Issues with large tanks involving moisture

[beaglelax]

As it state i have been building my tank room and im a little concerned with moisture with the tank and evaporation. Is it better to get a Fan that will suck the air in the room out direct it outside the house. Would a good De-humidifier Work better to draw the moisture. The room is done with the same sheet rock as with bathrooms to withstand moisture but its got to go somewhere.

Any info on the best way to deal would be greatly accepted and if there is a good quaility fan unit that reefers are using in Your or their rooms please let me know.

thank you
beagle

 

[beaglelax]

nothing?

 

[Red Sea Purple Tang]

I have a 12x12 enclosed fish room. I added a ventilation fan (vented to the outside). I have a standard dehumidifier outside the fish room for the summer time. One advantage that I have is the tank is in the rec room that's 90% underground. So it helps with overall temp. Hope that helps.

 

[reefkeeper2]

This is how I deal with it. I vent the skimmer in and out. Huge difference. It really works to bring the humidity to reasonable levels.

 

[beaglelax]

nice the room is in the basement on the slab and the basement for the last 6 yrs how long the house has been built has always no matter how hot or cold stays at a nice temp. the tank is 4ft and i left like a 5ft space between the tank and then room wall. I also framed for a double louver door this way i can draw in cold basement air and then use a vent fan to draw out the moisture.

Would you guys recommend both ? Vent and Dehumidifier

thank you
beagle

 

[Red Sea Purple Tang]

Keeping a doorway open to the fish room is a good idea.

 

[Fade]

I run a Honeywell Hr200 Fresh air ventilation systemwork. It sucks cold air from outside and mixes it with the stale humid inside air and takes it back out. It is about 80% efficint.

 

[Nanook]

John's HRV made a HUGE difference in his humidity levels and the air is fresh and clean now....really nice for winter months!!

 

[ReefDoctorMicromussas]

I have alot of very expensive woodwork in the next room and even some in my reefroom and have found that a combination of exhaust with a 75pt dehumidifier works best for me

 

[LisaD]

You guys are scaring me now. I have many smaller tanks in a house - none are in closed of rooms. The bigger tanks have open tops. Do I need to ventilate/dehumidify, or do you think I'm okay? I have had tanks in the house 8 years. It's not an extremely tight house.

 

[tgfrench]

I have a 90 in a 10x10 room which tends to develop a fair amount of humidity. My humidity sensor states a 70% humidity level which isn't bad but you can feel the difference and it does cause the room to heat up. An outside vent is the direction I'm heading towards as funds become avaiable. Currently I leave the room door open but would like to close it off.

 

[ReefDoctorMicromussas]

ALL tanks evaporate water into the air... this is natural.... Depending upon the lighting, ventilation, water flow and cooling equals how much actually ... My original 80 gallon tank put about 1 gallon per day out no real big deal in a large house.. heck the human body through breathing can put that much out so I doubt that there is an issue with your tanks... My tanks (over 800 gallon system) utilize many cross ventilation centrifical fans to create evaporation deliberately.. this evaporation leads to very effective cooling without any chiller

60CFM CENTRIFICAL EVAPORATING FANs X2

Thats how I designed it BUT the Caveat to this method is great amounts of humidity.. I also run almost 3500 watts of lighting.

ONE OF MY LIGHT RACKS

In my 14X14 lab that Heat plus the humidity can make things not only uncomfortable but also destructive. In my situation I must proactively address the issue but many of you LisaD probably are just fine.

LOL I just read all your tanks THATS ALOT OF WATER!

 

[beaglelax]

I think i like the vent fan and dehumidifier combo Ty for all the response and ill keep you posted and or ask more questions when i come across another issue

ty beagle

 

[rottbo]

the combo is the best way to combat it I use a whole house dehumidifier and a large ventilation fan I dont have to use them as much in the winter months but when it warms up the DH runs constantly it turns on at 50%

 

[summer6]

I'm tagging along. Good Thread. Right now I've got a sump area (as opposed to a sump room) in my basement and only ran a dehumidifier during the summer months and things were fine. I have a chiller, and probably should be using fan(s) across the open sump to lower the temp. next season.
I'm curious about the humidity level in a home when you go with a large system (say 250+) in an open floor plan kitchen, living, 2 story great room, etc., Is this an issue for people?

 

[reefkeeper2]

Here in the northeast electricity costs are outrageous. When I put up my system one of the goals was keeping those costs down. I use as many passive ( non energy consuming) methods I can devise to keep humidity, temperature, and electric bills down.
I don't have a fan over my sump because the basement is not where you want to evaporate anything. Thats also why I vent my skimmers.
The top of the tank is completely open, so a small fan on the wall blows across the water surface when the water temp reaches 80. Since the house has central air anyway, the humidity if better eliminated this way, than with an alternative in the basement. Also, since the tank is in a sunroom, the plants really love the extra humidity. I have a dehumidifier, but I rarely use it.

 

[Oldtimer]

I'm in the processing of setting up a fish room in my basement that's around 12x13'. In Michigan with the hot/humid summers and cold dry winters, I plan to have both an HRV (Heat Recovery Ventilator) and a mini split A/C unit. The HRV will serve as a humidity extractor in the winter and the A/C as a humidity/heat extractor in the summer. The A chiller will be installed mainly for piece of mind. A bank of Profilux fans will span the tank as well. Tank size will be about 230-240 gals. In addition, I'll have another 200-300 gals between multiple sumps, frag tank, fuge, etc so I expect evaporation to be high. The walls are either exposed concrete or finished walls covered in cement board. The room will be sealed from the rest of the house so I can regulate temp/humidity without impacting the rest of the house. The tank will naturally be an in wall design.