humidity problems

[ellisz]

Hi all,

I have had my tank in my basement for almost 6 months I guess. I have a fish room behind my tank that houses my sump and refugium. It had been humid in the fish room for a while and I had planned on getting a exhaust fan for the room similar to a bathroom fan.

With the weather getting cooler and the heat coming on some, my basement feel hot and humid. According to a cheapo humidity meter it is 60% in the living area and 75% in my fish room. I have a 75, 72, 29 and a 10 gal in my basement. The 72 and 29 will come down some time but not sure if this will fix my problem.

If I put a dehumidifier in my basement, would this be enough to keep the room comfortable without causing evaporation of the tank to go crazy?

Anyone have any experience with this?

 

[millipede]

As far as basements go.....
Well I suppose it might depend a little on the type of heat you use as well but houses in general will be much drier in the winter time. My mom uses a wood stove that is in the basement and during the winter when it is in use she needs to find ways to add moisture to the air. Of course it's a bit different during warmer weather. A lot of people use dehumidifiers in their basements. Since it is cooling off and you'll be heating the house more often I wouldn't worry too much about it but it wouldn't hurt to invest in a dehumidifier. I think my mom sometimes used the water when she was using the washing machine. Doesn't really matter as long as you remove the water when it's full. As far as humidity goes anywhere from 50-75% is considered normal though 75% might start to seem a little humid, especially when it's warm. Right around 60% is usually pretty comfortable. If you notice condensation anywhere then you know for a fact that something needs to be done. hmmmmm... I'm wondering if the water collected from a dehumidifier could be filtered and stored, or stored and then filtered, or just filtered and then used back into some of those fish tanks... Filtering something like that would probably be necessary to use for something like that but if nothing else you could go water some flowers or something.

I don't think using a dehumidifier will cause more evaporation in the tanks unless it was right next to the tanks. If you do use one I would suggest placing it away from the tanks and only run it if things are uncomfortable or you notice obvious moisture problems. Then I would make sure it was NOT running when the air felt more comfortable. Keep using that "cheapo humidity meter" and just try to make sure the air doesn't get too dry. That would cause more evaporation in the tanks more than the dehumidifier itself would. Hope these thoughts help... but I doubt a dehumidifier would be needed during the winter... you never know though.

 

[ellisz]

We have a heat pump and gas backup for the house. We also have a humidifier we normally run in the winter becasue it does get dry. Maybe we are just in the middle right now but we will see. I love basement because they are normally cool and pleasant. Mine is not that right now.

Thanks