Dehumidifier or exhaust fan?
- Thread starter steveboo
- Start date
capncapo
New member
Evaporative cooling is great but what happens on days when the humidity levels are high enough that not much evaporation takes place?
With no A/C it certainly sounds like a sauna is to be expected unless the summer temperatures remain cool and outdoor humidity levels remain low.
With no A/C it certainly sounds like a sauna is to be expected unless the summer temperatures remain cool and outdoor humidity levels remain low.
steve the plumb
In Memoriam
On large tanks you are looking at 6 MH bulbs at at least 250 watts.I don't care what people say you won't be able to keep the tank cool and the house cool without controling the humidity and the temp.If you have a newer home that has central a/c its not the same.With an air recover unit and central a/c you can at least control the house temp and humidity.Don't kid yourself because depending on your home unit(how old and how well it works) it may not be enough.I was talking to a guy with a 220 and he has central a/c his tank is in the basement.Wich in most homes the basment is the coldest whne you have central air.He was complaining about the tank water getting to high,86 degrees in the summer.He went and bought a chiller.I can remember I removed my a/c unit in September then 4 days later I had to reinstall it because the temp went up again.When I had 1 x 250 watt mh I wasn't to bad but that wasn't enough light.I added another 2 x 150 watt pendants and that was it,had no choice but to run the a/c unit 24/7 and I still had humidity of 60% with a room temp of 76 degrees I couldn't get the room cooler with a 10 000 btu unit.Keep in mind my unit was a portable maytag and the portables (I find) are not as powerfull as the window units.
jnarowe
New member
careful guys...I have three 1000W MH lamps on my system and only use evaporative cooling, and I am in a high ambient humidity state.
But I designed my system around low electrical usage and installed my tank in a tank room. I have fans that blow between the display water and the lamps, and an exhaust fan to push warm air out. The make-up air comes in through an attic style vent under my deck.
The tank room averages between 78F and 80F so let's just say, I don't need heaters. And with the evaporative cooling, I don't need a chiller either. The room was prepped to withstand the humidity and is sealed off from the house with extra thick walls and a weather-stripped door.
But I designed my system around low electrical usage and installed my tank in a tank room. I have fans that blow between the display water and the lamps, and an exhaust fan to push warm air out. The make-up air comes in through an attic style vent under my deck.
The tank room averages between 78F and 80F so let's just say, I don't need heaters. And with the evaporative cooling, I don't need a chiller either. The room was prepped to withstand the humidity and is sealed off from the house with extra thick walls and a weather-stripped door.
JCTewks
In Memoriam
Prugs: actually we don't leave the windows open in the summer, only at night. the house stays pretty cool...lot's of trees around. I don't really want to be opening the windows during the day and letting a lot of heat in just to get a little humidity out.
I am really hoping not to have to use a chiller.
like I said earlier, I am not worried about humidity from the basement sump and raceway...only what is on the main floor of the house. does anyone think it will work if I just cover the main display tanks to keep evaporation/humidity down?? I will be using Halides...i just don't think that flourescents will adequately light a 36" deep tank.
Jeff
I am really hoping not to have to use a chiller.
like I said earlier, I am not worried about humidity from the basement sump and raceway...only what is on the main floor of the house. does anyone think it will work if I just cover the main display tanks to keep evaporation/humidity down?? I will be using Halides...i just don't think that flourescents will adequately light a 36" deep tank.
Jeff
steve the plumb
In Memoriam
I had plexiglass covering my 150 and evaporation rate was 6 gal per 5 days.It doubled when I took the plexiglass out.Jnarowe you built your sump room according to your set up and its great.The problem is not everyone has that option.I myself can say that I can place my tank in my basement and have my sump in the garage.If I get a dehumidifier(a good one) this can work for me because no one would see it.I am still stuck having a portable a/c in the basement or using the portable in the garage.I am going with t5 lighting to try and save on the heat.Many have had good results.Yes you need more bulbs but its not a bad idea to use t5.If you cover your tank you will slow evaporation rate.You can add a fan.I had one flowing across the tank this lowered temp by 2 degrees.It wasn't enough.I would also expect if you have no windows open(fresh air) you will suffer from low ph as I did.Kalk dosing helped with auto top off.I think when I start up again it will be something to look into.I would think this unit can be set to a specific humidity level.It may not have to run 24/7.I would think that even though my basement and garge (have a door to connect) are next to each other I would have to have some kind of vent to remove humidity.My wife has this thing with bugs.She had it in her head that we were getting bugs in the house due to the humidity from the tank.Not true.Another thing you may try is a european style a/c unit.I installed an 18 000 btu unit upstairs (sanyo) works great and has a setting if you just want to remove humidity.
JCTewks
In Memoriam
thanks guys....i just need to figure out a plan now to make it all work. thinking about just using a dehumidifier/AC unit to get the temp/humidity down in the tank room....hopefully with a high turnover I can keep the main display temp down.
Will Halides that are say 24-30" above the raceway add to the thermal load a lot?
Jeff
Will Halides that are say 24-30" above the raceway add to the thermal load a lot?
Jeff
steve the plumb
In Memoriam
I had the tank covered but left about 4 inches in the back.If you have the room in a canopy you can place fans like prugs did.MH bulbs should be placed a good 8 to 10 inches above the tank to get a nice spread.You should us plexiglass to prevent any uv damage to corals.Some kind of shield should be used.
JCTewks
In Memoriam
On the DIsplay tanks upstairs it will be done as prugs so beautifuly showed. I am thinking 4 250 watt MH in a sealed Canopy with venting to and from outside to keep the humidity down....I think. The MH on the raceway i am hoping to keep high enough from the water to have easy access to the frags and colonies. I guess my real questions are: Will MH at say 24" above the surface(with a reflector that will allow most of the light to stay in the tank) increase the temp in the tank. really, is it the light bulb and reflector making the heat, or the light itself when it hits the water? Also, If i allow the sealed from the house fish room to remain at higher humidity, will that cause any problems?
I know this is a little off topic, but there seem to be a lot of years of reefkeeping involved in this thread.
Jeff
I know this is a little off topic, but there seem to be a lot of years of reefkeeping involved in this thread.
Jeff
prugs
Moving Out
You have to think redundancy in your design. What can go wrong will, & you don't want to loose everything.
With an enclosed canopy, what happens when the fan fails?
Will you have a controller that will shut down the lights, when the tank temp gets too high?
If the controller malfunctions do you have enough built in safety margin?
Big tank = big investment
I keep the top open.
With an enclosed canopy, what happens when the fan fails?
Will you have a controller that will shut down the lights, when the tank temp gets too high?
If the controller malfunctions do you have enough built in safety margin?
Big tank = big investment
I keep the top open.
JCTewks
In Memoriam
Prugs, how are you controlling humidity with the top open? are the fans just for evap. cooling?, not for exhaust? I def.want redundancy in this setup. Just trying to cover all of the bases before I set this whole thing up, and 2 years later have mold growing inside my walls.
Jeff
Jeff
prugs
Moving Out
We only run the heat when needed. My wife likes the summer breeze.
If the tank can't keep up with the heat we turn on the air cond.
We do use more top off water to keep up with the evaporation in the summer. The fans run all the time the lights are on during the hot days of the summer. Right now the fans never kick on, just the 500 watts of heaters. I have 3 fans the same size blowing on the sump to keep temp stable in the summer. If it's too hot for sleeping we turn the air on. The dehumidifier is mostly for the winter, we have a very tight house.
If the tank can't keep up with the heat we turn on the air cond.
We do use more top off water to keep up with the evaporation in the summer. The fans run all the time the lights are on during the hot days of the summer. Right now the fans never kick on, just the 500 watts of heaters. I have 3 fans the same size blowing on the sump to keep temp stable in the summer. If it's too hot for sleeping we turn the air on. The dehumidifier is mostly for the winter, we have a very tight house.
JB NY
Active member
I think a lot depends on where you live. I live in the northeast, on Long Island. Summer is high 80 to mid 90 with humidity sometimes 80% or more for a few weeks. There is just no way evaporative cooling is going to work with that kind of humidity outside. You can run the AC when it's real hot, but that means you have to always be home when it's hot or run the AC all the time, not an option for many people. If you live in an area such as mine I really can't see you not getting a chiller, why would you spends thousands of dollars on a reef only to be worried your cooling methods could easily fail and wipe out the tank?
Everyone has different experience with a dehumidifier. I have a whirlpool from a few years ago that is loud, but it's in the basement, and it easily keeps the humidly at 45% in the summer. The heat it puts out is nothing compared to the chiller. An exhaust fan I think is worth considering, you just have to figure out how you are going to replace the air leaving? If it is from the outside and it real humid it seems that you are defeating the purpose.
Don't really have an answer as I am trying to decide to keep my dehumidifier setup or use some kind of a vent system.
Everyone has different experience with a dehumidifier. I have a whirlpool from a few years ago that is loud, but it's in the basement, and it easily keeps the humidly at 45% in the summer. The heat it puts out is nothing compared to the chiller. An exhaust fan I think is worth considering, you just have to figure out how you are going to replace the air leaving? If it is from the outside and it real humid it seems that you are defeating the purpose.
Don't really have an answer as I am trying to decide to keep my dehumidifier setup or use some kind of a vent system.
