Help please with Humidity

[Jaynie1028]

I?m hoping someone can help me. I have a high ranch so my basement is half in the ground and half out. I have a 150 gallon fish tank with a 30 gallon sump I have been fighting with mold and a musty smell down there for two summers
Now. I use a dehumidifier for 8-12 hours a day everyday and still have the problem. What doesEveryone else do? I know a lot of you guys have fish tanks in your basement. Any help would be really helpful. I have been struggling to fix this problem. I have been thinking about having a dehumidifier installed in my wall next to the fish tank. Any thoughts please.

Thank you

 

[pecan2phat]

Sorry to say that I gave up on my basement fish room after 10 years.
Had a commercial inline exhaust fan ducted into the drop ceiling running off a humidistat, dehumidifier on 24/7, portable A/C on during the summer and electric heat during the winter and I still couldn't keep room humidity lower then 70% which eventually led to mold in all my wall cabinets, poured concrete walls. Rust on anything metal, total nightmare trying to abate after 10 years.

 

[theMeat]

Would first look to house gutters and grading around outside perimeter

With minimal inlet, cross ventilation, then exhaust, shouldn?t be a thing

 

[da5speed]

Is it finished where the tank and Sump is. Where is the mold growing. I use to do mold remediation. Base board or forced hot air? What is the humidity reading.

 

[Jaynie1028]

the Basement is finished. The fish tank stand and canopy fill up
With mold unless I keep fans in the lid and In the cabinet 24/7. Once I put the fans on inside the cabinet and canopy the mold stopped. I found mold last summer under my couches on my pergo floors. This year I found mold twice in my leather chair and on my electric fireplace/entertainment center. Also found mold on a few items around the tank. All most has only been found in the den where the fish tank is. Two bedrooms and a bathroom and a kitchen all in the surrounding area no mold. Seems as these past two summers the mold stayed within 10 feet of the tank. Right now this time of year the humidity stops down there and now the mold will be over until next July/August. Any suggestions is very helpful.

Thanks

 

[duke62]

I run my pellet stove 1 to 2 times a week in the summer to dry things out in the basement where my tank is. Seems to help. I also used purple board and Benjamin Moore paint with extra mold protection pournwd into the paint. 6 months with the tank downstairs and have t seen any mold growth yet. I also have 3 ceiling fans going

 

[da5speed]

Humidity control: I use a few different ways.
1. Dehumidifier that is self pumping. We all get lazy and don?t empty them for a few days.
2. Airmovement keep the fans going in the room to stirring the air in the summer. Move furniture a few inches off the walls for better airflow and no stagnant air.
3. AC when you have a day and it?s hot the air holds more moisture. If the temp drops fast you will make that air condensed and the humidity will actually increase. Like the cold can effect but not as drastic. Try to maintain the temp consisteacly.
4 Check the weather. When we have summer nights that are cool or especially dry. I will open the windows and put a fan in the window. I call it burping the house. Getting that dry air in and humidity out. Remember even though the humidity in the room air might drop the moisture levels in wood sheet rock fabrics will not dry as fast. When I did water remediation. I could dry sheet rock wall that were soaked. The first day was getting the humidity out of the air then air movers aka fans would dry the materials. But they almost never show sign of drying in the first 24 hours. Usually would take 36-72 hours to bring back to a safe level.
5 cloths dryer. Make sure if the dryer is in the basement that it is properly sealed and exhausting out the house with no leaks.
6 bathrooms if the lower level has a active shower make sure you have a fan that vents to the exterior of the home and should run for 15 minutes minimum after each use.
7 canopy: the more air you blow across the water will create more evaporation and humidity. If your not running hot lights like MH I would would try to keep the canopy doors open or maybe install a vent for the heat to escape.
8 ground moisture: make sure property is properly pitched away from the house. Clean gutters. Make sure your gutters are draining 3-5 ft off the house. Concrete holds moisture and absorbs moisture.


Remediation suggestions: I would suggest painting the interior of the canopy with a killz primer and then do a glossy paint. Even if you are cleaning up the mold you need to encapsulate it. The glossy paint also makes for a easier surface of clean in the future. Under the couch I?ve seen before that?s just due to the moisture. Purchase some benifact or sporiciden. Clean the surface with upholstery cleaner then spray with the benifact. Make sure the material is plenty of time to dry. The Pergo floors clean with damp rag of dish soap. Then apply benifact. Odd that the floors got effected. Did you ever have a flood? Is there a proper underpayment? Fire place and entertainment center are big magnets for dust and mold needs organic material to grow on. Try to clean and dust especially prior to and during the summer months I just had to throw out my leather race suit due to mold from humidity this summer. Even with it being in a closet 15 ft from the tank. Mold is always present even if you take a air sample it a question of when it?s the right condition for growth. Air filters that have hepa filters will keep spore counts down. Recommend house vacuums with hepa filters as well.
I hope this helps. Sorry if I rambled off. And I apologize for not rereading prior to posting.

 

[265]

Floor moving fan

 

[Jaynie1028]

Thank you so much I?m going to try everything

 

[gobywon]

Ok, I think a lot of the suggestions are very good and well thought out. The main issue, is the large amount of moisture escaping the system. By putting a glass or plexiglass cover on the tank, with only a very small amount of open area, you would be creating a much tighter system, which would force most of the moisture back into the tank, allowing all the other suggestions to mitigate most of the remaining issues. I have run tanks both ways, both open and mostly closed, and both work. Just my 2 cents,.

 

[NYreefNoob]

lets statrt with size of dehumidifier you have ?

 

[Arati]

box fans, glass tops. but tbh I have the same style basement and it was a problem even without the fish tank.

I am leaning towards tanking the basement tanks down.

 

[pecan2phat]

Exactly what I had to do after 10 years!
No more basement tanks unless it's an above ground basement in my future.

 

[Jaynie1028]

It?s has always been an issue.
I just need to correct the problem some how. I can?t live like this anymore.