Calling all reefers with basement aquariums!!

[stellarfly]

Hello fellow reefers!

My wife and I just bought a new place and we are in the early stages of building. I plan on building my dream tank but it has to go in the finished basement as there will be no other places in the house. I already had the builder install tile and a floor drain where the tank is going to go for ease of maintenance. Aqua board will also be installed on the back wall to prevent moisture and mildew. My big concern is with humidity and moisture. The basement is open concept with no rooms but there is an HRV in the utility room. My build will be a 150gallon (5x2x2) with canopy on a metal stand and skinned. I live in Edmonton Alberta so I realize that humidity is generally very low but I'm still concerned if there are any extra steps I can take to prevent mold in the future?
Does anyone have a basement set up in Edmonton I can check out or get feed back from?
How high does the humidity get with a 150g reef?
I'm trying to avoid buying a dehumidifier but willing to install a humidistat controller on the HRV to control humidity.

Please let me know if anyone can help.

[Scythanith]

I have an enclosed fishroom with a 270g tank and two ~40g sumps. There is a ~4" forced air return and a 6" HRV exhaust for that room alone. My humidity logging shows me the room is at 25.3C and 38.3% RH right now. I have seen it get to 45% in the summer. I have green board for all the drywall as well as a floor drain.

In your case I'd devise an HRV vent drawing from the canopy and the sump area. I have also heard of people saying their HRV's have rusted but mine hasn't shown any sign of rust in 2 years so take that for what it's worth to you.

Cheers,
Scott

[fixerupper]

I've kept a 100g with 30g sump in a finished basement for over 20 years.
Usually I keep the top covered but recently (2 months ago-ish) I installed a screen top. Our house is a modest 1100 sq ft bungalow built in the 50s with no modern air exchange system. We did however, totally clad/seal the house in rigid foam insulation under new siding about 5yrs ago so it has little "involuntary air exchange" lol. Still no difference in moisture levels.

My top off water consumption did increase by 30% when I switched to a screen but we haven't noticed any extra condensation with associated mould or mildew. Interestingly, we notice FAR more condensation/moisture etc from cooking than we do from the aquarium.

You're welcome to drop by to check it out. PM me to set up a 'tour' if interested.

Cheers

[abcha0s]

I have an open top 300 in my basement. The HRV has three intakes. 2 of the intakes are on the ceiling about 2 feet above the tank and the 3rd ties in with the central air. The air in our house is so dry that we have to add humidity back in through the furnace.

Before the HRV I had a 90 in the same basement and the whole house was as humid as a green house. The wife made it pretty clear that the bigger tank wasn't happening unless I could solve the humidity problem.

Brad

[e46er]

My louvres on my fireplace rusted through the finish in 5 years on the ground floor. And my sliding door between the fp and tank is open prob 5-6 hours a day for 9 months of the year

[mark]

had a 145g with basement sump and was evaporating 2-3g/day with the MHs. Installed a HRV and all my humidity problems went away.

[BMW Rider]

I have a 135 gallon tank in our basement; it's been running for about 8 years now. My evaporation rate and humidity issues went away with the switch from MH lights to LED. Tank temp is far more stable too. It will use about six to eight gallons a week in evaporation depending on the temperature and relative humidity of the ambient air. I do have an HRV for the house which is good no mater what for refreshing the air in the home.