How do you control humidity?

[Keri]

Well, it's come to this.... after having almost 200 gallons of aquariums I'm really starting to see the effects on the house and last night we found mold (yes, MOLD, GROSS) in our closet along the bottom outside wall.

After ripping out the drywall to make sure it's not from the roof, burst pipe or leak now we have to figure out what to do.

i have been reading up on here what other people do but i can't decide between an HRV (which I don't really "get" what it does) a humidex or a powerful exhaust fan. We have a dehumidifier allready but it's old, loud and draws a scary amount of electricity so I often don't run it.

My 120g alone loses about a gallon a day

Aside from the general humidity I'm getting buttloads of condensation in my windows which are a pain to deal with and also encourage mold growth.

I'm looking for something more environmentally-friendly as I'm allready drawing so much power for my tanks, but if that's not possible....you do what you gotta do I guess.

I have allergies and lung issues allready, and it's just getting worse. But I don't want to get rid of my tanks!! I want a solution, I know things like HRVs are expensive but that cost is nothing compared to the house and I'll pay it if it will really work. I've heard somewhere about $1000, maybe more? Is that right? Does it matter that it is so humid outside? Our house doesn't get much sunshine because of the trees and where we live is very humid outside as well as in.

ok, done ranting... so what I'm asking of you is....
1) what (if anything) do you use to control the humidity?
2) is it working for you and would you recommend it?
3) How many gallons do you have total?
4) any tips/comments would be GREATLY appreciated

I have allowed for ppl to choose more than 1 answer as I'd imagine some ppl use more than 1 thing.



....aand because they are new....here are some emoticons :laluot _26:

[Skimmerking]

u guys are so lucky to have mild weather there ,but you get humid weather there too. what i would do is a few things Keri.
1. Get a HRV unit in the house that will help with the health issues you have having and get rid of the mold and damp humid air in your house.
2. or get a Humidex that pulls pretty much air the humid air in the house out. i had one in my house in NB in the crawl space in our 3 level split it was so damp there. and then i once it ws on man it was so dry in there amazing too..
back to one if you winters are so mild you can get the HRVand get it hooked up in the attic and put verts in all the rooms with out put ducks that is the best way to rid of the stuff.

[Aqua-Digital]

Here is how i control mine, profiLux connected.

[Skimmerking]

Show off

[Aqua-Digital]

Boys must have toys

[Keri]

Originally Posted by asmodeus

u guys are so lucky to have mild weather there ,but you get humid weather there too. what i would do is a few things Keri.
1. Get a HRV unit in the house that will help with the health issues you have having and get rid of the mold and damp humid air in your house.
2. or get a Humidex that pulls pretty much air the humid air in the house out. i had one in my house in NB in the crawl space in our 3 level split it was so damp there. and then i once it ws on man it was so dry in there amazing too..
back to one if you winters are so mild you can get the HRVand get it hooked up in the attic and put verts in all the rooms with out put ducks that is the best way to rid of the stuff.

I think an HRV would probably "do" the most. My husband is handy, maybe it's something we can install ourselves...plus I've heard they add value to the house.

Originally Posted by Aqua-Digital

Here is how i control mine, profiLux connected.

I see an LCD screen....how does the LCD make the humidity go away?
Is it connected to a dehumidifier?

[Aqua-Digital]

ProfiLux has humidity control option, so you connect the humidifer to one plug socket and the dehumidifier to another then assign your nominal value and it will keep the humidity within that range.

If you have a built in humidifier most likely the solenoid is 24v so you will need a 110V/24v dc converter.

[Keri]

Originally Posted by Aqua-Digital

ProfiLux has humidity control option, so you connect the humidifer to one plug socket and the dehumidifier to another then assign your nominal value and it will keep the humidity within that range.

If you have a built in humidifier most likely the solenoid is 24v so you will need a 110V/24v dc converter.

Sounds pretty spiffy!!!

[Aqua-Digital]

In total honesty unless you have use for the aquatic controller for your fish tank or already have a profilux it is an expensive way to control just humidity, having said that if you do want to control the humidity around the fish room and do want a controller this is one hell of an awesome and then cost effective control method.

[loveless]

I am lucky enough to live in the prairies where humidity isnt a concern in the winter. I have a fantech fr100, which says it draws 19Watts. I vent it outside in the summer and vent it internally for the winter. Keeps the humidity up during those dry prairie winters for sure. Oh and my tank is a 180gal with about a couple of gallons of topoff /day.