anyone ever have issues with larger open top tanks causing a lot of humidity in the house? it seems since its been colder outside, our house air has been extremely humid. so much that we r getting puddles in front of the doors/windows. any thoughts? experiences???
yep, and it does wonders for my sinuses ;D
glass canopies will substantially reduce evaporation, lower the RH in your home, and make heating the tank more efficient.
Yes but glass tops may also hold too much heat in the tank and they reduce the efficiency of gas exchange which will reduce the O2 levels in the tank.
very true.
IME, high temperatures arent as big of an issue in the winter as in the summer but its definitely worth watching closely. personally, i dont monitor O2 levels so i wouldnt know the impact that canopies can have but it hasnt been an issue for me. again, something probably worth keeping an eye, but if you have plenty of flow in the tank and a splashing/turbulent open sump i dont think it will be a problem.
Not to mention the light blockage of a glass canopy. Glass blocks a large amount of par. It’s crazy to spend $80 on high quality reflectors for your 4 bulb T5s(or even more for MH) if you are going to block the light. But then again if you have to use glass you are going to need every advantage you can get if you have a deep tank and light demanding corals.
Using a dehumidifier near your tanks could help, but will raise your electric bill. You can also blow air out a window with a fan taking the humidity out, but air will seep in elsewhere in the house causing your heater/ac to work harder raising your bill slightly. Basically your energy bill is going to be higher or you may end up with mold and other damage to your house.
There is a modification to the fan blowing out wet air idea. If you are able to find a twin wall duct vent drier vent type thingy it may allow you to pump moisture out with out effecting your heating and ac as much. Anthony Calfo was telling me about this and I meant to look it up afterwards, but forgot about it until now.
Been examining this topic carefully and talked with a lot of people about it. Surprisingly I haven’t had dramatic issues at my current home with this. I do run a small dehumidifier though which I empty abou 3-4 times a week in the winter.
I have that problem twice a year. in the shoulder months of spring and fall. when its rainy outside, but not hot enough or cold enough for the heat pump to run. so the humidity builds up during those months. it got up to 68% in my house last week during the rains. but in summer when the AC runs, its fine, and same in winter heating, . so most of the year its ok. just a couple months of the high humidity. I could run a dehumidifier, by never get around to it.
actually, my newer heat pump system has a dehumidifier mode setting. but a control button on the programable thermostat is broken and i cant get to the humitiy setting. i need to have that replaced, i think its still on warrantee.
Mine is open top as well but its in its own room and a fan comes on shortly after the lights come on to help with humidity
actually, my newer heat pump system has a dehumidifier mode setting.
so does mine. this summer it would condense about 2-3 gallons of water a day on to the floor that would leak out under my wall into the living room :-? im not 100% sure why it did it this year, but not the previous years but ive got a couple of ideas. i plan to make several modifications to my fish room in January when i renovate it for the new tank.
[quote=“logans_daddy, post:8, topic:2317”]
actually, my newer heat pump system has a dehumidifier mode setting.
so does mine. this summer it would condense about 2-3 gallons of water a day on to the floor that would leak out under my wall into the living room :-?[/quote]
There should be a drain line (usually PVC). If you don’t have a basement (and I know you don’t) it usually runs out of the house in to the yard. I’ve had mine back up and flood the house (shocker) due to:
A. Grass and dirt building up and clogging the outlet of the pipe
B. Dogs digging up the ground and creating a dam at the end of the pipe
C. Same dog using the pipe as a chew toy and breaking it off behind the wall
D. A mouse that climbed in to the pipe and died
As far as the tank goes my basement is ALWAYS humid - which is nice in the winter as I can get home, throw on some shorts and head to the basement den to relax.
There should be a drain line (usually PVC).
I know. This will be one of my modifications. I had a similar unit at my previous house and the PVC drain ran into my french drain. On this unit, it simply loops back into itself which makes little sense. Im not 100% sure whats going on with it because its hard to get to. The only thing i can possible think of is if the unit is sitting on its own drain in the foundation but i highly doubt it. I know they make an inline waterpump/float switch thingie for heatpumps, i just have to find one!