Reefing & Black Mold

[sporazoa]

Has anyone had any issues with black mold & their reef tanks from excessive moisture in the air?

I had black mold issues in a house & as a result I became more sensitive to it now & I now have chemical sensitivities as well.

I am thinking 2 possible solutions might be:

1) Get a non-reef tank & use a glass top with a Lifereef HOB skimmer.

2) Build a fish tank stand & canopy all in one, that has a very narrow fish tank room in the back & run some kind of dehumidifier. This will allow me to use a reef-ready tank sump & in-sump skimmer (the normal way). The issue now is that have to find a good dehumidifier, as the standard portable ones can actually promote mold/fungi from the wet coils & I can corroborate that running one actually ends up pumping even more mold spores into an area.


Does anyone have similar issues & what are your solutions?

 

[Lucky Lefty]

In the very beginning I was getting some mild inside the stand, mostly due to threaded fittings leaking (since changed to slip) and not enough ventilation coming through the stand.
Got rid of leaks and increased the ventilation slightly and it went away and never came back.
Now if you're experiencing mold away from/near the tank, you may have a issue somewhere else. I know you get some evaporation, but I didn't really think it would be enough to create mold within the house, away from the tank.
Where are you finding the mold? Or are your reactions just giving you the inclination mold is present?

 

[sporazoa]

I developed the issue after a leak I had in my house, that I was not able to detect on time. After that I developed the sensitivity & any objects that came from that area, I "reacted" to immediately just by being close to it. Burning nose, throat, & overall unwell.

Some of the objects I left outside for a few days, such as a fish tank stand & allowed to vent & dissipate and when I brought them back in no problem. That is until I setup the tank & after a few day then slowly began to react again & the reaction was greater & greater with each passing day until, I removed all the items that originally came from the leaked area & the reaction had dwindled drastically.

This time I had 2 other family member who also felt nose burning/discomfort & something just not right in the fish tank area. So I know it was just not me, but I am the most sensitive to it, because of prolonged exposure.

Honestly, I would have never believed in any of this if I had not experienced it for myself. In the past I was virile & stuck around the mold & it has lead me to become more sensitive to my environment now (perfumes, department store smells, car fumes..etc). My nose & lungs have changed & burn often because of these exposures.

 

[sporazoa]

Also funny thing is that I have visited many homes with reef tanks & many LFS & I do not react in any one of those, where I would in my place within a few seconds to minutes.

Not even some that have visible mold on tank stands, so it must be a particular species that drives my reaction.

 

[bundybear1981]

IMO it sounds like something else causing the issue that is specific to your house and the tank is anecdotal. I would recommend seeking medical advise and testing to an allergy.

 

[snorklr]

you're not real specific about the source or extent of the leak...was it caused by the tank or other plumbing or rainwater issues? how big a leak? you could have mold issues behind the walls or under the floor which need to be addressed...and how big is the tank? cause that affects how much humidity it adds to the room...what kind of hvac? so you're not giving us much to make a judgement call...you're talking to a guy whose buddy hadda lie in his crawlspace with a deck sprayer full of bleach to spray the underside of his house after it went underwater in hurricane sandy ...goggles,respirator,and it was my job to try to drag him out if he passed out...kids,dont try this at home!...i think a call to a mold remediation firm is in order cause i dont think you should try anything yourself due to your sensitivity

 

[sporazoa]

The initial leak was not tank related & happened months ago. I used a mask & remediated the damaged wall months ago & painted the entire area.


Many things that were in that room were covered with mold spores, but not visible to the eye & when I was around those objects I developed symptoms/sensitivity within minutes (burning nose, throat, lungs...etc). When I took those same objects & left them outside for days (to vent) then no problem being around them.

When I setup my new tank with new equipment in a NEW place, no problem. When I use a vinyl tube or container that came from that original moldy room & if it gets moisture from my tank (sump for example), then within a few days I start to develop the sensitivity/symptoms again as the object is in close proximity to moisture & starts to grow & dissipate the mold spores. This happens regardless if I left the affected object out for days to vent, so it still holds/traps the spores on the surface.

As days go by my throat burns & becomes more sensitive to hot drinks (coffee) & the inside of my nose burns & my lungs burn, something that I am all too familiar with when I first experienced the leak & started to develop after mold grew on a wall. Before the leak I did not experience these, but after the leak I became a changed man & now have to take precautions when running reef.


So it was the initial non-tank leak that caused my sensitivity & damage, which now spills over to reef keeping, which I love btw & have a hard time dropping.

 

[sporazoa]

Also, I bought a NEW dehumidifier, thinking I could control the humidity in the fish room & it seemed to work for the first few days. My sensitivity went down with each passing day & I thought this was all in the past, but then it reversed and with each passing day I would get more sensitivity & I just did not get it.

I then did some research & read that the dehumidifier can itself cause mold, since the wet coils can be a breeding ground for mold & release mold spores into the room. Ahhhhh, that was the answer for continued issues., but now what am I to do with the tank?


So, I am have a glass lid on the tank & a very small container 1' x 1' for the external sump/skimmer for now.

I am really surprised that no one has had this problem as well & even more shocked when I went into a few peoples houses with reefs & I did not get any reaction. In heavy mold areas I can react within seconds to minutes.

 

[OrQidz]

It sounds like the things that were in the house still have spores, and when they get damp maybe it just starts growing again? as you know, mold doesn't just air out but has to be killed with bleach. Have you bleached down the stand? You might have to start over with new equipment. having been through a professional mold remediation in our building, I can say it was no small undertaking! Hopefully you can isolate what's still affected. If dampness in general sets off your symptoms, I would wonder if you still have some in the house. Really worth having a pro take a look. It can be bad stuff.

 

[snorklr]

have another friend in florida whose kids were asthmatic and highly affected by mold in the ducts of their grammar school a/c system to the point that they wound up having to be home schooled because it wasnt cost effective for the school district to remediate the whole school for 2 kids...i saw the test equipment that was set up in their house to see if the problem was there(it wasnt)...pretty sophisticated stuff...again,you may want to call in a pro to have similar tests done

 

[sporazoa]

It sounds like the things that were in the house still have spores, and when they get damp maybe it just starts growing again?

BINGO!!!!! That is exactly what is happening, but to someone who was not as sensitive as I am they would have never noticed. And again this time I managed to affect two other family members & they were telling me their nose tingled, felt weird & they felt like they were getting allergies. Two of us started to sneeze when we handled the used tank equipment actually & that has never happened to me before.

I did call pro's & since I did the remediation months ago there was no mold to see anymore, but I know from my constant experience that the spores just lay dormant on surfaces until moisture is presented.

I read an article one time of a doctor getting sick of mold from her fish tank entering the ducts system of a central AC, but I have to find it again.

 

[Sk8r]

First of all, if you live in a place where this is a problem, dehumidifiers (electric) are fairly inexpensive and quite efficient. I use a Frigidaire. Second, you can use a canopy if you use LED lights, or even MH, so long as you have a fan array in the canopy. With LEDS, a glass top becomes practical, but you still need a gas exchange zone, eg, your sump.

 

[sporazoa]

I am using a glass tank cover now & it stinks that the moisture from the tank creates droplets on the underside of the glass surface & impedes the full potential of light penetration.

I was considering a canopy, but I was worried that the moisture within the canopy would trigger mold growth or is this not the case?

I just tried a dehumidifier, but as I was warned that the dehumidifier would act as a mold spore generator over time, since the coils get wet & pump out mold spores. This happens to be true for me, as I have experienced just that.