Protecting the house

[Lance A. Lot]

What measures do you take to protect your house from the fish tank?
1. What do you do to control higher humidity levels in a fish room?
2. What do you do to prevent mold growth?
3. What else should I be worried about?

 

[Nanook]

I was lucky that Capo built my fish room. He said I needed a fresh air intake and and exhaust to the outside. Due to having 1100 gallons, I also need to run a split system AC 24/7.

 

[South City]

I'm using Frigidaire dehumidifier's to keep things in check for my current system. It's a small system and the dehumidifiers only kick on occasionally. Once I build out my basement sump and 180 gallon display tank, I plan to add an exhaust fan to the outside that will be controlled by a dehumidistat.

If you control the humidity, that should control the mold growth. If the opportunity presents itself, it wouldn't hurt to use products like moisture resistant plasterboard if you are doing any new construction around the fish room or the tank.

I'd be planning for floods and ways to mitigate the damage and drain the water away safely. For my current build, I'm planning to cover the bottom 2 to 4 inches of my tank stand with a shower membrane to create a water tight pan with a small drain at the low spot to take that water down to my basement. This should help to keep some of the water out of my dining room if the tank springs a leak or overflows. Even if you don't have a drain, just creating a water tight barrier at the bottom of the stand that would capture some overflow and hold it, could keep water off your floor. For my 6 foot by 2 foot stand, just water proofing the bottom 3 inches would create a bucket that can hold 22 gallons or so.

I have a floor drain in my unfinished basement and I'm going to make sure that any equipment that is part of my basement sump that can leak water will be placed so that the water will move to the floor drain.(the concrete slab is poured in a slope so that approximately half of my basement will flow to the floor drain while the other half is mainly flat and will not)

I'd also be worried about the electrical outlets near your tank and fishroom. Make them GFCI if you can. I also placed covers on mine that were designed to protect outside outlets from the weather. They are sort of like a small watertight box with a lid that lifts up to give you access to the outlet. They were easy to install and didn't require any modification to the wall. You can buy them at Home Depot for around $5 to $10. I sprang a leak in a hose in my sump once that was spraying water right towards the electrical outlet. That water tight cover on my outlet kept the socket dry and probably prevented something very bad from happening.

What measures do you take to protect your house from the fish tank?
1. What do you do to control higher humidity levels in a fish room?
2. What do you do to prevent mold growth?
3. What else should I be worried about?

 

[Lance A. Lot]

I'm using Frigidaire dehumidifier's to keep things in check for my current system. It's a small system and the dehumidifiers only kick on occasionally. Once I build out my basement sump and 180 gallon display tank, I plan to add an exhaust fan to the outside that will be controlled by a dehumidistat.

If you control the humidity, that should control the mold growth. If the opportunity presents itself, it wouldn't hurt to use products like moisture resistant plasterboard if you are doing any new construction around the fish room or the tank.

I'd be planning for floods and ways to mitigate the damage and drain the water away safely. For my current build, I'm planning to cover the bottom 2 to 4 inches of my tank stand with a shower membrane to create a water tight pan with a small drain at the low spot to take that water down to my basement. This should help to keep some of the water out of my dining room if the tank springs a leak or overflows. Even if you don't have a drain, just creating a water tight barrier at the bottom of the stand that would capture some overflow and hold it, could keep water off your floor. For my 6 foot by 2 foot stand, just water proofing the bottom 3 inches would create a bucket that can hold 22 gallons or so.

I have a floor drain in my unfinished basement and I'm going to make sure that any equipment that is part of my basement sump that can leak water will be placed so that the water will move to the floor drain.(the concrete slab is poured in a slope so that approximately half of my basement will flow to the floor drain while the other half is mainly flat and will not)

I'd also be worried about the electrical outlets near your tank and fishroom. Make them GFCI if you can. I also placed covers on mine that were designed to protect outside outlets from the weather. They are sort of like a small watertight box with a lid that lifts up to give you access to the outlet. They were easy to install and didn't require any modification to the wall. You can buy them at Home Depot for around $5 to $10. I sprang a leak in a hose in my sump once that was spraying water right towards the electrical outlet. That water tight cover on my outlet kept the socket dry and probably prevented something very bad from happening.

I have put some thought into electrical. I have run a 12-g wire from a dedicated 20amp breaker. I have the GFCI outlets bought. I don't plan on putting them in outdoor boxes though. I think I will just locate the outlets away from any water and place them higher than normal wall outlets.
I like the idea of sealing in the bottom of the stand to create a tub or have some sort of feature to channel any spills or leaks to the floor drain (which will be near by). I would like to have some sort of bar rail on the front side of the tank that serves a dual purpose for holding drinks and channeling any spills on that side back to the floor drain. I think smoothdog has something like that on his stand.
I have some new construction that I will be doing but there is also some drywall that could possibly be splashed at some point. Are there products out there to apply to the back side of drywall to make it more water resistant?

 

[Lance A. Lot]

I was lucky that Capo built my fish room. He said I needed a fresh air intake and and exhaust to the outside. Due to having 1100 gallons, I also need to run a split system AC 24/7.

Will having the furnace located in close proximity be like a intake/exhaust as it circulates air through the house? I do plan on having a dehumidify in the room too.

 

[EDJFA]

I have put some thought into electrical. I have run a 12-g wire from a dedicated 20amp breaker. I have the GFCI outlets bought. I don't plan on putting them in outdoor boxes though. I think I will just locate the outlets away from any water and place them higher than normal wall outlets.
I like the idea of sealing in the bottom of the stand to create a tub or have some sort of feature to channel any spills or leaks to the floor drain (which will be near by). I would like to have some sort of bar rail on the front side of the tank that serves a dual purpose for holding drinks and channeling any spills on that side back to the floor drain. I think smoothdog has something like that on his stand.
I have some new construction that I will be doing but there is also some drywall that could possibly be splashed at some point. Are there products out there to apply to the back side of drywall to make it more water resistant?

If you're going to be putting up new drywall, use the green stuff that is meant for bathrooms and wet areas. Prime it well and put a few coats of mold inhibiting paint on the wall and you should be fine. Of course your best defense is to keep the humidity level down, and the splashing to a minimum.

I ran a couple 20amp lines to my tank. I have GFCI outlets under the tank and arc fault breakers in the box. I plan on putting a waterproof outlet cover over the wall outlet at some point in the near future, just in case.

Oh, and the biggest safeguard I have to protect my house from my tank is to put my tank in my office at work. :fun2:

 

[South City]

Another suggestion for electrical, and this is more of a luxury option that's not feasible for many, create two dedicated circuits on their own breakers for the tank. Then split the life support(pumps, powerheads, and heaters) between the two circuits so that if a single breaker trips off you don't lose power to everything.

For the existing drywall that isn't moisture resistant, I'd just make sure that it's got a good coat of primer and a quality paint and that the seams/edges are sealed well. You should be good there.

I have put some thought into electrical. I have run a 12-g wire from a dedicated 20amp breaker. I have the GFCI outlets bought. I don't plan on putting them in outdoor boxes though. I think I will just locate the outlets away from any water and place them higher than normal wall outlets.

I have some new construction that I will be doing but there is also some drywall that could possibly be splashed at some point. Are there products out there to apply to the back side of drywall to make it more water resistant?

 

[Lance A. Lot]

Another suggestion for electrical, and this is more of a luxury option that's not feasible for many, create two dedicated circuits on their own breakers for the tank. Then split the life support(pumps, powerheads, and heaters) between the two circuits so that if a single breaker trips off you don't lose power to everything.

I do have the option for another 15 amp dedicated circuit but, then I would not have any open spots left on the panel. I don't know what else I would ever use the last space for but, I like having the option open for the future. I did already buy the wire for the second 15 amp circuit so maybe I should use them both.

 

[South City]

If a future need arises for that last circuit, you could repurpose it at that time. To free up that circuit, you could combine your two tank circuits back into one with minimal effort.

I do have the option for another 15 amp dedicated circuit but, then I would not have any open spots left on the panel. I don't know what else I would ever use the last space for but, I like having the option open for the future. I did already buy the wire for the second 15 amp circuit so maybe I should use them both.

 

[mpcart]

I forget what it is called, but when they added my tank room circuits to my panel they used a type of breaker where two of them fit in one slot.

-Mike

 

[Lance A. Lot]

I forget what it is called, but when they added my tank room circuits to my panel they used a type of breaker where two of them fit in one slot.

-Mike

I know what you are talking about. I added one when I added an above range microwave to the house. Its the other half of that one I added and a spare that I have left to work with.

 

[kegogut]

I'm planning on checking my humidity level in my house soon,just out of curiosity reasons really. The hygrometer is only 10 bucks and I wanna know what my humidity levels are at.

Ideal range is 30-50% .

 

[South City]

I bought a few these on Amazon about a year ago and have been very happy with them. If you haven't bought yours yet, I really recommend them. Seem to be very accurate both with their humidity and temperature readings.

http://smile.amazon.com/AcuRite-00613A1-Indoor-Humidity-Monitor/dp/B0013BKDO8/ref=sr_1_1?s=home-garden&ie=UTF8&qid=1447391265&sr=1-1&keywords=AcuRite+00613A1

I'm planning on checking my humidity level in my house soon,just out of curiosity reasons really. The hygrometer is only 10 bucks and I wanna know what my humidity levels are at.

Ideal range is 30-50% .

 

[Pife]

I forget what it is called, but when they added my tank room circuits to my panel they used a type of breaker where two of them fit in one slot.

-Mike

Piggy back breaker.

Myself being an electrician I do not use arc fault or gfis on anything tank related. I would rather get shocked a lil bit then have my tank shut down because of an erroneous trip on a 20 dollar receptacle. It's just an opinion too so take it for what it is worth. :celeb1::headwally::beer:

 

[alexkharden]

I plan on designing my room so that two walls of the room stop 2 feet under the ceiling. Shouldn't that be enough to deal with any humidity, since it'll be direct air range with the whole house?