Help with humidity...

[banditpowdercoat]

Well this is the first fall with both the 45g and 150g tanks and the humidity is to much. Windows are allways soaked. Any idea's on what to do? Will a dehumidifier work? Or will it be overwhelmed with the moisture? What is a good dehumidifier? Cost is kinda an issue now that i'm unemployed. But don't want to rot my walls and such with all the moisture.

[mark]

-dehumidifier, I got a old Kenmore that worked well
-install a exhaust fan in the same room (bathroom type fan)
-vent canopy directly outside
-turn off furnace humidifier
-once colder, outside air humidity will drop and moisture from tanks a good thing

[banditpowdercoat]

Ya, the outside air right now is more humid than in summer/winter.
No canopy, tanks are open top.
No fan's in living room, and not going to be installed in walls. There is a exhaust fan down the hall, by where the dryer/washer is. I do run that. But that just pulls cold outside air in, which I now have to heat.

How well do dehumidifiers work?? Are they a worthy invenstment? I have about 250 gallons of tanks in a 1000SqFt home

[hillegom]

Read this thread Dan:
http://canreef.com/vbulletin/showthread.php?t=49532&highlight=humidity

[mr.wilson]

Mark brought up a good point about turning off the furnace humidifier. Even if it has a humidistat it may fail or measure dry air from another area.

The problem with venting in the winter is you pay to heat the new cold air coming in. An HRV is a good investment. Dehumidifiers are okay in some cases, but they may not be able to keep up. If you are planning to buy one you can hit the second hand stores, news papers, Craig's List, and Kijiji as this is the time of year people typically turn off the A/C and dehumidifier and turn on the furnace and humidifier.

What is the current humidity level? It should be below 65%, preferably 55%. The problem could be that your windows aren't as insulated as they could be. It doesn't take a lot of vapour in the air to make cold windows sweat. A second layer of that plastic you put over the inner window gap with a hair drier will help, but it isn't very convenient. Once your furnace kicks in it will burn off a lot of the humidity, assuming you have forced air gas (FAG). Burning wood will add humidity unless you have a wood stove.

It isn't an easy fix, but covering the tank at night would help a lot. As the room gets cooler at night, more water evaporates. Just don't forget to take the styrofoam off of the tank in the morning before the light melts it :)

Eliminating the other sources of humidity in the home (basements, bathrooms, and kitchens) can also help.

You could always use it as an excuse for your family to move into a well insulated log cabin with a nice big wood stove. The fish part of the family :)

[whatcaneyedo]

You could have my old dehumidifier for free. The only catch is it doesnt seem to work anymore... but being an electrician maybe you could fix it. Its a Maytag that I've had for about 8 years, I only used it during the colder months and this year it suddenly stopped working.

Like you I'm currently unemployed so I dont feel like forking out the $200 for a new one. However the humidity from my 300gal worth of saltwater only has the house sitting at about 50% so I'm not too worried. Like you the windows here would run with condensation when it got cold outside but that is because our landlord is too cheep to update them. I found that using a Shrink to Fit window insulating kit stopped that problem and eliminated a lot of heat loss and cold drafts. Another thing we do is keep the furnace fan running constantly so that the humidity from the tanks is evenly distributed throughout the house.

[banditpowdercoat]

Thx for the offer russel. I'm up to have a look at it at least :D You will most likely be down my way before I get up there again LOL.

My humidity level was 95% this mornig. Windows are all double pane vinyl. But I could add that plastic to some maybe??? Could lower my light times too? add less heat into tank. But I love seeing my fish LOL.

Once it drops below freezing constantly, we'll see how the house does?

[mr.wilson]

Wow, 95% is extremely high. Is it that rate throughout the house? Mold may become an issue for you. You should try a top on the tank for a day or two to see if the source is just the aquarium. Putting plastic on just one window will give you a good test.

I have window sweating issues in my apartment when I do a lot of cooking. I'm on the 22nd floor right by the lake and my windows are ancient 1/8" single pane glass with aluminum frames... not that I'm bragging :)

[Bryan]

Thx for the offer russel. I'm up to have a look at it at least :D You will most likely be down my way before I get up there again LOL. ?

Dehumidifiers are sort of a stripped down AC, so if it is not working likely a compressor problem.

My humidity level was 95% this mornig.

Hmm, what are you using to measure it, I kind of doubt the accuracy of the meter. If it is a hand held I know of a simple way of checking the accuracy using some table salt.

[banditpowdercoat]

Well, the 95% was measured with the Broan humidistat on the hallway wall exhaust fan. Thats when the fan turned on. I would guess it would not be even close to right but??

Today was raining and about 10c left some windows open, fans on and things are a little bit better, but still foggy windows when the sun went down

[Gizmo]

Its not the most economical thing, but as soon as you can afford, I highly suggest a Venmar air exchanger. Dehumidifies, brings in fresh air, expells stale old air, and exchanges it so you aren't losing hot air out the side of your house and having to reheat cold air coming in. They are about $750 plus install, but again, worth every dime. Our place stays at a constant 40% humidity and I evap about 2" of water out of my 100g sump a day. (although that might be some overskimming too) :)

[braid11]

So, does the solution change if the humidity in the neighbourhood is 97%, as it is where I am, or 83% , as it is in 100 mile house?

Tom

[mr.wilson]

It sounds like your tank needs an umbrella :)

If it is really that humid outside, then your ambient humidity inside will be comparable. If the humidity is that high, you shouldn't have much if any evaporation. You really need to calibrate your humidity meter (hygrometer).

http://crabstreetjournal.com/xoops/modules/news/article.php?storyid=54

[braid11]

Check it out, 98% now. 90s are typicle in the winter.
http://www.weatheroffice.gc.ca/city/pages/bc-50_metric_e.html

[mr.wilson]

If your ambient humidity is that high, then the aquarium will have no bearing on the humidity of your home's interior. An aquarium may raise the humidity as much as 5% if your home is poorly ventilated, but hot air hitting poorly insulated cold windows will sweat just as much without the tank.

[wolf_bluejay]

The unit has been instaleld for about 1 year -- compared to fan venting the house, I really love it.
The unit I have has a fedw "modes" and I run it 24/7 on low -- and it kicks into high gear if the humidity gets too high.

As for the outside humidity, remember that humidity is a measure of the saturation of the air and depends a lot on the air temp. 100% humidity at -5C is NOT 100% once the air is warmed up, it's more like 25%.

So, in winter, if it is cold outside, you can get your humidity as low as you want.

I installed the HRV because I insulated the crap out of the house and was getting really muggy, high CO2 air. I get much less "lingering" odours, and the house feels "fresher". The lower humidity is just a bonus.

If you acutally run the numbers -- they are one of the cheapest options. I installed mine myself and it cost about $600. Compare this the the added heating/cooling costs with just venting the house, and usually it is cheaper if you live in a cold/hot climate like Kamloops.

A few setups I've seen even just replace the bathroom/kitchen fans with the HRV, and return the air to the living spaces.

[Delphinus]

I installed an HRV a few years ago. Now I'd never consider not having one (ie., I'll put one in any house I ever live in ... whether I have tanks or not. I like having the HRV *that* much. :lol: ) No really - seriously ... as stated it really is the best option. Not cheap, but you can save a lot by going DIY. Think you can even find HRV's at Home Depot/Rona/etc.

Dehumidifiers are noisy and clunky and only produce a localized effect. They can help a bit though, in a pinch. But they don't hold a candle to an HRV.

[Gizmo]

Think you can even find HRV's at Home Depot/Rona/etc.

Dehumidifiers are noisy and clunky and only produce a localized effect. They can help a bit though, in a pinch. But they don't hold a candle to an HRV.

I got my Venmar 3000 off of the Homedepot.ca website. They don't carry them instore any longer.

[StirCrazy]

Well, the 95% was measured with the Broan humidistat on the hallway wall exhaust fan. Thats when the fan turned on. I would guess it would not be even close to right but??

Today was raining and about 10c left some windows open, fans on and things are a little bit better, but still foggy windows when the sun went down

If it is realy that high then you have more problems than your tank. I sugest you put that fan on and set your humidistat for about 45. let it pull in new air and heat it untill your humidity is undercontrol. anything over 50% will suport mold growth and your helth is worth paing a little more on your heating bill. then if it comes down you should look into why it is that high in the first place.. is your bathroon fan/dryer, kitchen fan ect vented outside or just into the attic? do you have enough air exchange in the house?

Steve

[StirCrazy]

Well, the 95% was measured with the Broan humidistat on the hallway wall exhaust fan. Thats when the fan turned on. I would guess it would not be even close to right but??

Today was raining and about 10c left some windows open, fans on and things are a little bit better, but still foggy windows when the sun went down


ok so to show the effect heating had on relitive humidity here is an example.

the relitive humidity outside in 100 mile house is 78% at 5.5 degrees c, so if you bring that air into the house and heat it to 22 c then the relitive humidity becomes 27% so realy if you ran the fan and brought new heated air in you could drop your humidity pretty quick. the problem starts when us cheep buggers keep the house cold :mrgreen: by dropping the temp 4 degrees to 18 we raise the relitive humidity by almost 10%

Steve

[banditpowdercoat]

Ya, the base of the windows are starting to grow mold. Attacking them with bleach tomorrow... Most of them are just soaked, I've had enough.... Have both the hallway and bathroom exhaust fans on now, I can feel it pulling a breeze through the house. We'll see how well that works. Shut 2 150W lights off on the 150g too, only a 250W on now. to lessen the evap. It's still been climbing from 78 to 81 every night. Have a 6" clip on fan on top, blowing across water, under the halides 24/7 right now. House is usually 69. raised temp to 71.

BTW, Im in a Mobile home too, not a house. In case that makes any differenmt how they trap moisture? I kmow I keep callin it a house, guess I'm afraid of being called trailer trash LMAO....

[Binare]

I know nothing about humidity but do you got a lot of heat trace under your trailer? I had to do a service call and redo some splices on trace about 4 years ago this time of year... There was a fog so dense under there couldn't see inches from my nose. Had to turn off the heat trace and run a fan for an hour, that cleared it up. Just brainstorming here.

[StirCrazy]

here is an article on mobile homes and moisture problems, and what kind of things to look for.
http://www.huduser.org/publications/pdf/moisture.pdf

Steve

[banditpowdercoat]

Thx Steve.

Binare, Only heatreace is on the incoming water line, no issues there. The under house is ventalated well. To well in fact. Some missing areas of skirting, thx to snow coming off roof @ -30c. Have to put some plastic up and sheet it off here real soon. It's on my list to do before Nov.

[robert]

ok so to show the effect heating had on relitive humidity here is an example.

the relitive humidity outside in 100 mile house is 78% at 5.5 degrees c, so if you bring that air into the house and heat it to 22 c then the relitive humidity becomes 27% so realy if you ran the fan and brought new heated air in you could drop your humidity pretty quick. the problem starts when us cheep buggers keep the house cold :mrgreen: by dropping the temp 4 degrees to 18 we raise the relitive humidity by almost 10%

Steve

Yeah, Steve makes a good point about relationship between humidity and temperature. Go here (http://einstein.atmos.colostate.edu/~mcnoldy/Humidity.html) to play :biggrin: In winter time, the key is pulling in plenty of fresh cold air and heat it up to higher temperature. I guess here on the west cost we can do that just by keeping window open and furnace working at the same time :biggrin: Yes, HVR would improve that process by using heat exchanger - using warm indoor air on its way out to heat cool outdoor incoming air.

[Doug]

Dan, I also live in a modular/mobile, {whatever a mobile is, I,m not sure}. If newer like mine, they are very well insulated and require good air exchange. I have a good whole house exchanger but certainly not efficient like the HRV units, {the only way to go}, I had in my houses.

If you notice most my recent build threads relate to this and part of the current reason I now have a small aquarium, is to keep evaporation problems to a minimum and still enjoy the hobby.

Ours was a disply when we purchased it otherwise it would have been ordered with an HRV installed. That being said, I think its hard to put one in after market, asone has not access to run vents, etc, without removing the complete underbelly insulation and protection.