How do you keep basement humidity under control?

magdelan

magdelan

Fish?
We have a mold problem in our basement. We had a specialist come out yesterday to give us a remediation estimate. He told us that one of the main contributing factors to the mold in the basement is my 120g Sump and 30g refugium.

What can I do to remedy this?

I would really like to hear from those with basement setups with large systems.
 
dehumidistat

dehumidistat

I have a 120 dt and 110 rm sump. My sump is near a window so I hung plactic from rafters above. kind of made a room out of plastic. and put a bathroom fan in window hooked to a dehumidistat stays under 55% for me
with about 200 gal of 80 deg. water. But my basement is unfinished
 
I use exhaust fans. I have to 4" muffin fans always going. This is enough in the winter, I need something else in the summer.
 
When installing exhaust fans in the basement you have to be careful not to draw too much air especially during the winter. If you do there is the possibility of pulling furnace exhaust fumes back into the house.
 
great Q, my 300 gal sump is in the middle of basement, and not near a window. I'd like to keep the humidity low without losing too much water via evaporation.
 
I have a dehumidifier a few feet from my sump. We don't really get mold in the basement, but we do get rust on objects up to 20 feet from the sump.

Aeration is very important for basements with sumps. If you have basement windows or bilco doors, simply open them up during the summer to get a cross breese running through the basement.

Whatever you do, DO NOT cover up the sump with wood, plastic or celophane wrap. I covered up my sump a few years ago--worst reefing mistake of my life. Almost everything bleached out. Could have been increased temperature, or it could have been solely attributed to lack of gas exchange...

Steve
 
I have a 75 gallon aquarium sump and a dehumidifier in the basement. If necessary I cover the sump with some acrylic tops.
My basement is usually extremely dry.
 
I found that a typical bathroom fan was not enough. I got a spa exhaust fan. They move more air. As others have stated, a dehumidifyer, properly sized, and an open window can work wonders.
 
solRNY said:
am curious to what your RH is in the basement?
Click to expand...

The mold specialist began calibrating the RH in the basement....when it got to 56% he said, "This is high enough." and then shut it off.

I am going to look into a spa fan. I will then have to enclose the area around the sump making a room. This will ensure maximum suction of the air in that room.

Who carries these fans...Home Depot, Lowes, etc.?
 
wow, only 56% and thats wreaking havoc, thanks so much for the data :)
please keep us up todate, i personally will be following to learn :)
 
reefman5511 said:
When installing exhaust fans in the basement you have to be careful not to draw too much air especially during the winter. If you do there is the possibility of pulling furnace exhaust fumes back into the house.
Click to expand...

Bears repeating! If you're sucking air OUT of a space, you need a route to replace it - just as critical. Ideally, a heat recovery ventilation system:

http://www.popularmechanics.com/home/improvement/interior/1275121

You can always just run a dehumidifier but they're not very energy efficient and tend to create other problems near fish tanks (too much heat). Or an A/C unit, but again - expensive to run.

On my 360g I'm just planning to minimize evaporation, get plenty of air movement near the tank (in/out of the stand), and cross my fingers. :lol: If there's a problem, I'll put an HRV in the basement feeding air in/out of the tank area.
 
I have Aprox 400 gal in basment and had a huge prob with humidity and corosion. my solution was a trip to the big box store for the largest dehumidifer they had. I purchased the an LG 60 qt unit ( i think it was a while back) thing ran on high for two days non stop to dry up the water that had accumulated on walls and floor. now it runs about 20% of the day at a 55% humidity setting fan speed on low. havent had a damp spot that wasnt caused by a spill in 3 years. my fish room is 20'x20' just for refrence sump and dehumidifier are in opposing corners, and i use the hose attachment to drain the unit directly into my sump pump hole so no empting the bucket twice a day or more.
 
I use one LG humidifier, runs year round. Just connected my Kill a watt to it and it uses over .5kwh. Curious if a venting system may be more energy efficient.
 
Posidion said:
I have Aprox 400 gal in basment and had a huge prob with humidity and corosion. my solution was a trip to the big box store for the largest dehumidifer they had. I purchased the an LG 60 qt unit ( i think it was a while back) thing ran on high for two days non stop to dry up the water that had accumulated on walls and floor. now it runs about 20% of the day at a 55% humidity setting fan speed on low. havent had a damp spot that wasnt caused by a spill in 3 years. my fish room is 20'x20' just for refrence sump and dehumidifier are in opposing corners, and i use the hose attachment to drain the unit directly into my sump pump hole so no empting the bucket twice a day or more.
Click to expand...

Posidion, are you air conditioning your fish room/basement as well? Is it seperated from your house air conditioning or is it tied in? What is your room temperature where the tank is located?
 
Must be nice to live in upstate NY! Most of the summer in Indiana the RH runs from 60% to 90%, so opening a basement window wouldn't really help.

All that corn and soybeans growing really pumps the moisture into the air!

Tim
 
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