Moisture in House

[howdy20012002]

Well, my hobby is becoming more of an expense..which for salt water stuff is hard to believe
however, i now have mold growing in both my bedroom and the guest bedroom...meaning i am going to have to rip down both ceilings..YAAAAYYY
i am assuming this is from the tanks and moisture
however, any suggestions on how to stop this?
i am buying a dehumidifer this weekend..but yeah..any thing else?
thanks
Neal

[fishmanty]

I use a dehumidifier, plus I have glass covering half of the top of my tank...


The dehumidifer seems to do the trick, except you'll naturally notice more water evaporating off your tank as the dehumidifer leaves the air rather dry.

[Delphinus]

Welcome to my world. I should show you a picture of the mold spot I've got on my ceiling in the front entry from the excessive humidity and the cold weather of the last few months. Yay hobby! The effect is probably worse with new houses such as mine because the R factors are much better and they're way more airtight.

Three suggestions for ya -
1- dehumidifier. I use one, and it helps a little. But it's noisy and having it run all the time when it's cold outside (when it's needed most) will put a little dent in your utility bill.
2- if you have a high efficiency furnace (or at least a low-cost DC drive fan), run the fan all the time. You can consider this without the high efficiency furnaces, but let me just say I tried this myself and was shocked at my utility bill the next month. With all the halides and stuff I run, that should tell ya something. :eek:
3- Consider an HRV (heat-recovery ventilator) installation. I'm having one put in myself. The people I've talked to who have HRV's swear by them. The idea is basically this, it's a heat exchanger. You ventilate your house (or a localized area) by venting out the air and using this air to preheat the air coming in. They have about 80% efficiency, which is pretty neat (i.e., 80% of the heat is recovered).

You can also look into a device called a humidex, which is sort of half of an HRV, from what I understand. It vents air to the outside, but relies on the non-airtightness of a house (or an open window) to replace the air coming in.

Incidentally if it's just a mildew buildup on your walls, I think you should be able to clean that up with bleach (rather than replace the drywall). It's just on the surface, right? If you have mildew on the INSIDE of your walls, that's another matter entirely (and quite serious), but it seems to me that shouldn't happen unless you've had an issue with flooding and so on (where the walls get actually wet through-and-through).

HTH..

[BMW Rider]

HRV is the best most energy efficient option, but not the cheapest initially.

This same issue was discussed earlier in this thread:

http://www.canreef.com/vbulletin/showthread.php?t=22476&highlight=humidity

I installed mine last fall and the difference in the house is remarkable.

[TheReefGeek]

I dont have the $$$ right now for a humidex or HRV, so I am in the process of hooking up a bathroom fan conected to a dehumidistat. My house is leaky so I dont have to worry about bringing in fresh air.

This is cheap ($75 or so) but not as efficient as an HRV.

[Invigor]

2- if you have a high efficiency furnace (or at least a low-cost DC drive fan), run the fan all the time. You can consider this without the high efficiency furnaces, but let me just say I tried this myself and was shocked at my utility bill the next month. With all the halides and stuff I run, that should tell ya something. :eek:

I tell ya it was a kick in the pants to find out our new furnace has a 110v fan instead of the variable 3 speed DC fan I -thought- was coming with it...grr. I think the AC fan motor uses 6amps...so that's the same as running 2 250w MH ALL DAY LONG!! huge bill :(

But, we also bought an HRV unit, just has to be installed. I'm really looking forward to it.

[TheReefGeek]

Oh and about the dehumidifier, if you can't plumb it to a drain line, it is going to fill up mighty quick.

[Delphinus]

I tell ya it was a kick in the pants to find out our new furnace has a 110v fan instead of the variable 3 speed DC fan I -thought- was coming with it...grr. I think the AC fan motor uses 6amps...so that's the same as running 2 250w MH ALL DAY LONG!! huge bill :(
..

I kind of wonder if it's possible to retrofit a DC drive in a furnace. My house is 2 years old now and had I known about the difference in DC vs AC drive fans when the house was being built I might have tried a little harder to come up with the extra few grand the housebuilder wanted to upgrade to a high-eff furnace. At the time it just seemed like too much investment for only marginal improvements.

I asked the guys doing my HRV install about that (retrofitting a DC drive fan) and they told me that by the time you added up all the factors, that you "might as well just go to the whole new furnace." Of course, asking someone who's livelihood depends on people buying furnaces might not give you the most unbiased answer, so I haven't really given up on that notion for now, might look into it again down the road.



..
But, we also bought an HRV unit, just has to be installed. I'm really looking forward to it.

Same situation for me. I've had the unit half-installed for nearly a week. The guy came back yesterday and although he's STILL not finished with all the ducting work, it's enough done that it can be turned on and I have to say, what an amazing difference. After about 6 hours, my house had dry windows (every single window) for the first time since the warm weather (it's only a problem when it's cold).

Of course as luck would have it, now that it's operational, it looks like we're heading into another warm spell for a few days, so I won't really know for sure until it gets cold again. But I have to say, I'm pretty excited about the potential here.

[Bob I]

I tell ya it was a kick in the pants to find out our new furnace has a 110v fan instead of the variable 3 speed DC fan I -thought- was coming with it...grr. I think the AC fan motor uses 6amps...so that's the same as running 2 250w MH ALL DAY LONG!! huge bill :(

But, we also bought an HRV unit, just has to be installed. I'm really looking forward to it.

A bit of a error in thinking here. It is unlikely that you furnace has a 6 Amp motor. That would be about a five horsepower motor. There are 745 watts to a horsepower. The motor in a 120v furnace is usually a fractional horse motor. I know mine is 1/12 Horse.:mrgreen:

[Bob I]

I kind of wonder if it's possible to retrofit a DC drive in a furnace. My house is 2 years old now and had I known about the difference in DC vs AC drive fans when the house was being built I might have tried a little harder to come up with the extra few grand the housebuilder wanted to upgrade to a high-eff furnace. At the time it just seemed like too much investment for only marginal improvements.

I asked the guys doing my HRV install about that (retrofitting a DC drive fan) and they told me that by the time you added up all the factors, that you "might as well just go to the whole new furnace." Of course, asking someone who's livelihood depends on people buying furnaces might not give you the most unbiased answer, so I haven't really given up on that notion for now, might look into it again down the road.




Same situation for me. I've had the unit half-installed for nearly a week. The guy came back yesterday and although he's STILL not finished with all the ducting work, it's enough done that it can be turned on and I have to say, what an amazing difference. After about 6 hours, my house had dry windows (every single window) for the first time since the warm weather (it's only a problem when it's cold).

Of course as luck would have it, now that it's operational, it looks like we're heading into another warm spell for a few days, so I won't really know for sure until it gets cold again. But I have to say, I'm pretty excited about the potential here.

I don't know if some facts would be of assistance to you. I don't know if you realised that warm air can hold much more moisture than cold. That should lead to the explanation of condensation on windows during cold weather. The moisture in the air condenses out when the warmer air runs into the cold window. It is very helpful to have a small fan blow air past a cold window. That is a relatively inexpensive cure. (always depending on the number of affected windows).:idea:

[Invigor]

A bit of a error in thinking here. It is unlikely that you furnace has a 6 Amp motor. That would be about a five horsepower motor. There are 745 watts to a horsepower. The motor in a 120v furnace is usually a fractional horse motor. I know mine is 1/12 Horse.:mrgreen:

http://invigor.sasktelwebsite.net/oldfurnace.jpg

that's the blower motor in the old furnace. I haven't checked the new furnace, but the manual it came with says it has a 1/2 horse motor. :neutral:

[Delphinus]

Hi Bob,

Yes, true, thanks but I was already running fans. I'm looking forward to not having to do this anymore. :) (When you have 3 fans going you know you have a moisture buildup problem.)

[Bob I]

Well it does say 1/3 HP and 6.4 amps. I may have to take back my statement:cry: It still seems high for such a small motor. However, the maker would not lie. As a matter of interest, I just looked a the name plate on another furnace motor. It is 1/4 horse, and draws 3.7 amps. So there is quite some variation.:mrgreen:

[Delphinus]

I may have to take back my statement

< gasp > :eek:

[Bob I]

Hi Bob,

Yes, true, thanks but I was already running fans. I'm looking forward to not having to do this anymore. :) (When you have 3 fans going you know you have a moisture buildup problem.)

For sure, and newer houses are probably more airtight. On top of that if you have open topped tanks there is lots of evaporation.:wink:

[Invigor]

Well it does say 1/3 HP and 6.4 amps.

yep. I remember when I first saw that I said to myself "you've gotta be f***ing kidding me". then when I found out the new furnace had the 110ac blower, I said it again..I -really- thought it had the low voltage DC motor :(

Oh well...I think the HRV only uses 38watts or something outrageously low...that I can handle. I was just really looking forward to having constant circulation throughout the house. From hearing what other people are saying, I'm really hung in suspense waiting for it to be installed. I think we're waiting on some duct work to be fabricated... :mrgreen:

[woodcarver]

Just to add to the discussion,I used to have approx. 80 or so tanks in my basement rearing angels and did not have a lot of trouble with moisture ,mainly I assume because all the tanks had glass covers ?
I had a small de-humidifier in one of the rooms which did not get overworked.
Probably the open top and vigorous turnover of water in saltwater tanks greatly assists evaporation with the results we are hearing about.
I am about to get back into marines and was thinking of open top ( I suppose this is to get as much light into the tank as possible ?) but may have second thoughts on hearing the associated problems.
Is it very difficult to keep the cover glass clean ?

[TheReefGeek]

You are correct, we get far more evaportaion because of our open tops and high water turn-over.

I run an open top in order to let light in, and to cool off the tank so I don't have to buy a chiller.

I evaporate about 3 gallons per day, maybe a bit more with my larger sump now.

[woodcarver]

Thanks for the info Rory. Wow ! That is a lot of moisture ..will need to consider that !
Dave.

[TheReefGeek]

Yep, that is why I am in the process of installing a bathroom fan hooked up to a dehumidistat!

I have a lot of water surface though, my tank is 6x2, my sump is 5x2, and my fuge is 2.5x1

[woodcarver]

Just read thro' the earlier thread ,lots of good info , Glad you managed to find a dehumidistat . I will check out thread to see how your install goes and if it does the trick .........................
Dave.

[Delphinus]

Hey Rory, where'd you end up finding a dehumidistat?

[TheReefGeek]

Now you want me to remember things too? :)

I honestly can't remember the name right now. I remember I did a google search for dehumidistats, then i found a brand name of a company that made them. Then I called their head office, found a supplier in Edmonton, called them, and went there. Then I ended up getting a different one for half the price at the same place, it was like $20.00.

If I can think of the name, i will post back.

[TheReefGeek]

Ok I looked it up.

The company I originally found was LifeBreath, looks like they do HRV's yay!

www.lifebreath.com (http://www.lifebreath.com)

I then looked into their dealers and in Edmonton found

ECCO HEATING PRODUCTS LTD.
Contact: ELAINE HODGINS / AL FIRT
14760-116th Avenue
Edmonton, Alberta
T5M 3G1
Phone: (780) 479-1946
Fax: (780) 474-8500
E-mail: ehodgins.edmt@eccohtg .com (ehodgins.edmt@eccohtg.com)
Website: www.eccohtg.com (http://www.eccohtg.com/)
Toll Free: 1-800-330-3226


And went there and they had a cheaper model than the LifeBreath for sale.

There are retailers of LifeBreath in Calgary, just go to the dealer locator from the lifebreath website.

[Delphinus]

Cool, was just curious, that's all (I have the HRV already and it came with one, but just remembered you had some trouble finding a dehumidistat so I was wondering how it worked out in the end).

BTW, my HRV is a Lifebreath :)

This is going to sound sick but I can't wait for the next cold snap to see how my windows do. For the first time in a long time my windows have been bone dry during a winter month. Of course it's warm now so that's a big part of it, but even still the humidex is reading <40% and it's been a LONG time since I've seen that kind of a number. I like the tropical rainforest effect but I've since learned over the years that it's better to have that in an actual tropical rainforest and not your house. :)

[fortheloveofcrabs]

Just a note for anyone here (most if not all of us) has mold on a window sill. A bit of bleach and water in a spray bottle will get rid of it like a charm! It gets rid of the color, and kills it. Jusy my 2 cents.

-Pailu

[StirCrazy]

Ok, the humadex will do the same thing as a quality bathroom fan on a humidastat, I don't know how much the humadex is but for about 50 bucks you can get a humidastat and for 250.00 you can get a awsome inline fan that moves about 350 cu^ft per hour. it sits in the attic so you don't hear it and you can plumb it right to a room that needs the air removed.

Steve

[mark]

Now you want me to remember things too? :)

I honestly can't remember the name right now. I remember I did a google search for dehumidistats, then i found a brand name of a company that made them. Then I called their head office, found a supplier in Edmonton, called them, and went there. Then I ended up getting a different one for half the price at the same place, it was like $20.00.

If I can think of the name, i will post back.

rated 120V?

[StirCrazy]

I evaporate about 3 gallons per day, maybe a bit more with my larger sump now.

thats actually quite low for a tank your size.. before my chiller I was evaporating 5 gal/day on a tank with 1/2 the surface area as yours, now with my chiller I only lose about 1 gal per day maybe two.

So another good plug for a chiller is it will cut down on moisture in your house :mrgreen:

Steve

[TheReefGeek]

I thought my evaporation would go up more than it did when I added my sump and fuge as well.

I don't run a chiller, but my tank never goes above 79 degrees.