Basement aqariums
- Thread starter lowman31
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Neogenocide
New member
I have my 180g DT on the first floor, but a 125g sump in the basement. I run a dehumidifier to keep everything in check. It drains directly into my sump pump hole so I never have to worry about emptying the bin.
You can easily eliminate the humidity by creating a positive air pressure in the basement.
Two fans pulling/pushing air from your living space above into the basement, one fan pulling/pushing air out of the basement.
I created this same system in my fish shed which is adjacent the wall my tank is at. The shed is located in my sideyard and is about 40 ft sq. I use the nemomarine 6 fan system. 4 fans in, 2 fans out. It works perfectly. You will need larger fans most likely.
Ken
Two fans pulling/pushing air from your living space above into the basement, one fan pulling/pushing air out of the basement.
I created this same system in my fish shed which is adjacent the wall my tank is at. The shed is located in my sideyard and is about 40 ft sq. I use the nemomarine 6 fan system. 4 fans in, 2 fans out. It works perfectly. You will need larger fans most likely.
Ken
prop-frags
SPS Slave
Thanks for the replies.
JEFF000: I am in ohio so we can get some very high humidity outside. i figure that when it gets high outside I am just screwed. Other times the humidity in the rest of the house is around 52% while the humidity in the basement is 65-70%. This was a bad summer for humidity but I really want to control it. I thought about the dehumidifier but shyed away because it sounds inefficent. It might be my next move though.
kjcinc: How much air movement do you get with your fans?
prop-frags: Good ideas in that post. I still need some time to look into the mini-splits. I have thought about getting and air exchanger. Now that sounds efficent but I don't know how well it will work in the humid summer.
JEFF000: I am in ohio so we can get some very high humidity outside. i figure that when it gets high outside I am just screwed. Other times the humidity in the rest of the house is around 52% while the humidity in the basement is 65-70%. This was a bad summer for humidity but I really want to control it. I thought about the dehumidifier but shyed away because it sounds inefficent. It might be my next move though.
kjcinc: How much air movement do you get with your fans?
prop-frags: Good ideas in that post. I still need some time to look into the mini-splits. I have thought about getting and air exchanger. Now that sounds efficent but I don't know how well it will work in the humid summer.
RParker
Member
There is an 8" Cold air return in the main room the fish tank is in. There are also two cold air returns pulling from the main floor that I choke down in the summer. It helps with pulling the cooler air out of the basement to cool the rest of the house along with pulling out the humidity.
Jeremy Blaze
Former Reef Addict
I thought 50-60% humidity was good in the house, much dryer and it plays havoc on the wood in your home.
Just a little update. I got my humidity down. Over last couple of weeks the humidity has ranged from 50-62%. The changes I made: I got a dehumidifier and got a vent opening into the basement. Now I am trying to deal with the heat from the dehumidifier. Won't be a big deal until next summer so I have some time to plan. Thanks for all the input.
The last week I shut off the dehumidifier because my humidity has been low and to my surprise the humidity didn't rise much...until it started raining outside. I think the dehumidifier was doing only a little good and the increased air circ was doing more. The biggest improvement came when I turned the air conditioner back on I hadn't been running it because the temp outside was in the low 70's. The other day the temp went up to 78 so I turned the A/C on and when I got home from work, the humidity was back in the 50's. I am interested to see what happens over the winter. I am guessing I won't have any problem.
CreativeGuy
Creature Morpheus ...
Hello Lowman,
You should be cautioned, your a/c (furnace) expends about 50% of its energy in Ohio/Michigan/Southern Ontario in the summer time condensating moisture out of the air. That is not an issue with outside or humid air. However, doing so with salt water can create several problems: (a) the salt water condensation that occurs can cause rapid deterioration of your A-coil inside your furnace; (b) salt accumulation within your fins of your coil; (c) in the winter, the furnace shall circulate the salt air which may post other issues in your home with corrosion on electrical and electronics.
You should look into installing an Heat Recovery Ventilator (HRV) to continually vent from near the sources (tank, filtration equipment, sumps) and brings fresh air back into the house. There are some pictures and discussions on HRV in my thread on here "CreatureMorpheus, 3,000g+ multi-tank system" if you like more information (postings around #26 through #35 or so. You could also check out "Fantach.com" which is a manufacturer of HRVs.
You should be cautioned, your a/c (furnace) expends about 50% of its energy in Ohio/Michigan/Southern Ontario in the summer time condensating moisture out of the air. That is not an issue with outside or humid air. However, doing so with salt water can create several problems: (a) the salt water condensation that occurs can cause rapid deterioration of your A-coil inside your furnace; (b) salt accumulation within your fins of your coil; (c) in the winter, the furnace shall circulate the salt air which may post other issues in your home with corrosion on electrical and electronics.
You should look into installing an Heat Recovery Ventilator (HRV) to continually vent from near the sources (tank, filtration equipment, sumps) and brings fresh air back into the house. There are some pictures and discussions on HRV in my thread on here "CreatureMorpheus, 3,000g+ multi-tank system" if you like more information (postings around #26 through #35 or so. You could also check out "Fantach.com" which is a manufacturer of HRVs.
CreativeGuy
Creature Morpheus ...
Sorry the spelling was incorrect fantech.
maroun.c
New member
Isn't 60 a good humidity level?
My dehumidifier has 60 as default humidity setting. I can of course bring it lower but when it's shut down it reverts to 60.
Got a frag system in my basement with a couple of fish and Coral quarantine tanks and a cube and the humidity went really high till I added 6 inch vent tubing and a Turbine blowing air outside. Will be adding one pushing air in. Humidity is around 65 without dehumidifier. I prefer to not run the dehumidifier unless really needed due to heat it produces.
My dehumidifier has 60 as default humidity setting. I can of course bring it lower but when it's shut down it reverts to 60.
Got a frag system in my basement with a couple of fish and Coral quarantine tanks and a cube and the humidity went really high till I added 6 inch vent tubing and a Turbine blowing air outside. Will be adding one pushing air in. Humidity is around 65 without dehumidifier. I prefer to not run the dehumidifier unless really needed due to heat it produces.
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