Dealing with basement Humidity?

[Intheflesh]

I was just wondering how many people have a tank down in the basement, and what they are doing to fight the humidity.

Our basement is unfinished, and there is no air circulation down there. I went downstairs for tank dosing and was met with a wall of humidity. I was going to run out and buy a de-humidifier, but reading this older article made me weary: http://www.air-n-water.com/article/dehumidifier-catch-fire-recall.htm. My tank is an 80 gallon frag tank, 4x2' foot print, and evaporates approx 8-10 gal/ week.

are there other measures (ie safer) that can be taken besides installing a dehumidifer? I am really nervous about mold, because paper goods down in the basement are starting to get that damp feeling.

 

[choff]

I installed an exhaust fan in my sump room and I run a dehumidifier. My exhaust fan is undersized and really should be one with a fresh air return. I think the main thing with a dehumidifier is you can't get one that you have to empty the buckets. It will never catch up and be able to maintain a reasonable humidity. You either have to buy one with a pump that can push to sink or run it to the outside of the house. The one I have has a small pump that can push it 25' I think. It's just the size of an airline hose so you can drill a small hole in the wood just above the foundation and run it outside if you don't have plumbing in the basement, which I don't. It's also important to get one that is oversized for the room size. I'm your case if the basement is wide open you I'll probably need more than 1.

My fish room is self contained in 1/4 of th basement and I have a 125 sump and 2 40bs with lots of surface agitation. That room turned into a swamp the first summer I had it before I took action.

In an unfinished basement though, I'd look into an heavy duty exhaust with fresh air return. They make them with humidity sensors so they only kick on when needed. You will probably still need a dehumidifier, but it will run a lot less.

I'm curious what Dong does now that I think about it. My guess is he has central air running down there.

 

[HERPER]

I'm curious what Dong does now that I think about it. My guess is he has central air running down there.

That is the first thing that popped into my head when i read the headline

 

[dz6t]

I don't have central air running at the basement. The salty air can ruin the central AC.
I have window fans full blast 24/7, year round.
It works well, the basement is dry.
For AC, I have a large portable running. It has been running for 4 years no problem.



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[IPWitan]

I have witnessed a few grow out rooms in houses - some in MA but most in Florida. All put up extensive insulation and/or plastic on all surfaces. I don't recall any using dehumidifiers apart from an AC unit, which is essentially the same thing. Dehumidifiers are very expensive to run, as you know. Several would vent to the outside with quality fans as a air exchanger.

I would imagine that if you had a good fan plowing out, then it would ensure the proper direction of air flow and prevent humidity behind the plastic liners. Humidity will likely condense on place where cold meets warm air. If that point is NOT on the wall, then that would be good. In Florida, the breeders would temperature control the room at 78 and not use heaters at all.

Frankly, I would cross reference this with how people grow that wacky weed in their house and look for the means to control humidity. Ironically, this was also common in Miami...but I digress. No...Honestly, those lights are for my fish tank Officer.

 

[STiTCH87]

I had a 40 gallon in a mostly unfinished basement for a year and had nothing but tank issues, especially with pH, and had to run a dehumidifier. It helped, but not enough honestly.
The only method I found to work was installing fans in the basement windows that would constantly blow the air outwards. I ran that puppy more often than not, often in cold weather even.

 

[reefstarter]

Be very carefull with de-humidifiers I am about to start repairs on a customers house that caught fire due to one.

 

[s_kelley]

A good dehumidifier and a big bathroom exhaust fan, is what I've been using for years w no issues.
Oh just one issue, the exhaust fan burnt out and I had to replace earlier this year

 

[Intheflesh]

silly question, but can I use an exhaust fan and tie it into my existing Dryer vent?
I live in a condo and I can only imagine the headache associated with adding another vent

 

[HuuTa]

Yes you can but you need to put a damper on the dryer's side so it don't blow into the dryer

 

[letoan]

Try to use window fans if possible. Dehumidifier draws quite a bit of power to function.

A couple years ago, Gree recalled many of their dehumidifier (various brands) due to fire hazard like reefstarter mentioned. Check with the site below to see if you have one, get your money back for some frags.

http://www.greedehumidifierrecall.com/ProductEntry.aspx

 

[gwdemos]

Yes the indoor horticulturists have it down. Search for inline hurricane fans. Strong, reliable, efficient exhaust. I couple this with General recirc fans, fans over sumps controlled by apex for evaporative cooling, and recently cut a supply line register in the sump room and the return register in the non/sump area. Cooling and humidity control is one of the only downsides of basement sump systems but a manageable trade off.


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