Excess moisture in the house

[Coralgurl]

Im sure there's been a number of threads on this subject already, I'm jus not good at searching....

My daughter pointed out yesterday that we have mold forming on the windows ledges in our kitchen. Checked all the windows and found they all have some. The windows are trimmed in plastic, not wood so easy enough to clean up but now concerned about areas we can't see.

Are there any alternatives to an HRV system to help deal with the moisture in the house from the tanks? Both my tanks are in my living areas - kitchen and former office and can not close them off.

Thanks

[Cal_stir]

dehumidifier

[mark]

what's wrong with a hrv?

[fixerupper]

We had similar problems. Adding a 6" fan to vent moist air helped a little but not nearly enough. Once we installed a glass top and enclosed the stand and sump area the problem disappeared. I ramped up the LEDs by 10% to compensate for light loss, routed a fresh air source to the skimmer and scheduled glass cleaning reminder into my to-do list on Aqua-Planner. Problem solved. As an added bonus, I only need one of my 200W heaters, the drone of the 6" fan is gone (plus the added electrical cost) and the furnace isn't on as much in cold weather.

[Coralgurl]

dehumidifier

Will look into, thanks

what's wrong with a hrv?

Cost

We had similar problems. Adding a 6" fan to vent moist air helped a little but not nearly enough. Once we installed a glass top and enclosed the stand and sump area the problem disappeared. I ramped up the LEDs by 10% to compensate for light loss, routed a fresh air source to the skimmer and scheduled glass cleaning reminder into my to-do list on Aqua-Planner. Problem solved. As an added bonus, I only need one of my 200W heaters, the drone of the 6" fan is gone (plus the added electrical cost) and the furnace isn't on as much in cold weather.

Do you have problems in the summer with heat in the tank?

[Goatman]

one of those window fans works as well....though not in the winter so much....

Exhaust vent?

lower temp in the house?

Tropical plants....bigger ones.

How is the insulation around the windows?...ie walls :)



sure it's the tank? you can buy a humidity gauge and check room to room?

[fixerupper]

Will look into, thanks



Cost



Do you have problems in the summer with heat in the tank?

This is one of the advantages of LEDs. We don't have central A/C and there were several days last summer that the tank climbed into the low 80s for a while. During those few days I removed the tops to take advantage of evaporative cooling. It never did get to the point where I had to mount a surface fan. I think if a person lived in a hot climate, had a warm house or used MH lights, the heat trapped by a top would be more of an issue.

[Coralgurl]

one of those window fans works as well....though not in the winter so much....

Exhaust vent?

lower temp in the house?

Tropical plants....bigger ones.

How is the insulation around the windows?...ie walls :)



sure it's the tank? you can buy a humidity gauge and check room to room?

Positive it's the tanks, especially since adding the 180 plus sump. House is now 6 years old, we bought new. When temps drop below -10, every window is the house has moisture on them. House temp set at 20 and nope, won't lower till its warmer outside...but even in the summer we get the moisture, we do run the fan which helps.

I kill house plants, it's a definite death sentence for them when I buy so I gave up years ago.

Went out last weekend to look at options to skin the stand, we are working on getting that done.

[Coralgurl]

This is one of the advantages of LEDs. We don't have central A/C and there were several days last summer that the tank climbed into the low 80s for a while. During those few days I removed the tops to take advantage of evaporative cooling. It never did get to the point where I had to mount a surface fan. I think if a person lived in a hot climate, had a warm house or used MH lights, the heat trapped by a top would be more of an issue.

I do have LEDs, but even last summer the tank temp rose into the mid 80's during the day (no a/c either). I threw a fan on the sump which did help. Been watching the cover thread and may move to a glass/lexan top for a cover.

I think I will go with skinning the tank to start.

[magikof7]

Since starting my biocube I too have mold in the windows. Plastic casing and the old wood ones, I spray them with a bleach and water solution or Vim spray for bathrooms let it sit for a few mins then wipe it out.
We have been thinking it is time for a dehumidifier as well. It just seems to be winter when we have the problem.

I have the Radion on my tank, I am still topping off up to 2 litres a day.

[gridley]

We had a similar problem earlier this winter and I began looking into the options. I realized that the humidistat for the furnace humidifier had been installed in the furnace room (likey for the ease of instalation) and the furnace room was the dryest room in the house - I lowered the humistate and the problem was solved. This is most likely not the same issue as you are having - but it is a quick fix if it happens to be the same.

[Delphinus]

An HRV really is the answer you're looking for, and it will have benefits that go far beyond just controlling humidity when the weather is cold. Now that I have one, I'd never live in a house around here without one - even if I didn't have tanks - they're that useful.

Maybe keep the idea in your back pocket and look into it eventually. You could go DIY to keep costs down, if that was an option.

Maybe run the summer fan more often in the meantime to keep the air stirred up.

A dehumidifier can help but they are noisy and expensive to run and only offer a localized solution (and the humidity bounces back instantly when they're off). But it will help out in the meantime.

[Starry]

i run 2 portable de-humidifiers in my fish room (basement) and have to empty them both daily. still a little bit of dampnes on up stairs windows when its cold, but nothing like it was with out the de-hums. looked into HRV but basment is finished and is cost restrictive.
I also run a 180 gallon.

[Mike-fish]

i run glass tops on all my tanks on the 175g i had a bit of heat issues 3x400w mh lights only when it was hot out. the 270g 3x400w no heat issues. 29g biocube hqi no heat problems

[rhody605]

I got a few hygrometers off eBay for $4 each with free shipping. So I could keep an eye for when my humidity got worse.

Putting some corrugated plastic sheets over areas in your sump is a cheap and effective way to help reduce some humidity. I personally don't like glass tops on display. I find you don't get them same shimmer with one on.

[Seriak]

Make sure you turn off your humidifier on your furnace. I found my tank keeps my house humid enough. I also opened a couple windows just a tiny little crack. Enough to let the moist air out and not enough to chill the house at all. I haven't had any mold problems since doing this. I had the same mold around our plastic windows. In the summer it's not bad at all as we can leave windows open.

You can also get a dehumidifier, but you have to vent it outside or change the bins on a regular basis.

[The Grizz]

If you have a stove hood fan the is vented outside & silent running as well as bathroom fans on the main level run them while the house is awake until the outside temp is not as cold out. I find when it's really cold out is when we notice moisture build up.

[Coralgurl]

We are chatting about having someone come in and finish the basement which is 3/4 done. If we do, then we'll include an HRV in the budget. If we don't, then will look at a dehumidifier. With the warmer weather around the corner and being able to open windows soon it's not a huge rush but obviously not a good idea to not deal with it. This isn't our forever house so better to prevent the issues than fix down the road. Will hopefully have the stand skinned within a month which should also help.

[swill]

It's nice to know we are not the only ones with this issue...for some reason our mold seems to stick to our master bathroom. It only started after we got the second 300 gallon aquarium which is actually in our basement. We have 2 dehumidifiers running and also have to empty them everyday. Super frustrating...can't wait for summer.

[jacamarorchids]

Just move to Victoria, even people without tanks have moiture on the windows!:lol:

[reeferfulton]

lol true that .. Then add a tank by big vaulted windows like me , some days the water literally ran down the glass on the inside ... .....

[Jeff000]

I have the Radion on my tank, I am still topping off up to 2 litres a day.

I top off around 3g a day.....


i run 2 portable de-humidifiers in my fish room (basement) and have to empty them both daily. still a little bit of dampnes on up stairs windows when its cold, but nothing like it was with out the de-hums. looked into HRV but basment is finished and is cost restrictive.
I also run a 180 gallon.

de-humidifiers are huge consumers of power and add heat to the house.

[Starry]

yep, keeps my basement toasty warm all winter!

[sphelps]

If your house is new-ish you should have an exhaust fan that vents outside from your furnace cold air intake. Typically it's turned on manually with a light switch under your thermostat. This will do the exact same thing as an HRV without the heat recovery. Try it as a temporary solution, you can replace the switch with a timer or humidistat or just run it manually for a while. See how much of a difference it makes to your home humidity and gas bill. You can also get a new thermostat to control it so it turns on with your furnace based on humidity levels. Ideally it should run with the furnace fan so the furnace can bring new air in at the same time.

Also check your humidifier as others have mentioned, usually they are controlled with a humidistat located in your furnace room which is a pretty stupid location when you think about it. Turning it off is probably best for now.

Air circulation is key to reduce mold growth as well so increasing your furnace fan duty cycle is a good idea and of course keeping your furnace filter clean.

[SmallFry]

Ok, so you've had quite a bit of constructive advice here, but I've been stuck in a room with no windows learning about this sort of thing for the last couple of months. I had to suffer, now I'm going to bore you with it too. :lol:

Part of your 'problem' is that you have a pretty new house.

In old houses there were enough leaks that the warm moist air would rise to the top of the building and leak out, probably not doing the fabric of the building or whatever insulation there was much good in the process. Cold, dry air would then be sucked in (through a wall cavity containing who knows what in the way of formaldehyde loaded insulation etc.) to replace what leaked out the top, this is called the stack effect. In an older home you may not even notice any condensation issues because the air leaks are ventilating it for you (and adding to your heating bill).

Newer houses are much more airtight than they used to be, so this stack effect is reduced or eliminated and all that humid air is stuck in there. Enter the HRV...
Where I live you aren't allowed to build a house without one. Unlike an exhaust fan, a HRV brings air in in balance with what it exhausts and recovers some heat from the exhaust air to warm the incoming air (which is very useful in a Manitoba winter). The HRV wins over the exhaust fan in two ways. First that it saves energy. Second, in a newer tighter home there are not (hopefully) enough leaks to allow new air to come in and replace what the exhaust fan is removing, so the house ends up at a negative pressure, and the flow through the fan and therefore its effectiveness decreases - the HRV is bringing air in as well as exhausting, so this isn't an issue.
I know an HRV isn't cheap, but you may find it paying for itself in heating costs, especially if you live in an area where hydro/gas is expensive.

As swill noted these mould issues may well manifest themselves in the upper levels of a house since that's where the moisture will be taken by the rising hot air, and also the windows since the R value of a window is pretty low compared to a well insulated wall. An upstairs bathroom is a prime candidate, which is why our HRV takes air from all the bathrooms one of which is upstairs and has a switch so it can be used instead of a bathroom fan. It copes pretty well with the 5 gallons a well that my tank pushes into the air, to the point I only really run it intermittently.

I have also seen them just attached in the cool air return duct of the forced air system (exhaust air upstream incoming air) and wired to the furnace blower so that it operates when the HRV is running.

Hope that's of some help.