Dehumidifiers

jojon60 · 06-10-2007, 03:31 PM

Scott just bought a 30 pint dehumidifier for the house because we have been having a mildew problem in some areas of the house. I have a couple questions for anyone who uses them.

1) Are the tanks causing the house to be more humid than normal?
I didn't really notice any problems till I got the 72 gallon.

2) Do you run them 24/7 or just a couple times a week?
And at what percent do you run them?

3) Is this going to make the tanks evaporate more than than already do?
Between the three tanks I am using about 4 gallons a day top off water now.

4) Should the dehumidifier be placed in the same room as the tanks or another room of the house?
I actually notice the mildew more at the back of the house which stays shaded.

That's all the Q's I have for the moment Thanks in advance for any suggestions on this.

Jan

Hendersonracing · 06-10-2007, 08:26 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by jojon60

Scott just bought a 30 pint dehumidifier for the house because we have been having a mildew problem in some areas of the house. I have a couple questions for anyone who uses them.

1) Are the tanks causing the house to be more humid than normal?
I didn't really notice any problems till I got the 72 gallon.

2) Do you run them 24/7 or just a couple times a week?
And at what percent do you run them?

3) Is this going to make the tanks evaporate more than than already do?
Between the three tanks I am using about 4 gallons a day top off water now.

4) Should the dehumidifier be placed in the same room as the tanks or another room of the house?
I actually notice the mildew more at the back of the house which stays shaded.

That's all the Q's I have for the moment Thanks in advance for any suggestions on this.

Jan

we run ours 24-7 on a 3 hrs cycle....and we keep it in the next open room...it will definately pull some water(from what I can tell but not much...)

dragonrep · 06-11-2007, 08:08 PM

I lived in a place that had humidity problems (a milk barn converted to an apartment, cool in the summer couldn't get warm in the winter

). I ran a dehumidifier 24/7 only turning off when I forgot to check the water level, and I had a 72 gallon aquarium. It didn't seem to make much difference to the aquarium's water level drop whether I had the dehumidifier on or off, and I had them in the same room. I did notice a change in the humididty level of my new house when I set up my current tank, but only when the ac is off for any length of time. I would run it where the problem seems to be the worse and watch for any changes. Be careful around any filters the dehumidifier might have; there can be some nasty microscopic critters that live in them and cause health problems. Just keep your nose and mouth away from the water tank and any filters, and I would suggest a pair of gloves to clean or change any filters.

jojon60 · 06-12-2007, 04:51 PM

Thanks for the info.
Henderson, what do you mean by 3hrs cycle, that it runs for three hours than shuts off?

dragonrep, Are you running one now? And are they supposed to be so noisy. This thing makes more noise than all three of my tanks combined. Its the Haier brand. I am not sure I can handle the noiseLOL. Some one told my husband that it will help the AC work better if the humidity is low in the house. does anyone know if this is true or not?

Jan

slant77 · 06-12-2007, 05:06 PM

Yes there is better transition of hot to cool air when the humidity is low. How much of a difference that makes in a house I cant say.

Kimberfish · 06-12-2007, 05:57 PM

we bought an AC last year with a dehumidifier built in and supposedly it makes the house feel around 10 degrees cooler than the thermostat is set for. We set our humidity at about 50% which is really low.
When we were considering buying it the ac guy compared the difference to what you feel in a grocery store - thats why it feels so cold is the humidity control not ac temp setting.
In my 55 I add about 1 gallon per week

jojon60 · 06-12-2007, 06:19 PM

Kimberfish do you have a cover on your tank? I have to add a gallon a day sometimes a little more to my 72, and about 3/4 of a gallon to the 46 gallon. They are topless tanks.

Kimberfish · 06-13-2007, 07:44 AM

I have 2 glass tops plus my canopy.
Right now my tank is FOWLR so my lights don't overheat. I am setting up a 265 w/ MH on Friday so I may be topless soon too.

My tank that is!!

nikonosis · 06-13-2007, 08:38 AM

I wouldn't use a glass top or anytop that isn't perforated on a reef tank because it blocks light.

LadyReefNeck · 06-13-2007, 09:03 AM

Jan ... just as a reference point for you .... we have to top off with about 2 1/2 gallons per day to the 75g tank (MH's, open top, 30-40 gal sump with fan) that's in our livingroom which gets pretty warm during the day. The 2 75g tanks that are in the bedroom (both open topped but only have PC's on them and it's cooler in there) only take about 1/2 to 1 gallon per day.

I think we need to get a dehumidifier too to help our AC cool better.

Kimberfish · 06-13-2007, 10:30 AM

well right now I don't have a reef tank just Fish so light isn't a problem. But with this big tank I"m putting in Fri I will be getting a variety of things and am thinking of using those plastic grates sold for lights just so nobody goes on a suicide mission and jumps out.
My only concern is will the 400wt MH may melt them.

grochmal · 06-13-2007, 02:03 PM

I ended up installing a whole house dehumidifier in my house because I found that one of those small portable units just couldn't keep up - it would run 24x7.
It was pricey, but my house stays at a steady 50% humidity.
The main reason I installed it was because I was sick of the moisture build up on the windows in the winter.
I would end up with mold/mildew on the window sills and was a pain to keep clean.
I'm not sure if the lower humidity makes for a noticible difference in the "coolness" of the house but it makes sense since less humidity outside always makes it feel more comfortable.

nikonosis · 06-13-2007, 03:35 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Kimberfish

well right now I don't have a reef tank just Fish so light isn't a problem. But with this big tank I"m putting in Fri I will be getting a variety of things and am thinking of using those plastic grates sold for lights just so nobody goes on a suicide mission and jumps out.
My only concern is will the 400wt MH may melt them.

You need to look at this thread if you haven't already.
http://thereeftank.com/forums/showthread.php?t=101963

Kimberfish · 06-13-2007, 08:54 PM

thanks, I hadn't seen that thread but I PM'd him about the extra mesh he stated he still had. I think I'll try that!!

dragonrep · 06-15-2007, 08:59 PM

Sorry it took so long to respond; no, I'm not running one anymore. I live in a different place now. One of the ways the ac works is by removing some humidity, enought that my new house doesn't need one. The dehumidifier I was using had a small fan to circulate air and made very little sound. The pump on my aquarium made more noise, but it was also a very small apartment and didn't need much to circulate air in the entire place.