Help please

[busypencil]

I am having a problem with frost build up on roof due to execessive humitidy in the house. I have two saltwater tanks one is 108 gallon no sump and another is 100 gallon with I think 60 gallon sump. I like the looks of the non sump tank but if I have to get rid of one tank to eliminate my humitidy problem which one should I keep? Do problems arrise from non sumped tanks. I have water in this one and some rock but no skimmer just heater and filter. no fish in this one yet. Please give advice.

Linda

[banditpowdercoat]

Sump or no sump, water evaporates. And that leads to condensation. My house(trailer) is horrible right now, with the 250g+ of SW and 50g+ of FW tanks. need to get the damp air out, and dry air in. A dehumidifier is a thought. Me, I'm shutting down some of my tanks, just keeping the large SW. I am also making a vent from the SW canopy to outside, controlled by a humidistat.

[BlueTang<3]

i have 260 gallons of water in my basement humidity was at 70 % pickd up a dehumidifier and brought it down i now cover the tanks at night and covered my sump only had o run dehumidifier for 1 week and now that weather is colder dont need it at all as humidity is lower now

[mark]

make sure your furnace humidifier is off, get a dehumidify, and though it rarely runs, I have a bathroom type fan in the fish room above the sump to vent out the humid air, something to consider.

Little more involved a HRV (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Heat_recovery_ventilation)or ERV (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Energy_recovery_ventilation)

[Millepora_Maniac]

Fan + dehum combination works best for me, I use a Drizair 1200 dehum, and a three speed blower fan. The blower keeps the moisture moving around the room and the dehum works way more efficiently this way. If you just use the dehum, and don't blow the air around then it will be about 50% less effective. Cheers-MM

[Parker]

When I bought my house I put in a high efficiency furnace so I'm able to run my furnace fan on low 24/7 which helps dicipate the humidity throughout the house. I also have a fan mounted above my tank connected to a humidistat to vent air to the outside, although to my knowledge it's never turned on.

I have about 300 gallons in the basement.

[busypencil]

Thanks for the ideas the house is 1400 sq feet no basement what size dehumidifer would you suggest also are brands different/
Thanks for the imput. Have 2 windows open upstairs today and both bathroom fans runing right now and celing has stopped dripping.

Linda

[04scoobysti]

I am having a problem with frost build up on roof due to execessive humitidy in the house. I have two saltwater tanks one is 108 gallon no sump and another is 100 gallon with I think 60 gallon sump. I like the looks of the non sump tank but if I have to get rid of one tank to eliminate my humitidy problem which one should I keep? Do problems arrise from non sumped tanks. I have water in this one and some rock but no skimmer just heater and filter. no fish in this one yet. Please give advice.

Linda

Is the frost build up in your attic on the rafters or is it on your shingles causing ice to build up? If its on your rafters you have excess moisture that is making its way into your attic (cold zone) and condensing and freezing to your rafters and roof boards.
If its on the shingles there is a problem with your ventilation, the attic is getting heated. Proper soffit and roof ventilation will likely solve your problem. Also you should check your attic for even distribution of insulation (not blocking soffits at eaves) and that all ducting is wrapped with insulation and vented properly through the roof.

Hope that helps. In addition, a humidifier would help greatly to keep the moisture within the house down to prevent condensation on cold windows and give mould less of and opportunity to grow.

[busypencil]

The inside of roof, rafters etc is all frosty. Unable to get access by myself. May have to call a repair person Monday if it persists. Thanks for the lowdown. This has never happened before so I think vents should be fine. Just the additions of 250 gallons of warm water is causing the problem.

Any brand names of dehumidifers or size suggestions as I will go out today and get one if I have to. Gee there goes more expence. Who said this was not a cheep hobby.
Linda

[the marine apprentice]

i just run my summer fan all the time. it is low cost and you cant hear it either. i never had it on for that cold snap we just had and all my doors froze up and it was a mess.
i am a roofer and you can always tell who has a bigger tank in their house by the build up of frost when ya rip off the shingles. even in the summer you can see the water marks by the vents and at the peak sometimes as well.

[busypencil]

Thanks for the imput will try and find furnace fan switch.
Linda

[landshark]

This is your problem. Inadequate insulation and air flow in your attic will give you a buildup of moisture, regardless of the humidity level inside your house. Like o4scoobysti said, check insulation and air movement.

[Doo]

Just had the same problem!!!

are you in a new house?

do you have hardwood?

get a humidity reader ($35 from Canadian Tire) that will tell you exactly what the humidity is doing in your house.

with hardwood as per our installers should be between 30%-35%
and that is exactly what mine was.

The problem I had was improper insulation in the garage. We have a bonus room and the vapor barrier was incorrectly installed. Once they dropped the dry wall they could see that some spots did not have any vapor barrier and other spots did not have the vapor barrier stapled...

I would check that out.

I hope that helps!

[busypencil]

I do not have hardwood floors but did discover the access hatch to attic did not have vapor barrier or insulation so humidity vented upward. Found a humidity reader for $3.00 at canadian tire and it was up to 65 % insulated access need to put weather stripping on access and placed a large fan in attic to move air around more. Have avoided looking up there again as hatch is hard to close. House humitity is now 35-50 I keep two windown open a couple of inches to let humitidy escape.
Thanks for the info about reccomended levels.

[fishoholic]

We had the same problem, we installed one of these http://www.rona.ca/shop/~turbine-dual-ball-bearing-turbine-masterflow-gaf-84482_heating-ventilation-air-conditioning_shop on our roof and it seems to help. We also run a dehumidifier.