Help with humidity...

banditpowdercoat · #1 10-17-2009, 04:02 PM

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 · #2 10-17-2009, 04:13 PM

-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 · #3 10-17-2009, 04:28 PM

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 · #4 10-17-2009, 04:35 PM

Read this thread Dan:
http://canreef.com/vbulletin/showthr...light=humidity

mr.wilson · #5 10-17-2009, 04:52 PM

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 · #6 10-17-2009, 05:11 PM

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 · #7 10-17-2009, 05:20 PM

Thx for the offer russel. I'm up to have a look at it at least

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 · #8 10-17-2009, 05:33 PM

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 · #9 10-17-2009, 08:40 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by banditpowdercoat

Thx for the offer russel. I'm up to have a look at it at least

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.

Quote:

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 · #10 10-18-2009, 03:10 AM

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