Dealing with Humidity

[SmallFry]

I'd go with HRV, I have no problems even with Manitoba winters, though my tank isn't exactly large - I top off a bit over 5 gallons a week if that gives you some idea. Our HRV also serves as an extractor for the bathrooms too, and we have fresh air in the house all year round.

One point to note is that HRVs and ERVs are different, and what you need depends on your climate, if I remember correctly ERVs are like an HRV, but they actually put some of the moisture from the moist stale air back into the dryer fresh incoming air. In areas where one would be running A/C most of the time this offsets its drying effect on the inside air. Most homes here have an HRV rather than an ERV.

[Seriak]

Also make sure you have turned off your humidifier on your furnace. I have the same setup and have minimal humidity issues on the main floor. No HRV req'd.

[whatcaneyedo]

I converted my tank into an in-wall display with its own room independently exhausted of humidity for about $600 in material and my own free labour. The room is also vented to draw cool air in from outside which helps to keep the heat down (I run halides) and the pH up. By no longer running a dehumidifier we are now saving $50 a month during the winter in electricity and the house no longer rises above 40%. Also, since the new tank room is relatively sealed off we aren't loosing very much of our warm house air and the noise that the tank makes is significantly buffered. There are plenty of pictures in the more recent pages of my tank journal.

HRVs are certainly the way of the future but can be extremely costly to integrate properly into existing construction.

[BlueTang<3]

I am also on the same page as whatcaneyedo, I built a exhaust fan directly outside from my canopy.

Can you get glass tops for your tank and cover your sump that would help a lot for evaporation.

[pinkreef]

Move to Victoria, i use the bathroom fan running all day and night - no problems

[Craigdillman]

Thanks for all the responses guys I'm pretty much sold on the HRV going to look at getting some quotes for one

Any idea what the ball park would be? Smallish house 1050 Square feet ?bi level split (come in i can walk upstairs or down to walkout basement )

[whatcaneyedo]

The units that I was looking at were $500. A full professional installation could run you $4000 according to this thread: http://www.canreef.com/vbulletin/sho...v+installation

[Vancouver Reefer]

If you are fairly handy, the install is fairly simple and Home Depot has them for around $800. You just need to get help or have a professional balance the intake and outake flows.