in the room as we're near a couple fields and surrounded by neighbors with well manicured lawns that treat them a lot with pesticides/herbicides. Don't exactly want that showing up in the tank room!
Click to expand...

Make it a static intake. No fan assist. This will only pull as slow as the fan/house lets it. Most of your air is prob from windows and doors anyway.

Setting up a positive pressure fan/intake is a good idea, keep little fly bugs out. Not at such a pressure you get blown OUT the front door, just enough to get any cracks and holes to have a constant outflow. Maybe like 3-8 mmg with the house buttoned up.
 
In regards to the system, I've just started to have a bit of free time and have been working on tidying things up and determining next steps. Good news is the tank has been running with salt/water for about 2 weeks now with no LaCl and the phosphates only are at 10 ppb or .0306 ppm. When ordering some supplies from the mistake below, I'll likely be ordering some dosing pumps for the LaCl.

In running the tank by itself I've found a design flaw where I put the drain for the center closed loop in the overflow box that feeds the 8 loc-line outputs. When power goes out the water drains from main system to the box. I'm going to have to drain the water down about a foot and drill the back wall and route a new inlet for the closed loop so I fix my mistake. Also just got two 200 gallon vertical tanks delivered yesterday that I'll be using for an RO/DI storage and Saltwater storage.

I'll try to post some pictures soon but I picked up some nice coral last weekend at our annual frag swap!
 
Dustin1300 said:
Also just got two 200 gallon vertical tanks delivered yesterday that I'll be using for an RO/DI storage and Saltwater storage.

I'll try to post some pictures soon
Click to expand...

Good because I am looking at upgrading from my brute cans I use now.

What brand/manuf did you get?
 
I'll go ahead and give a weak update now, still need to snap some photos of the coral to show what I nabbed last weak at our 10th annual frag swap! Was able to secure a lot of nice SPS and got a pair of Buckshot Clowns as well as a pair of Platinum Clowns that are currently in QT. Everything has been really good minus a undata that I picked up and had receding tissue (likely from being in cooler thrown around all day)...I managed to clip it in half/dipped in Revive and got 1/2 a frag though.

Just wrapped up priming/painting the cabinetry yesterday and hung it up temporarily yesterday. Here's original design:


Phone pic of it:


Pic of the two tanks I had delivered. Gave it a bath and powerwashed but still have some streaks from the freight company handling. Can I use bleach diluted solution to clean the outsides?


More updates later.....:celeb1:
 
I had the same marks on my tanks when I got them from tank depot. I just sprayed them with vinegar and water, let sit for a few minutes, sprayed again and then wiped them down.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk 2
 
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