Humidity concerns with open top?

exnisstech · Jul 19, 2022

Greetings all. I have a 180g display 72x24 inches of surface area in our living room. I have glass lids and am loosing a lot of par because of them. I have a 125g sump in the basement that is open so I get plenty of gas exchange there. I am thinking about removing the lids but am concerned about humidity levels in the house. I run a dehumidifier in the basement but really don't want to listen to one in our living area. It's bad enough listening to the window ac units we run in the summer. Humidity here is typically 70-95% in the summer. The ac units are on when it's hot and temps permitting windows open. My thought are if the windows are open the humidity from evaporation probably won't be an issue since the house is already full of humid air from the open windows. When the ac units are running they should help remove some of the humidity. I have an ato so that's covered. I also do not have any jumpers I'm concerned about. Do you think my thoughts are correct on this or no. My Gal says no thats why I'm asking rather than just doing it. If it works great, if not I get another "I told you so" and I get enough of those already. Thanks for taking the time to read thiis.

blaxsun · Jul 19, 2022

If your humidity is already 70-95% you probably won't notice much of a difference in humidity if you take the lid off. You will see more evaporation, though. Your AC will help a bit with humidity as will the dehumidifier in the basement if it has access to air circulating in the house.

ABQ_CHRIS · Jul 19, 2022

I live in the desert and have a nano tank, so I do not have first-had knowledge. I would expect your humidity to increase, but probably not enough to notice. I base part of that on living rooms not usually being enclosed spaces like basements.

I expect all mobile animals to attempt escape, so I'd put a screen top on the tank. Maybe an anemone wouldn't...

blaxsun · Jul 19, 2022

My humidity in my house is around 35-40%. In the fish room it's 55% unless I run the dehumidifier, but I can only get it down to maybe 30-35%. While I'm not in the desert, it is fairly arid.

thatmanMIKEson · Jul 19, 2022

blaxsun said:
My humidity in my house is around 35-40%. In the fish room it's 55% unless I run the dehumidifier, but I can only get it down to maybe 30-35%. While I'm not in the desert, it is fairly arid.

Thats a perfect humidity to have in a home, anything 60% and over can promote mold growth, I find 50-55% is the most comfortable and most efficient to run, 45% feels really good but makes the dehumidifier and ac run more increasing energy demand, i use a/c and dehumidifiers also to accomplish this.

mdb_talon · Jul 19, 2022

exnisstech said:
My Gal says no thats why I'm asking rather than just doing it. If it works great, if not I get another "I told you so" and I get enough of those already. Thanks for taking the time to read thiis.

Lets be honest it does not matter the result you cant win this argument....at least from my personal experiences...

It costs some money, but a compromise alternative that may work depending on your situation and lights is an enclosed hood for your lights(making sure heat from lights can still vent). If it is workable in your setup you get benefit of the increased par/less cleaning tops combined with minimal evap.

exnisstech · Jul 19, 2022

Glad I posted here. In all my infinant wisdom I never gave a thought to the lights being exposed to water. And they are currently only 6 inches above the glass. I have a wood canopy that matches the bottom and don't want to loose that. Probobaly be best just to leave things the way they are and keep cleaning the glass. I'm recently retired so it's not like I don't have the time. Also the lights aren't maxed out. Maybe being retired has given me too much time to think about things

Thanks mdb

Floyd- · Jul 19, 2022

Living in FL outside its normally 70-90% Humidity with the open top 150gallon tank in the house normally is at 50% I have two dehumidifiers that I can run but it might only drop it down to 45% at best. Just let it ride and dont over think it.

Gatorpa · Jul 21, 2022

Floyd- said:
Living in FL outside its normally 70-90% Humidity with the open top 150gallon tank in the house normally is at 50% I have two dehumidifiers that I can run but it might only drop it down to 45% at best. Just let it ride and dont over think it.

AC running will do much of the work to lower it.

Thats part of how they work, and why there is a condensation line on all air handlers…

thatmanMIKEson · Jul 21, 2022

Gatorpa said:
AC running will do much of the work to lower it.

Thats part of how they work, and why there is a condensation line on all air handlers…

Thats how they work but sometimes it will require you to lower the temperature more than desired, thats when using both a dehumidifier and ac in combination works well

Floyd- · Jul 22, 2022

Gatorpa said:
AC running will do much of the work to lower it.

Thats part of how they work, and why there is a condensation line on all air handlers…

I know. We even just had our central AC replaced and it alone will only keep the house at 50% at best.

exnisstech · Jul 23, 2022

Have a cheap thermometer that reads humidity. Not sure if its accurate but the house ussualy runs close to 50%. I removed the covers a few days ago and humidity hasn't rose any. Evaporation rate hasn't increased either so I running this way for now.