How do you control humidity?

[Keri]

Well, it's come to this.... after having almost 200 gallons of aquariums I'm really starting to see the effects on the house and last night we found mold (yes, MOLD, GROSS) in our closet along the bottom outside wall.
:laluot_08:
After ripping out the drywall to make sure it's not from the roof, burst pipe or leak now we have to figure out what to do.

i have been reading up on here what other people do but i can't decide between an HRV (which I don't really "get" what it does) a humidex or a powerful exhaust fan. We have a dehumidifier allready but it's old, loud and draws a scary amount of electricity so I often don't run it.

My 120g alone loses about a gallon a day :neutral:

Aside from the general humidity I'm getting buttloads of condensation in my windows which are a pain to deal with and also encourage mold growth.

I'm looking for something more environmentally-friendly as I'm allready drawing so much power for my tanks, but if that's not possible....you do what you gotta do I guess.

I have allergies and lung issues allready, and it's just getting worse. But I don't want to get rid of my tanks!! I want a solution, I know things like HRVs are expensive but that cost is nothing compared to the house and I'll pay it if it will really work. I've heard somewhere about $1000, maybe more? Is that right? Does it matter that it is so humid outside? Our house doesn't get much sunshine because of the trees and where we live is very humid outside as well as in.

ok, done ranting... so what I'm asking of you is....
1) what (if anything) do you use to control the humidity?
2) is it working for you and would you recommend it?
3) How many gallons do you have total?
4) any tips/comments would be GREATLY appreciated

I have allowed for ppl to choose more than 1 answer as I'd imagine some ppl use more than 1 thing.



....aand because they are new....here are some emoticons :) :bathbaby::Banane45::bananalama::laluot_20::laluot _26:

[Skimmerking]

u guys are so lucky to have mild weather there ,but you get humid weather there too. what i would do is a few things Keri.
1. Get a HRV unit in the house that will help with the health issues you have having and get rid of the mold and damp humid air in your house.
2. or get a Humidex that pulls pretty much air the humid air in the house out. i had one in my house in NB in the crawl space in our 3 level split it was so damp there. and then i once it ws on man it was so dry in there amazing too..
back to one if you winters are so mild you can get the HRVand get it hooked up in the attic and put verts in all the rooms with out put ducks that is the best way to rid of the stuff.

[Aqua-Digital]

Here is how i control mine, profiLux connected.

http://i71.photobucket.com/albums/i159/monitors-direct/IMG_6179.jpg

:mrgreen:

[Skimmerking]

Show off

[Aqua-Digital]

Boys must have toys :)

[Keri]

u guys are so lucky to have mild weather there ,but you get humid weather there too. what i would do is a few things Keri.
1. Get a HRV unit in the house that will help with the health issues you have having and get rid of the mold and damp humid air in your house.
2. or get a Humidex that pulls pretty much air the humid air in the house out. i had one in my house in NB in the crawl space in our 3 level split it was so damp there. and then i once it ws on man it was so dry in there amazing too..
back to one if you winters are so mild you can get the HRVand get it hooked up in the attic and put verts in all the rooms with out put ducks that is the best way to rid of the stuff.


I think an HRV would probably "do" the most. My husband is handy, maybe it's something we can install ourselves...plus I've heard they add value to the house.


Here is how i control mine, profiLux connected.

http://i71.photobucket.com/albums/i159/monitors-direct/IMG_6179.jpg

:mrgreen:

I see an LCD screen....how does the LCD make the humidity go away? :razz:
Is it connected to a dehumidifier?

[Aqua-Digital]

ProfiLux has humidity control option, so you connect the humidifer to one plug socket and the dehumidifier to another then assign your nominal value and it will keep the humidity within that range.

If you have a built in humidifier most likely the solenoid is 24v so you will need a 110V/24v dc converter.

[Keri]

ProfiLux has humidity control option, so you connect the humidifer to one plug socket and the dehumidifier to another then assign your nominal value and it will keep the humidity within that range.

If you have a built in humidifier most likely the solenoid is 24v so you will need a 110V/24v dc converter.

Sounds pretty spiffy!!!

[Aqua-Digital]

In total honesty unless you have use for the aquatic controller for your fish tank or already have a profilux it is an expensive way to control just humidity, having said that if you do want to control the humidity around the fish room and do want a controller this is one hell of an awesome and then cost effective control method.

[loveless]

I am lucky enough to live in the prairies where humidity isnt a concern in the winter. I have a fantech fr100, which says it draws 19Watts. I vent it outside in the summer and vent it internally for the winter. Keeps the humidity up during those dry prairie winters for sure. Oh and my tank is a 180gal with about a couple of gallons of topoff /day.

[Keri]

In total honesty unless you have use for the aquatic controller for your fish tank or already have a profilux it is an expensive way to control just humidity, having said that if you do want to control the humidity around the fish room and do want a controller this is one hell of an awesome and then cost effective control method.

I am not that "technical" about my tank...yet. But it is definately something I would consider in the future - less room for human error!!

I am lucky enough to live in the prairies where humidity isnt a concern in the winter. I have a fantech fr100, which says it draws 19Watts. I vent it outside in the summer and vent it internally for the winter. Keeps the humidity up during those dry prairie winters for sure. Oh and my tank is a 180gal with about a couple of gallons of topoff /day.

I think I would have to vent outside in winter and inside in summer as it's the reverse here, winters are humid and summer is dryer. i have NO humidity issiues in the summer as all of my windows are always open. That could work...

[Lance]

Oddly enough we don't have a problem with humidity. With over 350 gallons of water in the family room I fully expected to have to put in some kind of de-humidifier, but as of yet there is no problem. Air is comfortable, no sweating windows. We have air conditioning on in the summer and the unit has a dehumidifier built-in, so I wasn't worried about the summer months, but why there is no humidity in the winter I have no idea.

[Johnny Reefer]

Windows open a crack when home, dehumidifier when not.

Edit: Oh ya, the bathroom fan. Have that on a timer. Runs 3 hours on, 1 off. In a condo. I also took the dooorsill away from my front door to the hallway.

Cheers,

[mark]

Not much of a problem for humidity in the winter even with about 200g but have a switch (may be Code) that turns on the bathroom fan and furnace, which draws in dry outside air via the fresh air intake if wanted. I also have a exhaust fan in the fish room that have planned to put on a humidistat but never bothered. Both obviously not that energy efficient so have considered a HRV (here's a good link (http://oee.nrcan.gc.ca/residential/personal/new-homes/r-2000/standard/how-hrv-works.cfm?attr=4), (and at the booklet at the end good as well)) but then again haven't bothered as humidity okay.

For summer find the central AC keeps things in check.

[digital-audiophile]

I wish I had more humidity. Even with the tank, a humidifier on the furnace and two tower humidifiers in the house I struggle to keep it above 35%.

[Doug]

Not sure how humidity is not a concern on the prairie? Thats where its the most concern, as we have cold winters. Unless ones house leaks like a sieve. Yes, its dry air outside but its needs to be brought in to the house and exchanged with the humid house air that needs venting.

At least this has always been my experience and most other well built houses I have seen, with or without aquariums. And an HRV is the way to go, bar none. A Humidex may be fine but I will ask again, for the 100th time, :D, how does it differ from an exaust fan for humidity and opening a window for replacement air.

De-humidifiers are not cost effective and dont work well in the winter in the cold. Now for Keri that lives on the west coast, I dont know for sure how an HRV will do, as it relies on dry outside air in the winter. Thats why they are not much more than an air exchanger in the summer and actually should not be run if central air, which is the best summer humidity fixer upper, is being ran.

Perhaps an exchanger like the Humidex may work well on the coast? Or just one of the fancy exaust systems many run on their tanks out there already.

But when winter is winter and your house is sealed up like they should be now, HRV is the best. As a matter of fact I thought they were going to be code in all new places now. I do know most new homes have them installed in cold climates. They just cannot breath without them and thus it affects us. And this is in homes with normal humidity concerns.

Another good option for winter, is a good wood stove. That really moves moisture out and drys the air. :D But not feasable in most applications.

Or do as I have now. {my last several homes all had hrv,s installed}. I have a central exaust system which works well and make up air comes in via the furnaace freash air intake. Now not very efficient but does ok. However it was not enough for my larger tanks, so I now run a 20 or 30g size. If I had ordered a new place instead of the display we had purchased, I would have had an hrv installed at the factory.

Anywho, thats some of my views and experience. Take it FWIW.

[Keri]

Lance: Boo on you, I don't even like you! ;) (Kidding - I'm jealous of your dehumidity lol)

Johnny: what is taking the doorsill away?

Mark: thank you for the link, I will read it!
edit: reading now, Wow, that article is very informative!

digital: See my response to Lance ;)

Doug: thank you for all the info! Have you ever installed an HRV yourself, and if so, how big of a project are we looking at? I suppose I could get someone in to do it but living in Sechelt it's always difficult to get ppl to come up to do stuff, and Drew is quite handy.

[Mrfish55]

You mean the windows are not supposed to be wet inside all the time:question:
JK I am having sweaty window issues also, I am almost certain it has nothing to do with the 350 gallons of salt water and the 4 gallons a day evaporation, I am blaming it on the toilets as the tanks sweat when you flush :silly: I am thinking HRV is the way to go, especially as the furnace is located in the same room as the tank.

[mark]

Not sure how humidity is not a concern on the prairie? Thats where its the most concern, as we have cold winters. Unless ones house leaks like a sieve. Yes, its dry air outside but its needs to be brought in to the house and exchanged with the humid house air that needs venting.

My case is new house and have the furnace humidifier turned off, house stays around 30%.

[marie]

... I am blaming it on the toilets as the tanks sweat when you flush :silly: ....


I'm blaming it on the dog :razz:

[Doug]

Yes Keri, I have done them all myself. But perhaps not the way the pro,s install them, making mods to suit my own needs. The hardest part is running the ducts if the basement is all finished. If not then its not to bad.
http://nutech-energy.com/life.htm

I ran my return fresh air different than specs say, depending on the amount the places were finished. My home in Thompson had a nice crawl space, so it was fairly easy.

[Gizmo]

I use a Venmar 3100 Air Exchanger/Dehumidifier.
This unit does it all. It sucks in dirty, stinky, humid air from the tank room, takes in fresh air from outside, runs it all through a HEPA filter and heat exchanger, then blows the fresh, dehumidified air into the furnace ducts and expels the bad air outside and drains the water down the drain. Runs about 15 watts on the power cycle I use. Highly recommended!!

I do have to top off more though because it drys out the air in the room.

[fkshiu]

I simply had an ultra-quiet Panasonic bathroom fan installed installed over tank as part of the basement reno. It's hooked up to a plain old programmable timer. Works just fine.

[lobsterboy]

i open the window.

[awa1979]

I have about 140 gallons total between smaller tanks in my 1 bedroom apartment.

I just leave a window open 1/2 way, keeps the humidity at bay.

I am in BC so its not really cold except for a few periods each winter.

[Reefer Rob]

Oops hit the wrong button. With our mild winters on the coast, all you need is an exhaust fan in your tank room and your problem is solved. Mine is an inline fan that exhausts the air from directly the aquarium hood. Installed a 3 speed switch inline, low for winter and high for summer.

[Chaloupa]

I have 300g (3 tanks) in my family room and did have an HRV installed, plus the window is ALWAYS open in that room, and we do leave the fan in the range on low....to keep the air flow going....so far we have no mold issues and have had both tanks in there for a couple of years now...I go through about 10g every other day (UGH I know) as both tanks have halides and tend to get too warm. We have AC in the summer that is full blast in this room, so the fans aren't cooling by evap as much.

[Keri]

I really want an HRV but Drew thinks it will be too hard to install with no existing ductwork as we don't have a furnace, just electric heat. (He's probably right, he's pretty reasonable lol) :( But....an exhaust fan.... you just punk a hole in the wall and set it up, right? I like the idea of a humidex but I don't know if it will be powerful enough.... Oh choices...

[loveless]

I bought one of te fantech fr100 fans. http://www.hvacquick.com/frfnconfig.php?fm=frGot it off ebay think I paid around 110 bucks and it stays on continuously for a year now with no problems, only 19watts too which is good

[Keri]

I bought one of te fantech fr100 fans. http://www.hvacquick.com/frfnconfig.php?fm=frGot it off ebay think I paid around 110 bucks and it stays on continuously for a year now with no problems, only 19watts too which is good

thanks - I've bookmarked that page for Drew to look at:mrgreen:

[loveless]

I must warn you about the sound. I definitely wouldnt call it loud, but it does make noise. I have about 6feet of ducting on either end which makes it fairly quiet. I have the fan mounted in a room in the basement and the ducting hooked up directly to the canopy. Its almost silent at the tank but makes a slight whirring sound one would expect from a fan in the room it is mounted in. Other than that it is a seemingly good product.

[mark]

only problem with a fan only, is along with the moisture your dumping out that warm air you just paid to heat.

[banditpowdercoat]

'm in a mobile Home, which is sealed up like a pasta strainer so no issues here HAHAHA

[Skimmerking]

I really want an HRV but Drew thinks it will be too hard to install with no existing ductwork as we don't have a furnace, just electric heat. (He's probably right, he's pretty reasonable lol) :( But....an exhaust fan.... you just punk a hole in the wall and set it up, right? I like the idea of a humidex but I don't know if it will be powerful enough.... Oh choices...

Keri just to let you in on something here. may friend has over 1000 gallons in his house. and his humidity was sitting at 85-90% all the time windows were dripping like crazy i couldn't believe how damp it was in his house. He installed a Humid ex and with in 3 days the % was down to 35 % and man what a difference, just remember this machine works and but remember never go that fast the is should have been done over a course of 2 weeks not 3 days . so its does work. the model he has is rated for 2500 SQ Ft and he has 1000 up and a 1000 down and it was pretty fast sucking out the water. now its like so dry in there but nice.

Just remember to install it in the basement and insure that you have fresh pipe around 2" vringing in fresh air. but you have no furance you are lucky then..

[michika]

We're going with an HRV, and will probably install a humidex as well should the HRV not handle moisture, or is impossible to conform to our needs. We see some moisture on our main floor, however it isn't necessarily from the tank in the basement. Our house is older, from the 50s, and we don't have a bathroom fan.

[Doug]

We're going with an HRV, and will probably install a humidex as well should the HRV not handle moisture, or is impossible to conform to our needs. We see some moisture on our main floor, however it isn't necessarily from the tank in the basement. Our house is older, from the 50s, and we don't have a bathroom fan.

If you size your hrv right, thats all you should need. They make some pretty large hrv units, including double core models.

[Skimmerking]

We're going with an HRV, and will probably install a humidex as well should the HRV not handle moisture, or is impossible to conform to our needs. We see some moisture on our main floor, however it isn't necessarily from the tank in the basement. Our house is older, from the 50s, and we don't have a bathroom fan.

Catherine i have a huge bathroom fan on a timer i have a older house built in the 50's too. however once the new windows went in and the new brick and siding house facelift its pretty sealed tight now.. and i hdotn hav any issues in there with your setup i see that you could run the bathroom fan in the fish room where your sump will be. and have a fan blowing air in the hood and then having suck out to the fish room where the fan would blow it out...

[EmilyB]

We installed a Hepa 3000 and have not seen ice on the windows since. I'd still like to learn how to use the controls better..

http://www.greenrinc.com/ven/hepa.htm

[Keri]

We installed a Hepa 3000 and have not seen ice on the windows since. I'd still like to learn how to use the controls better..

http://www.greenrinc.com/ven/hepa.htm


Did you run it thru existing ducting or make your own?



asmodeus:
I'd love it if a humidex would work.... your buddy had 1000 gallons, eh? hmmm...

[Gizmo]

With the venmar system you can use some existing vents if you have them. I disconnected the 6" fresh air intake from the furnace and connected it to the fresh air in on the venmar. I then used a bathroom fan exhaust for the stale air out. The 2 8" ducts can be connected to walls or anywhere in your house. I have my stale are in sucking air out of my fish tank mechanical room and the clean air out is connected to the place where I disconnected the fresh air intake from the furnace originally. I'll take some pics to show. But basically, you can put the 2 8" ducts anywhere you like. Its just a matter of exhausting the stale air out of your house that will be the tricky one.

[Scavenger]

I just rub a little anti perspirant around the rim ;)
Helps keep down the low tide smell too!
j/k

[Keri]

I just rub a little anti perspirant around the rim ;)
Helps keep down the low tide smell too!
j/k

:lol:

[Keri]

Today's humidity reading: 63 :cry:


I can't do an HRV, I'd like a simple exhaust fan rigged to a humidistat (sp?) but it was pointed out to me that if we go to sell this house it's going to look like we were growing dope down here so I guess I'm leaning towards a Humidex again. It costs more for essentially the same thing as a fan on a humidistat control but it looks a lot more offical, less suspicious!

[Lance]

Today's humidity reading: 63 :cry:


I can't do an HRV, I'd like a simple exhaust fan rigged to a humidistat (sp?) but it was pointed out to me that if we go to sell this house it's going to look like we were growing dope down here so I guess I'm leaning towards a Humidex again. It costs more for essentially the same thing as a fan on a humidistat control but it looks a lot more offical, less suspicious!


Hmmm! Exhaust fan and large electricity consumption? Just like every other house in B.C. I wouldn't worry about it Keri. If you want to go the fan route, put it in. I would.

[mark]

Today's humidity reading: 63 :cry:


I can't do an HRV, I'd like a simple exhaust fan rigged to a humidistat (sp?) but it was pointed out to me that if we go to sell this house it's going to look like we were growing dope down here so I guess I'm leaning towards a Humidex again. It costs more for essentially the same thing as a fan on a humidistat control but it looks a lot more offical, less suspicious!

A bathroom type fan (which can move a lot of air), good looking grill, can't see why the would effect resale.

[Keri]

A bathroom type fan (which can move a lot of air), good looking grill, can't see why the would effect resale.

Well, I was going to vent it thru the wall as it's downstairs where the tank is and I can access an old dryer vent that was there before. Wouldn't that look funny?

[Lance]

Well, I was going to vent it thru the wall as it's downstairs where the tank is and I can access an old dryer vent that was there before. Wouldn't that look funny?

Not at all.

[Discustopia]

My A/C unit is oversized for my house - the drain pump attached to my furnace extracts moisture from the air year round.

[mark]

My A/C unit is oversized for my house - the drain pump attached to my furnace extracts moisture from the air year round.

Can you explain?

With my central AC, moisture is removed from condensation on the Evaporator coil. With the unit not running in winter, no moisture removed via the AC. I will get condensate from my hi-efficiency furnace but that's from water vapour in the exhaust (not room air).

[Keri]

my a/c unit is oversized for my house - the drain pump attached to my furnace extracts moisture from the air year round.

can you explain?

With my central ac, moisture is removed from condensation on the evaporator coil. With the unit not running in winter, no moisture removed via the ac. I will get condensate from my hi-efficiency furnace but that's from water vapour in the exhaust (not room air).

+1

[gbeef]

what about a cover?

[Keri]

what about a cover?

If I cover it with glass wouldn't I cut out a lot of the light?

[mark]

there's salt creep, plus you might need the evaporation to get your temps down

[Keri]

It wouldn't cut down on the spectrum of the light?

[High tide]

I use a Venmar 3100 Air Exchanger/Dehumidifier.
This unit does it all. It sucks in dirty, stinky, humid air from the tank room, takes in fresh air from outside, runs it all through a HEPA filter and heat exchanger, then blows the fresh, dehumidified air into the furnace ducts and expels the bad air outside and drains the water down the drain. Runs about 15 watts on the power cycle I use. Highly recommended!!

I do have to top off more though because it drys out the air in the room.

That sounds pretty sweet!

In my basement I have well over 1000 gal. of water. I run an exhaust fan during the day (14 hrs) and dehumidifier at night (10 hrs.) in the winter and the fan on all the time/no dehumidifier in the summer. This keeps my humidity in the 40-50% range, which isn't too bad where I live.:wink:

[o.c.d.]

I installed a inline exaust fan in my attic with two ports in the fish room still waiting on a dehumidistat? Nice thing about them is you can't hear them at all.But 12hr in my attic really sucked. First I use a regular bath fan and it was good for about 2 years then the port locked close and the line filled with water and what a pain. All fixed now just remember the lesson learnt, check outside ports and inside for obstruction. I now have the humidity reading also, I could have wrecked my roof if I hadn't have caught it.

[bauder1986]

Wow, glad I read this thread. So far there is about 200g of tanks in this house and much more to come (inbetween the roommates and I). So far I'm doing good on the humidity. Also helps that I live on edge of the prariies to!:lol: Guess I'll have to keep an eye out on that!

[Atomikk]

Controlling your humidity is a must for all tank owners! And do not cover your tank with glass or acrylic. Your tank needs to get rid of CO2 gas, and by closing it off, you can suffocate everything!

As for my setup... here are my pictures:
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v676/Atomikk/South%20Millway/P1010061.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v676/Atomikk/South%20Millway/P1010062.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v676/Atomikk/South%20Millway/P1010060.jpg

Two fans, vented outside, on two dehumidistats.

And the write up:
http://blog.fragd.it/2008/11/28/a-reefroom-a-continuation/

[Gizmo]

If I can throw this in, its a good idea to also have a method of brining in fresh air from the outside to make up for everything you are exaushting outside. There are 5" inline duct heaters that can heat cold air in the winter months, but if your place is like mine, the cold air can aid in cooling down the tank too.

Edit - If an exchanger is out of reach, use a min 300cfm bathroom exhaust fan. But you will need to have some form of makeup air duct according to building codes. Broan makes some nice "high flow" fans that are very quiet. Note that some juristictions require that fans above 300cfm be interlocked with your furnace, keep that in mind if you can't get a wire down to your furnace.

[mark]

If I can throw this in, its a good idea to also have a method of brining in fresh air from the outside to make up for everything you are exaushting outside. There are 5" inline duct heaters that can heat cold air in the winter months, but if your place is like mine, the cold air can aid in cooling down the tank too.


In the building code at least for Edmonton, if running an exhaust fan in excess of 300 CFM, there's a requirement that the fresh air intake duct for the furnance have a inline heater and that when the exhaust fan is turned on, the furnance fan comes on also.

Came across this when looking to install a high flow (~600cfm) kitchen range hood.