Humidity from tanks can lead to bad things

nmhs2 · 05/05/2010, 01:51 PM

I have about 90 gallons of water in my tank including sump and i know my basement feels humid. Its not that case of it feelin humid the real problem is causing an easier way for mold to grow in your basement. I never hear anyone bringing the problem of MOLD up and how much it can destroy your house, just something i thought i would bring up.

rbnice1 · 05/05/2010, 01:55 PM

dehumidifier.........

UWUALineman · 05/05/2010, 01:58 PM

Just addressed this issue when I added about 100G's of sump and skimmer down in the basement. I added a cold air duct from the basement to the furnace as well as adding a digital dehumidifier to keep the humidity around 50 percent. Notice a big differnce in the "feel" of the air down there. It can be a real problem which some do not consider or simply overlook.

Phyxius · 05/05/2010, 02:00 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by rbnice1

dehumidifier.........

300g of water here and dehumidifier runs all winter long . Comes down in the summer when humidity drops. I also notice a big drop opening the windows a little when the weather permits.

nmhs2 · 05/05/2010, 02:18 PM

i have my dehumidifier connected to a hose outside so its always running

DustinB · 05/05/2010, 03:21 PM

I actually like having my aquarium in my room. The humidity stays between 45-55. By chance, this happens to be the perfect range for my high end acoustic guitars. No need to buy a humidifier anymore. I don't have any mold or anything else.

I would imagine a basement condition could cause the levels to raise too high though. Get a gauge and find out. Walmart has them for pretty cheap. If you are in my range then you are just fine. I'm running about 110 gallons including sump.

NYCBOB · 05/05/2010, 03:39 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by rbnice1

dehumidifier.........

+1. opening the windows helps too.

Spartanman22 · 05/05/2010, 05:44 PM

I don't have a dehumidifier, yet, but I do keep my windows open in the basement 24/7 and its not too bad at all.

mullinsd2 · 05/05/2010, 06:12 PM

Does a fan help? I open my window when it's not to hot. Tank is located in room and fan is directed towards door.

Joshsmit56001 · 05/05/2010, 06:45 PM

What about an air to air exchange?

travis32 · 05/05/2010, 06:51 PM

In the winter due to the below zero temps, my living room where the tank is, gets to 20 -30 % humidity. I shorted out the blue ray player due to electricity. know how much static builds up when humidity is below 25%? Holy crap. I about electricuted myself touching a door knob!!! Seriously.

I ran a humidifier that winter, does about 5 gallons in 24 hours of non stop running. That brought the humidity up around 3 or 4 %.

I'm hoping the tank do better than a humidifier!

In the summer the house can get humid-- close to 60%. But, the Central Air should take care of that.

nmhs2 · 05/05/2010, 07:49 PM

yea with central air running humidity is less, its nice to have a digital readout of you current humidity, I know my humidifier i can set it to keep my basement at a certain % range for humidity, with a lot of electronics in my basement its good to be on the safe side and through like 300 bucks on a dehumidifier from home depot.

Michael7979 · 05/05/2010, 08:56 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by nmhs2

i have my dehumidifier connected to a hose outside so its always running

+1...... also open it up when weather permits.

mcrist · 05/06/2010, 10:22 AM

I have a dehumidifier connected to my central air/furnace so it keeps my entire house at a reasonable level. Recently I have been running it less to keep the electricity costs down. I have noticed a little more condensation on my windows that can lead to some mold if I don’t keep them clean. My house is usually around 45-50% humidity all year round.

AngelAddict · 05/06/2010, 10:38 AM

I had this problem in my last house, roughly 300g in one room of my basement and 200g in the other. It dud quite a bit of damage, ruined electronics, rusted any metal in the rooms and grew mold! Now I have a new house, I'd like to prevent that when I setup my 220g. I was running a dehumidifier in the last house along with fans and windows open when weather permitted and still caused problems. I still don't know what to do to prevent this from happening in the new house.

nmhs2 · 05/06/2010, 10:58 AM

Some sophisticated hvac systems you can buy but I'm sure are pricey, you need good air exchange

anbosu · 05/06/2010, 11:10 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by AngelAddict

I had this problem in my last house, roughly 300g in one room of my basement and 200g in the other. It dud quite a bit of damage, ruined electronics, rusted any metal in the rooms and grew mold! Now I have a new house, I'd like to prevent that when I setup my 220g. I was running a dehumidifier in the last house along with fans and windows open when weather permitted and still caused problems. I still don't know what to do to prevent this from happening in the new house.

What a lot of the big tank people do is have an exhaust fan that pushes the air outside the house. Some people connect those to a humidistat if they don't want the fan running all of the time. If the rooms where the tanks are located are contained this should take care of your problem.

khaosinc · 05/06/2010, 01:02 PM

I've had a heck of a time as I have a fairly small house and live in a fairly humid area (at least it rains all the time. Even with fans and vents I had water literally raining off the windows and outside walls last winter. I've also been fighting with mold for a few months now to the point I've had to replace sections of drywall in several rooms. I burned up my dehumidifier and haven't been able to afford a new one yet.

I currently have negitive air pressure pulling out of my fish room and it helps keep everything in check in the rest of the house.

Killz is your friend.

upster · 05/06/2010, 01:14 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by khaosinc

I've had a heck of a time as I have a fairly small house and live in a fairly humid area (at least it rains all the time. Even with fans and vents I had water literally raining off the windows and outside walls last winter. I've also been fighting with mold for a few months now to the point I've had to replace sections of drywall in several rooms.

+1

I recently moved and found closets on the other end of the apartment with some fuzzy green carpet. That humid air settles in places you might not expect.

ALH · 05/06/2010, 01:24 PM

One of the very few benefits of living in SW AZ is low humidity

AngelAddict · 05/07/2010, 11:19 AM

I live in a relatively high humidity area, so I don't know if pulling that air in from outside would benefit me at all? Wish there was a simple relatively affordable solution. I'm going to try a huge dehumidifier first along with a humidistat, see how that goes. Then work on venting if needed,but the only place fir a vent is my only basement window which exits underneath the deck.

mcrist · 05/07/2010, 11:24 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by AngelAddict

I live in a relatively high humidity area, so I don't know if pulling that air in from outside would benefit me at all? Wish there was a simple relatively affordable solution. I'm going to try a huge dehumidifier first along with a humidistat, see how that goes. Then work on venting if needed,but the only place fir a vent is my only basement window which exits underneath the deck.

I purchased my dehumidifier from Therma-Stor and it works great.
http://www.thermastor.com/

reefer96 · 05/07/2010, 12:41 PM

http://www.acdirect.com/xcart/produc...productid=1681

This is what im going with for 700g system.

I've seen it in action and its GREAT.

reefer96 · 05/07/2010, 12:44 PM

Oh yea it has a great price tag too

rholguin · 05/07/2010, 04:01 PM

What is the safe percentage of humidity a house should have?

05/05/2010, 01:51 PM	#1
nmhs2 Registered Member Join Date: Jun 2007 Location: Boston Posts: 224	Humidity from tanks can lead to bad things I have about 90 gallons of water in my tank including sump and i know my basement feels humid. Its not that case of it feelin humid the real problem is causing an easier way for mold to grow in your basement. I never hear anyone bringing the problem of MOLD up and how much it can destroy your house, just something i thought i would bring up.

05/05/2010, 06:45 PM	#10
Joshsmit56001 Registered Member Join Date: Apr 2004 Location: Lake Crystal, MN Posts: 654	What about an air to air exchange? __________________ PBITAWA Current Tank Info: 150 Gallon Reef

05/06/2010, 10:22 AM	#14
mcrist Premium Member Join Date: Apr 2005 Location: Allentown, Pennsylvania Posts: 1,598	I have a dehumidifier connected to my central air/furnace so it keeps my entire house at a reasonable level. Recently I have been running it less to keep the electricity costs down. I have noticed a little more condensation on my windows that can lead to some mold if I don’t keep them clean. My house is usually around 45-50% humidity all year round. __________________ Mark Current Tank Info: 450 Gallon Peninsula

05/06/2010, 01:02 PM	#18
khaosinc The cyborg reefer Join Date: Oct 2008 Location: NW Washington state Posts: 2,345	I've had a heck of a time as I have a fairly small house and live in a fairly humid area (at least it rains all the time. Even with fans and vents I had water literally raining off the windows and outside walls last winter. I've also been fighting with mold for a few months now to the point I've had to replace sections of drywall in several rooms. I burned up my dehumidifier and haven't been able to afford a new one yet. I currently have negitive air pressure pulling out of my fish room and it helps keep everything in check in the rest of the house. Killz is your friend. __________________ Disclaimer: I have not yet figured out how to install a breathalizer on my computer. Current Tank Info: It's all torn down... someday I might rebuild.

05/07/2010, 04:01 PM	#25
rholguin Registered Member Join Date: Aug 2007 Location: El Paso, TX Posts: 846	What is the safe percentage of humidity a house should have? __________________ Robert Current Tank Info: 80g rimless.

05/05/2010, 01:55 PM	#2
rbnice1 Moved On Join Date: May 2008 Location: Cedar Hill Posts: 3,905	dehumidifier.........

05/05/2010, 01:58 PM	#3
UWUALineman Registered Member Join Date: Dec 2008 Location: Ohio Posts: 704	Just addressed this issue when I added about 100G's of sump and skimmer down in the basement. I added a cold air duct from the basement to the furnace as well as adding a digital dehumidifier to keep the humidity around 50 percent. Notice a big differnce in the "feel" of the air down there. It can be a real problem which some do not consider or simply overlook.

05/05/2010, 02:18 PM	#5
nmhs2 Registered Member Join Date: Jun 2007 Location: Boston Posts: 224	i have my dehumidifier connected to a hose outside so its always running

05/05/2010, 03:21 PM	#6
DustinB Registered Member Join Date: Apr 2010 Location: Texas Posts: 1,532	I actually like having my aquarium in my room. The humidity stays between 45-55. By chance, this happens to be the perfect range for my high end acoustic guitars. No need to buy a humidifier anymore. I don't have any mold or anything else. I would imagine a basement condition could cause the levels to raise too high though. Get a gauge and find out. Walmart has them for pretty cheap. If you are in my range then you are just fine. I'm running about 110 gallons including sump.

05/05/2010, 05:44 PM	#8
Spartanman22 Registered Member Join Date: Nov 2007 Location: Oswego Posts: 1,314	I don't have a dehumidifier, yet, but I do keep my windows open in the basement 24/7 and its not too bad at all.

05/05/2010, 06:12 PM	#9
mullinsd2 Registered Member Join Date: Jul 2009 Posts: 753	Does a fan help? I open my window when it's not to hot. Tank is located in room and fan is directed towards door.

05/05/2010, 06:51 PM	#11
travis32 Registered Member Join Date: Feb 2010 Location: West Fargo, ND Posts: 2,161	In the winter due to the below zero temps, my living room where the tank is, gets to 20 -30 % humidity. I shorted out the blue ray player due to electricity. know how much static builds up when humidity is below 25%? Holy crap. I about electricuted myself touching a door knob!!! Seriously. I ran a humidifier that winter, does about 5 gallons in 24 hours of non stop running. That brought the humidity up around 3 or 4 %. I'm hoping the tank do better than a humidifier! In the summer the house can get humid-- close to 60%. But, the Central Air should take care of that.

05/05/2010, 07:49 PM	#12
nmhs2 Registered Member Join Date: Jun 2007 Location: Boston Posts: 224	yea with central air running humidity is less, its nice to have a digital readout of you current humidity, I know my humidifier i can set it to keep my basement at a certain % range for humidity, with a lot of electronics in my basement its good to be on the safe side and through like 300 bucks on a dehumidifier from home depot.

05/06/2010, 10:38 AM	#15
AngelAddict Moved On Join Date: Apr 2010 Posts: 455	I had this problem in my last house, roughly 300g in one room of my basement and 200g in the other. It dud quite a bit of damage, ruined electronics, rusted any metal in the rooms and grew mold! Now I have a new house, I'd like to prevent that when I setup my 220g. I was running a dehumidifier in the last house along with fans and windows open when weather permitted and still caused problems. I still don't know what to do to prevent this from happening in the new house.

05/06/2010, 10:58 AM	#16
nmhs2 Registered Member Join Date: Jun 2007 Location: Boston Posts: 224	Some sophisticated hvac systems you can buy but I'm sure are pricey, you need good air exchange

05/06/2010, 01:24 PM	#20
ALH Registered Member Join Date: Nov 2007 Location: Yuma AZ Posts: 550	One of the very few benefits of living in SW AZ is low humidity

05/07/2010, 11:19 AM	#21
AngelAddict Moved On Join Date: Apr 2010 Posts: 455	I live in a relatively high humidity area, so I don't know if pulling that air in from outside would benefit me at all? Wish there was a simple relatively affordable solution. I'm going to try a huge dehumidifier first along with a humidistat, see how that goes. Then work on venting if needed,but the only place fir a vent is my only basement window which exits underneath the deck.

05/07/2010, 12:41 PM	#23
reefer96 Registered Member Join Date: Aug 2007 Location: lake st louis Posts: 834	http://www.acdirect.com/xcart/produc...productid=1681 This is what im going with for 700g system. I've seen it in action and its GREAT.

05/07/2010, 12:44 PM	#24
reefer96 Registered Member Join Date: Aug 2007 Location: lake st louis Posts: 834	Oh yea it has a great price tag too

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