Have to get humidity down: glass tops or canopy?

[Coleus]

My humidity level is at 40% right now but i still see the water condensing on my windows. Should i concern?

Back to original questions, I don't think glass top is good because it will effect your ph. Canopy is a better choice

Originally Posted by kien

http://www.oee.nrcan.gc.ca/residenti...-hrv-works.cfm

In short, it takes stale air from inside your house and vents it outside. It takes fresh air from the outside and brings it inside. The warm air that is vented outside is used to heat up the fresh air coming in so that you don't lose too much heat. The one side effect that we are interested in here is that it will take humid air out thus dehumidifying your home. Highly recommend for new homes or homes that have upgraded their windows to higher efficiency windows because those houses are like cocoons.

We just installed in our house a couple of weeks ago. Before we were were battling 55 to 60% humidity and had to open windows and turn on all the bathroom fans all day long.. brutal! Now our house runs at a comfortable 40%

[wickedfrags]

Be mindful that your humidity meter is likely off 15% +/- unless it is a commercial/scientific active model.


To the question, a dehumidifier will not likely assist significantly with a tank your size, assuming you also have a sump. I bought a large dehumidifier in the winter years back........it never came close to doing the job.

The best option is a Heat Recovery Ventilator (HRV) - budget $1200+ anyway, assuming you install it. You need the second unit up in size. As where you live is COLD, you will nead one with a pre-heat coil (uses the heat from the air being removed from your house to temper the outside air coming in.

Another option, you can buy an exhaust fan and connect it to an electronic dehumidistat, exhausting directly to the outside. The fan will come on whenever the humidity rises to the level you set it at (to prevent condensation in the winter) and then turn off. The bad part about this is it puts your house under negative pressure, drawing in the cold air in the winter and drawing in the warm air in the summer...good luck.

Originally Posted by Coleus

My humidity level is at 40% right now but i still see the water condensing on my windows. Should i concern?

Back to original questions, I don't think glass top is good because it will effect your ph. Canopy is a better choice

[Delphinus]

40% is going to give you HUGE condensation on the windows when it's -20 or colder outside. At -30 like it was last night there's pretty much no way to avoid wet windows unless you have maybe 10% or less but that's going to be pretty uncomfortable. I have about 20%-25% right now which is enough to keep the windows dry at -23 but not at -30 like it was last night. Phooo that was a cold one last night.

Originally Posted by Coleus

My humidity level is at 40% right now but i still see the water condensing on my windows. Should i concern?

[KevinK]

ok so we also had a steady 60 to 65% (tank +sump would be apr 450 to 500 gal)

I then both a 50Pint dehumidefyer and run it for 2 days, nothing realy happening,

as I had a pipe in the sealing of my fishroom, but never did anything with it, I both a 9 cubic metre fan for $ 20 and have it running all day.

as my tank has a canopy (sort of) it is a inwall tank that from the livingroom has lids I can open, but behind the tank I have a filter room, where everything is open.

now running the fan in the filter room, I create a negative presure in the filter room (checked it with some smoke and was holding it in frondt of the lids in the living room, where it was drawing the air into the filter room.

with the effect the vent is making, the air in the filter room is going out (9 M3 minus friction and presurisin the pipe, I think about 3 to 4 M3 is leaving a minute.

the filter room is nice and comfortable, in stead of overwhelming with moist air, the humidety is down to 35 to 43% withing 2 days.

cant beleave we had the tanks running for about 16 monjths without any fan

luckely we cant find any mold !!!!!!!!

overall, I think when you put a lit on top of your tank with a vent hole, suck the air out of it by creating negative presure, and you will drop your avarage humidety drasticly

this option cant be expensive, as in worst case it is gust a plywood box, and you can make it as fancy as you want.

[gobytron]

[quote=Myka;560666]

Pertaining to the original question though, glass tops work better than a canopy (unless canopy is well sealed), and have the benefits of keeping temperature lower since you can cover the tank with glass, and still have fans to blow the heat from the halides away. QUOTE]


Doesnt a glass top hinder evaporation, which in turn leads to increased heat retention?

My experience with glass tops is significantly increased heat...?

[Delphinus]

Originally Posted by wickedfrags.com

Another option, you can buy an exhaust fan and connect it to an electronic dehumidistat, exhausting directly to the outside. The fan will come on whenever the humidity rises to the level you set it at (to prevent condensation in the winter) and then turn off. The bad part about this is it puts your house under negative pressure, drawing in the cold air in the winter and drawing in the warm air in the summer...good luck.

Need to be a little careful with this .. If you have negative pressure in your house then if there's any incomplete combustion in the furnace or hot water tank, carbon monoxide can be drawn into the house and not exhausted out the exhaust vent as normal. If you have a strong kitchen fan for example, code will require you to interlock it with your furnace so that you can't create a negative pressure in your house. A standard bathroom fan might not be enough to cause a problem but it's something to consider.

[lastlight]

If you have 2 ducts of equal size (makes it easier to assume stuff lol) and both are equal length (again why not?) and one runs outside and passively lets fresh air in directly into a canopy and the other pulls or blows air out of the canopy and house then I don't see where the dangers apply. That's what I intend to do when I get the boot to the basement someday. Canopy will be tightly sealed to the top of the tank.

[Wayne]

Originally Posted by lastlight

If you have 2 ducts of equal size (makes it easier to assume stuff lol) and both are equal length (again why not?) and one runs outside and passively lets fresh air in directly into a canopy and the other pulls or blows air out of the canopy and house then I don't see where the dangers apply. That's what I intend to do when I get the boot to the basement someday. Canopy will be tightly sealed to the top of the tank.

Good idea! What's your idea to help stabalize the tempurature of the outside air?

[lastlight]

The way I see it this cold air can also cool your tank for free. It's not being released into the basement only the canopy. Free chiller in the winter at least. If it's too cold I'm a big fan of halides. Problem solved lol.

[Wayne]

Originally Posted by lastlight

The way I see it this cold air can also cool your tank for free. It's not being released into the basement only the canopy. Free chiller in the winter at least. If it's too cold I'm a big fan of halides. Problem solved lol.

LOL that would do the trick!