Dehumidifier vs. Aquarium - stupid battle?

[Ramrebel]

I moved and realized I need a dehumidifier in the basement. It's the only place to set up my 20 g tank. Is it worth it? With a standard cover, will it constantly evaporate? I'll take all opinions.

[newfound77951]

In my old apartment I needed a dehumidifier (it was a basement apt). I had a 55 g with an open canopy. The dehumidifier worked fine, and I didn't notice the tank needing refilled any more than normal. Get a humidity meter for your basement so that you know what the levels are, makes it much easier to know when the dehumidifier can be shut off.

[Zagz]

I am contemplating a dehumidifier myself. With 12 tanks and a ridiculously humid summer here the house is ranging 55-70% humidity. I don't imagine it would cause much more evaporation. I am seeing more evaporation simply due to heat. The temp here the last 2 days has bee 97 F, the humidex heat rating has been 118 F. 8O

[An t-iasg]

I have a glass top over my 10 gallon tank and it doesn't evaporate enough to require a topping off during the week. So if your tank is covered, you should be able to run your dehumidifier in the room without having to top off your tank more than you usually do, if you even need to top off.

Zagz, I saw on the news how your area is getting an extreme heat wave. Hope it breaks soon.

[Zagz]

Yes the higher the temps the more the evaporation. We've been breaking records here left and right and I have to top off the tanks every 3 days. A dehumidifier is definately worth looking into IMO if household humidity is getting up there. I hope it breaks soon too LOL.

[BillD]

Zagz, I hope that weather is coming our way; it has been a very cool, but dry July.

[Sicklid]

I saw about a 85% drop in my top-off routine once I switched to glass covers for my tanks. If you can cover as much of the top as possible, you should be alright, doesn't really need to be with glass.

[Ramrebel]

I have a standard plastic hood with the little bit of glass to allow the lighting fixture to do its job. The only real opening is the back where the filter fits onto the tank.

[2cvbloke]

Personally, I have a sheet of perspex (plexiglass) betweeen the lid and the tank, and has a few gaps for equipment cables or pipes to go through, and each time I open the lid I can see how much water evaporates from the tank!!! 8O

[Ramrebel]

so how do you feed them? do you lift the lid AND the perspex?

[2cvbloke]

Originally Posted by Ramrebel

so how do you feed them? do you lift the lid AND the perspex?

Yes, just that...

The light is, by my own "design", built into the lid, so it has to be ontop of the perspex, plus, it stops the light getting covered in condensation...