treesprite May 5, 2008 Share May 5, 2008 who is using a de-humidifier to deal with humidity produced by the aquarium, does it really owrk, and does it have any effect on the rate of evap from the tank? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
vaironman May 5, 2008 Share May 5, 2008 (edited) I've been using one in the basement for the past 3 years. I don't turn it on during winter as the tank evaporated water helps humidified breathing air. The other 3 seasons, the de-humidifier is turned on and it helps to dry the moist air; otherwise, I see rusting metal around the basement quickly accumulated. In the basement, the total water managed volume is around 250 gallons from a combination of two tanks. The total water daily evaporated is about 4 gallons. Edited May 5, 2008 by vaironman Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
treesprite May 5, 2008 Author Share May 5, 2008 I'm thinking along the lines of a room de-humidifier, as I'm just in an apartment. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Grav May 5, 2008 Share May 5, 2008 For me it does owrk, or at least help. When the power goes out in the house for even just a bit, it shuts the dehumidifer off... and 2 days later my cold water pipes are sweating and dripping watter all over the fish room. But not everyone needs one. Keep in mind, my fish room has the sump from my 150, a 100g QT system, a 125g rock system, a small Invert system and two 30g frag tanks... so I have a lot of evap. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
flowerseller May 5, 2008 Share May 5, 2008 I use one year round and it makes a big difference. Without it, my windows sweat in the winter. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lancer99 May 5, 2008 Share May 5, 2008 When I lived in a condo and had seven tanks going, I had to use a de-humidifier. Without it I got condensation, then mold, on the walls! -R Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
percula May 5, 2008 Share May 5, 2008 We recently started using a room dehumidifier for the summer (without it, the tank definitely started to add "flavor" to the air now that winter's dryness is gone). With about 150 total gallons, my evap rate nearly doubled to about 3g/day. Still, I think it's a must if you don't have really great airflow (i.e. like a basement room). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
davelin315 May 5, 2008 Share May 5, 2008 I use one but when it kicks on, it really kicks up evaporation due to the extra heat it produces. I run it in my tank room which houses around 600-650 gallons from my display and sump system. How much it runs all depends on temperature, but I generally evaporate around 5 gallons per day. The only time it makes a difference in how much is when it's really hot outside as the air has a hard time keeping up inside, so the additional heat from evaporation kicks on the dehumidifier, which in turn adds more heat to the air, but it's much drier. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
treesprite May 5, 2008 Author Share May 5, 2008 my evaporation right now is around 3/4th gallon a day in a system total of 100 gallons. Humidity makes it harder to breathe. Summertime heat would be fairly tolerable for me but I don't go outside a lot in summer because I feel like I'm breathing water. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kimchi Corals May 5, 2008 Share May 5, 2008 What is a good brand of de humidifier. Thanks John Yauger Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CHUBAKAH May 6, 2008 Share May 6, 2008 (edited) What is a good brand of de humidifier. Thanks John Yauger That is going to greatly depend on how much area you need to do, as well as the location of that area. A basement is going to need a bigger machine due to the fact basements typically hold moisture in the summer time anyway. If it is in a small bedroom you will only need a tiny machine, as in something you get get at Home Depot or Lowes. In my setup I use a Drizair by Drieaz commercial model that has a steel casing that my old company took out of commission due to updated models. While this is kind of overkill, I am also using it to draw moisture out of my basement from the house being new. Drieaz is one of the leading companies in the industry, and I have used them more than 25 years. Edited May 6, 2008 by CHUBAKAH Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
davelin315 May 6, 2008 Share May 6, 2008 my evaporation right now is around 3/4th gallon a day in a system total of 100 gallons. Humidity makes it harder to breathe. Summertime heat would be fairly tolerable for me but I don't go outside a lot in summer because I feel like I'm breathing water. You get 3/4 gallon evaporation out of 100 gallons and you think it's humid there? That's less than 1% of your tank volume! I don't think a dehumidifier would do much for you and if you wanted one, I would use the smallest one you can find. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
treesprite May 6, 2008 Author Share May 6, 2008 You get 3/4 gallon evaporation out of 100 gallons and you think it's humid there? That's less than 1% of your tank volume! I don't think a dehumidifier would do much for you and if you wanted one, I would use the smallest one you can find. All I know is that compared to outside, my apartment feels like a sauna but without the heat. Some might be coming from the building in general.... I never go in other apartments here so I don't know. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
quazi May 6, 2008 Share May 6, 2008 All I know is that compared to outside, my apartment feels like a sauna but without the heat. Some might be coming from the building in general.... I never go in other apartments here so I don't know. Right, if you are only seeing 3/4 of a gallon a day evaporation, you have very humid air! The air must be near saturation levels to only be able to handle 96 ounces from 100 gallons of water. I have 100 gallons of water in my basement (which is very humid in the summer) and I am pulling about 2.5 gallons/day. I have a dehumidifier that I bought from Sears before I put my aquarium in my basement. It is a must for my house. It kicks on in mid-May and stays on through September or so. Your AC will dry your air when you kick it on. However, spring can be a very high humidity level time in apartments in general unless you are getting a lot of air flow. Keep your windows open as much as possible, and get a window fan to draw in outside air. Get a small dehumidifier if the open window deal will not work for you. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
yauger May 6, 2008 Share May 6, 2008 Just a curious question folks... could you reuse the water that the dehumidifier pulls out of the air? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
treesprite May 6, 2008 Author Share May 6, 2008 Just a curious question folks... could you reuse the water that the dehumidifier pulls out of the air? Maybe on the lawn? Not like I have one..... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Integral9 May 7, 2008 Share May 7, 2008 Just a curious question folks... could you reuse the water that the dehumidifier pulls out of the air? Yeah um, not a good idea. The dehumidifier collects dust from the air in the heat exchanger and the water that condences on the exchangers "filters" down through the collected dust and dirt before ending up in the collection bucket where it sits stagnant. Mine usually has a nice film across the top. Pretty gross if you ask me. Not as bad as a skimmer cup, but stilll. pretty gross. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Antiguan May 7, 2008 Share May 7, 2008 That is going to greatly depend on how much area you need to do, as well as the location of that area. A basement is going to need a bigger machine due to the fact basements typically hold moisture in the summer time anyway. If it is in a small bedroom you will only need a tiny machine, as in something you get get at Home Depot or Lowes. In my setup I use a Drizair by Drieaz commercial model that has a steel casing that my old company took out of commission due to updated models. While this is kind of overkill, I am also using it to draw moisture out of my basement from the house being new. Drieaz is one of the leading companies in the industry, and I have used them more than 25 years. Sorry for the hijack, but can someone recommend another dehumidifier (for a large basement) that is not as pricey as the Drieaz. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
quazi May 7, 2008 Share May 7, 2008 (edited) I bought mine at Sears. A 35 pint unit that I drain into my sump pump. It has been working for 10 years without incident. It IS NOISY. Reviews on the Sear's web page are not too rosey on the newer ones. HD has them, as does Lowes. Edited May 7, 2008 by quazi Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
vaironman May 7, 2008 Share May 7, 2008 Try to get one with a drain-hose and get a water hose to plug in one end, the other end drop in your basement sump and never have to drain a bucket out daily like I do now. Will soon be getting a new de-humidifier also. Never ending story with this hobby. The list goes on...... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Antiguan May 7, 2008 Share May 7, 2008 Never ending story with this hobby. The list goes on...... It's a money pit. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NRehman May 7, 2008 Share May 7, 2008 It's a money pit. You can say that again... oh wait, didn't I give YOU money this past weekend! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CHUBAKAH May 7, 2008 Share May 7, 2008 Sorry for the hijack, but can someone recommend another dehumidifier (for a large basement) that is not as pricey as the Drieaz. http://www.drizair.com/ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
treesprite May 30, 2008 Author Share May 30, 2008 air conditioner has been running about a week... water is evaporating twice as fast. Don't need a humidfier now, but might get one for that humid time period next year. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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