Help With Hummidity Please
- Thread starter Medicine Man
- Start date
jnarowe
New member
Medicine Man: I have to disagree with much that has been said in this thread. Installing a dehumidifier in a tank room seems a lot like installing an AC unit in a commercial kitchen. Essentially the dehumidifier will try to evaporate your tank, and therefore be running 24/7.
I am no HVAC guy like some who have posted claim to be, but I also live in a fairly high humidity state and feel that my solution has worked quite well. However, I do NOT have any household appliances in my tank room other than my combo fridge/freezer!
Using a humidistat where you live will not give you the results you expect with an installation like mine. I have an exhaust fan with dual inlets and an outlet to outside the house. I also have an attic style vent in the wall and it is positioned under my outdoor deck for makeup air. This provides shaded (cool) intake air 24/7.
I had originally planned to control the exhaust fan with a temp. & humidity controller like used for green houses, but what I found was that when the humidity is high outside, the fan would cycle on and off continuously trying to lower the humidity inside with humid air from the outside. Now I just control it based on room temp.
The tank room has a sealed cement floor and the walls and ceiling are heavily coated with yacht bilge paint. The system works great and keeps my tanks in a relatively narrow temp. range while allowing fresh air to circulate within the room. I feel this is a very important aspect of controlling tank room conditions.
No doubt the rooms gets warm and there are times when there is condensation, particularly when I am running my RO/DI system, but the results are effective, very inexpensive to purchase and install, and very cheap electrically speaking. Be careful about over-complicating your install when there may be no real benefit.
I am no HVAC guy like some who have posted claim to be, but I also live in a fairly high humidity state and feel that my solution has worked quite well. However, I do NOT have any household appliances in my tank room other than my combo fridge/freezer!
Using a humidistat where you live will not give you the results you expect with an installation like mine. I have an exhaust fan with dual inlets and an outlet to outside the house. I also have an attic style vent in the wall and it is positioned under my outdoor deck for makeup air. This provides shaded (cool) intake air 24/7.
I had originally planned to control the exhaust fan with a temp. & humidity controller like used for green houses, but what I found was that when the humidity is high outside, the fan would cycle on and off continuously trying to lower the humidity inside with humid air from the outside. Now I just control it based on room temp.
The tank room has a sealed cement floor and the walls and ceiling are heavily coated with yacht bilge paint. The system works great and keeps my tanks in a relatively narrow temp. range while allowing fresh air to circulate within the room. I feel this is a very important aspect of controlling tank room conditions.
No doubt the rooms gets warm and there are times when there is condensation, particularly when I am running my RO/DI system, but the results are effective, very inexpensive to purchase and install, and very cheap electrically speaking. Be careful about over-complicating your install when there may be no real benefit.
jnarowe
New member
That's kind of a funny post mcrist. I am not sure I really understand it. As far as I know, our tanks are constantly evaporating into the ambient air with a rate that varies based on tank water temp., ambient air temp. and humidity and other factors.
Wouldn't keeping the ambient air humidity artificially low encourage more evaporation? Isn't evaporation the process of equalization?
My point being that each installation is unique in some way, but I think that dehumidifying a tank room is a very innefficient means to control ambient humidity when you can just exhaust the wet air and replace it with fresh outside air. This helps stabilize the CO2 in the tank room as well right?
If your house is "naturally dry" then it follows suit that your whole house dehumidifier wouldn't run very often. The question is, do you have a tank room and what is the humidity inside it? And if you do, what is the result of any sweating? My tank room does have sweating due to heat and humidity, but I prepared the room properly, sealed it off from the house, and my electric bill is only bumped about $70/month to run multiple tanks with a display volume of 1000g, no chiller, no dehumidifier, and heaters that never turn on.
And the salt air is great for my sinuses!! I love hanging out in the tank room, having a beer, and breathing in that humid salt air...
Wouldn't keeping the ambient air humidity artificially low encourage more evaporation? Isn't evaporation the process of equalization?
My point being that each installation is unique in some way, but I think that dehumidifying a tank room is a very innefficient means to control ambient humidity when you can just exhaust the wet air and replace it with fresh outside air. This helps stabilize the CO2 in the tank room as well right?
If your house is "naturally dry" then it follows suit that your whole house dehumidifier wouldn't run very often. The question is, do you have a tank room and what is the humidity inside it? And if you do, what is the result of any sweating? My tank room does have sweating due to heat and humidity, but I prepared the room properly, sealed it off from the house, and my electric bill is only bumped about $70/month to run multiple tanks with a display volume of 1000g, no chiller, no dehumidifier, and heaters that never turn on.
And the salt air is great for my sinuses!! I love hanging out in the tank room, having a beer, and breathing in that humid salt air...
mcrist
Premium Member
Yes your tank will always evaporate regardless on the humidity in the room. And yes removing the water in the air is an endless cycle since your tank will just raise the humidity again. My point was just that a dehumidifier will not run constantly (unless it is undersized) just because you have a fish tank. A dehumidifier will not pull water from a fish tank just the moisture from the air.
Venting humid air outside will cause the same effect as reducing the humidity by a dehumidifier except you will have a lot more control of what the humidity level will be. If your room is at 70% humidity and the outside air is at 60% you will not gain much by venting, but even worse what if the outside air is at 90%.
You got me with the C02; a dehumidifier will never help you with that one.
I live in the northeast which requires heating the house over the winter months. My humidity levels in my house naturally drop during those months and I don’t need much to drop my humidity levels. Actually before my tank I used to have a humidifier for the winter months. My fish tank now performs that role for me.
My fish room is actually my entire basement and my humidity for my entire house is usually between 38 â€"œ 45%. I try to keep my humidity at any level under 50%.
Venting humid air outside will cause the same effect as reducing the humidity by a dehumidifier except you will have a lot more control of what the humidity level will be. If your room is at 70% humidity and the outside air is at 60% you will not gain much by venting, but even worse what if the outside air is at 90%.
You got me with the C02; a dehumidifier will never help you with that one.
I live in the northeast which requires heating the house over the winter months. My humidity levels in my house naturally drop during those months and I don’t need much to drop my humidity levels. Actually before my tank I used to have a humidifier for the winter months. My fish tank now performs that role for me.
My fish room is actually my entire basement and my humidity for my entire house is usually between 38 â€"œ 45%. I try to keep my humidity at any level under 50%.
jnarowe
New member
hmmm...I just checked the humidity of my tank room and it is at 70%...that's about typical based on how it feels, but I know it goes much higher at times.
And clearly my method does not have the control of using a dehumidifier. I also allow my tank to swing between 76.5F and 81F.
And clearly my method does not have the control of using a dehumidifier. I also allow my tank to swing between 76.5F and 81F.
jnarowe
New member
very tight. I know a lot of reefers keep their temps. very stable like that. Mine rarely goes above 80F but I have 81F set as the high-side limit.
I prefer to have more of a night & day temp. cycle. And when I used the seasonal program in the AC III Pro, it had even wider temp. swings seasonally, but not daily.
So having the tank near a window doesn't affect the temp. much? Are you running a chiller too? (Sorry if you already answered that!)
Your tank install is interesting too, especially with the Loc-Line coming out of the sand. Looks like black eels! I don't think I have ever seen anyone do that.
I prefer to have more of a night & day temp. cycle. And when I used the seasonal program in the AC III Pro, it had even wider temp. swings seasonally, but not daily.
So having the tank near a window doesn't affect the temp. much? Are you running a chiller too? (Sorry if you already answered that!)
Your tank install is interesting too, especially with the Loc-Line coming out of the sand. Looks like black eels! I don't think I have ever seen anyone do that.
8BALL_99
New member
If he lives in an area of very High Humidity and he wants to keep the humidity in his fish room low then he needs a dehumidifer. You have to remeber he said his Equipment room is his furnace / water heater room. His Furnace probably doesn't need to sit in a room with 90% humidity. Not to mention alot of people just with basements need dehumidifers with out even having a tank.
Dehumidifers won't suck all the water out of your tank.. It just doesn't work like that.. Will his tank have higher evaporation.. Sure Probably. Not much though inless he has alot of fans blowing over the water for heat problems.. If for example he had Exhaust fans bringing fresh dry air in from outside and he was venting humid air out. He would be doing the Exact same thing as running a dehumidifer.. But his problem is the air outside is no dryer then the air inside so he needs a way to take out the moisture.. His only real options are either leave the room with High humidity, or add either a dehumidifer or an AC to the room..
Dehumidifers won't suck all the water out of your tank.. It just doesn't work like that.. Will his tank have higher evaporation.. Sure Probably. Not much though inless he has alot of fans blowing over the water for heat problems.. If for example he had Exhaust fans bringing fresh dry air in from outside and he was venting humid air out. He would be doing the Exact same thing as running a dehumidifer.. But his problem is the air outside is no dryer then the air inside so he needs a way to take out the moisture.. His only real options are either leave the room with High humidity, or add either a dehumidifer or an AC to the room..
mcrist
Premium Member
Sorry I am not trying to hijack this thread away from Medicine Man.
I have not noticed any issues with my tank near a window and sliding glass door. No chiller needed yet but I still have my old one from my last tank.
That was my idea to keep a water flow above the sand so I donââ"šÂ¬Ã¢"žÂ¢t get a detritus buildup on the sand. I wish I could shorten it now that I have them in my tank.
dsandfort
Premium Member
It looks like the original question is getting lost in the shuffle. It also looks like we need more information from Medicine Man to answer. Another consideration is very serious. If he creates too much of a negative pressure in his fish/furnace room, he could pull combustion gas (CO) from the furnace vent back into the house. So...
1. How much inside humidity are you willing to accept? 2. What levels of humidity are typical in your outside air? And 3. Does your fish/furnace room have outside makeup air now or can you supply some if needed?
I live with a giant de-humidifier called Colorado. Our winter humidity rarely exceeds 30% and summer 50% so I can easily control inside levels by pumping it out with a fan, like Jnarowe (AC in the summer also helps). Unlike Jnarowe, I can't accept 70% inside humidity because of the unfinished nature of my fish room and the fact that we Coloradoans wilt in high humidity.
So, i guess the current answer is "it depends".
1. How much inside humidity are you willing to accept? 2. What levels of humidity are typical in your outside air? And 3. Does your fish/furnace room have outside makeup air now or can you supply some if needed?
I live with a giant de-humidifier called Colorado. Our winter humidity rarely exceeds 30% and summer 50% so I can easily control inside levels by pumping it out with a fan, like Jnarowe (AC in the summer also helps). Unlike Jnarowe, I can't accept 70% inside humidity because of the unfinished nature of my fish room and the fact that we Coloradoans wilt in high humidity.
So, i guess the current answer is "it depends".
clutch
Premium Member
Yup no doubt!
So the air is saturated grains of moisture.... so is outside. I would be concerned, Me myself i would protect the control board of the furnace(laquer spray), and all components. My furnace is in the fish room with no concern but i can get more 24% WBT with a sling. I would be also concerned about the windings in the motors. One thing i have found is that i have a flame sensor on my furnace and it is more coroded but i don't think that would be humidity (i think the gas has been added more mercaptan) but you nvr know.
Good luck
So the air is saturated grains of moisture.... so is outside. I would be concerned, Me myself i would protect the control board of the furnace(laquer spray), and all components. My furnace is in the fish room with no concern but i can get more 24% WBT with a sling. I would be also concerned about the windings in the motors. One thing i have found is that i have a flame sensor on my furnace and it is more coroded but i don't think that would be humidity (i think the gas has been added more mercaptan) but you nvr know.
Good luck
law086
Premium Member
I live in the northeast so we have fairly humid summers here. I solved my humidity problems with an LG 65 pint dehumidifier. It was some of the best money I've spent having the piece of mind that my humidity level can stay below 50%. Without it, I was up in the 80s.
It can be a bit on the loud side, but I don't spend a lot of time in my basement so it's not a big deal. It consumes in the area of 600 watts, so it's a bit of a power hog. I'm thinking about putting it on a timer and only running it at night.
Ron
It can be a bit on the loud side, but I don't spend a lot of time in my basement so it's not a big deal. It consumes in the area of 600 watts, so it's a bit of a power hog. I'm thinking about putting it on a timer and only running it at night.
Ron
Medicine Man
Premium Member
In my old house (still in Springfield, MO) I had a dehumidifier about 7 feet away from the tank to help with humidity in the house. We were dying from heat because the air conditioner had to work so hard to remove the excess humidity that the coolest our house would get was about 80 degrees with 75% humidity, at night. After buying the dehumidifier the temp in the house stayed in the upper 70's but the humidity level stayed around 55% which made it seem much cooler. It did make the tank evaporate about 1 to 1.5 gallons per day more than before adding the dehumidifier but the change in ambient temp was very welcome. The only problem was the dehumidifier only lasted about 3 months and by that time it was late fall. Our new house has 2 air conditioners (one for basement and middle floor and one for the upstairs). The humidity in our house stays at about 55-60% so far but the humidity in the fish room is about 90%. The outside humidity here stays near 90% from late April until about October now.
My fish room is not "Sealed" from the rest of the basement. Only a layer of dry wall separates it from the rest of the basement. Basically its a finished basement with an unfinished fish room. Here is a picture of the room we have been talking about.
My fish room is not "Sealed" from the rest of the basement. Only a layer of dry wall separates it from the rest of the basement. Basically its a finished basement with an unfinished fish room. Here is a picture of the room we have been talking about.
dsandfort
Premium Member
Scary thoughts come in to my head too, but only when I .....Oh never mind.
Jonathan=you have a sealed fish room and as I see your pictures, it will handle the humidity.
My concern is negative pressure when a furnace/water heater is present in the room. This could be life threatening.
Jonathan=you have a sealed fish room and as I see your pictures, it will handle the humidity.
My concern is negative pressure when a furnace/water heater is present in the room. This could be life threatening.
jnarowe
New member
I learned that lesson years ago when I worked in commercial kitchens. Those exhaust hoods can suck your brains right out if there is no incoming makeup air! :lol:
I know other local reefers that have their equipment in multi-function rooms like laundry or heaters. It wouldn't be my first choice, but sometimes these compromises must be made. It's very important, especially when flame heat is used, that there is a good supply of air turnover IMO regardless of whether a tank is nearby.
The garage in a house I just stayed in at Keystone Ranch had two locked furnace/water heater closets and the garage always smelled like there was some kind of imbalance from the gas fired heaters.
Anyway, I think all aquariums should have access to fresh air from the outside anyway, so even if I had an in-viewing room install, I would do my best to duct in fresh air.
The motor windings thing has me thinking though!
I know other local reefers that have their equipment in multi-function rooms like laundry or heaters. It wouldn't be my first choice, but sometimes these compromises must be made. It's very important, especially when flame heat is used, that there is a good supply of air turnover IMO regardless of whether a tank is nearby.
The garage in a house I just stayed in at Keystone Ranch had two locked furnace/water heater closets and the garage always smelled like there was some kind of imbalance from the gas fired heaters.
Anyway, I think all aquariums should have access to fresh air from the outside anyway, so even if I had an in-viewing room install, I would do my best to duct in fresh air.
The motor windings thing has me thinking though!
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