Winter humidity control: home dehumidifier or hrv?

[mfollen]

Hey reefers,

I could use some insight or recommendations on what to use to control humidity in my fish room during the cold winter.

I normally run a window AC unit in the summer for that fish room, which is a small bedroom with one large 300g display system.

Now that it is getting cold, I need to swap the humidity control that’s been done via the window AC unit with either a whole home dehumidifier &/or an HRV for that room.

I also have a 180 g fish only tank in my living room which needs dehumidification as well year round as there are no nearby windows that can open.

I have quoted an expensive whole home dehumidifier install which would include a new duct to intake from the fish room. Am I best running with this considering my central heating will be running as well? Or would an HRV, one for each tank/room be more effective considering the primary needs are for the winter?

Thank you for any input!

 

[Battlecorals]

Hey reefers,

I could use some insight or recommendations on what to use to control humidity in my fish room during the cold winter.

I normally run a window AC unit in the summer for that fish room, which is a small bedroom with one large 300g display system.

Now that it is getting cold, I need to swap the humidity control that’s been done via the window AC unit with either a whole home dehumidifier &/or an HRV for that room.

I also have a 180 g fish only tank in my living room which needs dehumidification as well year round as there are no nearby windows that can open.

I have quoted an expensive whole home dehumidifier install which would include a new duct to intake from the fish room. Am I best running with this considering my central heating will be running as well? Or would an HRV, one for each tank/room be more effective considering the primary needs are for the winter?

Thank you for any input!

Hrv is a super efficient and effective way to control humidity. Also provides fresh air with can help stabilize ph. Best advice I can give you to oversize for sure the commercial units are perfect. 600-1000 cfm

 

[mfollen]

Thank you Adam!!
The HRV will help heat the incoming air in the winter too right?

 

[I.AM.MR.MIKE]

Here we are when the weather is in the teens at night and the inside of my windows are wet. I guess a reefer 250 in a house wrapped in plastic with a heat pump and electric backup stays more humid than my old house with no wrap and a gas furnace. Now I thought it was great to not be so dry in the winter and then I noticed all the windows are wet. I turned the heat up to 70 and run a dehumidifier 24x7 and humidity is at 35%.

 

[I.AM.MR.MIKE]

Inside humidity 30% - 35% inside of windows wet and some are frozen. Furnace set at 70. Not sure how to fix this. It was -4 outside but even in teens this occurs to a less degree. I am reading that the house needs to be around 15-20% humidity to prevent this. I am refilling my 20 gallon top-off every 7-10 days.

 

[davidcalgary29]

Does your furnace have humidity controls? You may need to compensate for the extra humidity caused by the fish tanks. I have four tanks in a small house -- the main floor is 640sq feet -- and typically don't see window condensation and freezing until it consistently stays below -25C. And it's old -- the house was probably built in the 1920s.

Your evaporation rates are pretty good for winter.

 

[billwill]

Why not a standalone dehumidifier? They are literally AC units that don't exhaust to exterior. You can either run the drain line to exterior or get one with a couple gallon collection container. Far less money than whole house system and you put it away when your AC system comes back into play.

 

[I.AM.MR.MIKE]

No humidity controls on furnace and I run a large dehumidifier 24 x 7 year around and it only keeps the humidity at 35% at best.

 

[rtparty]

No humidity controls on furnace and I run a large dehumidifier 24 x 7 year around and it only keeps the humidity at 35% at best.

Reduce evaporation with a glass lid and try to cover your sump. If you have a protein skimmer, you have plenty of gas exchange.

 

[blaxsun]

I have both - HRV and dehumidifier.

 

[I.AM.MR.MIKE]

Thanks everyone. I am looking into a cover and an HRV. No one in my area seems to be too hip on HRV's.

 

[mfollen]

I just got a whole home dehumidifier installed.

It has an external sensor and control for my fish room.

Just started it but very quiet and seems to work well! Not cheap though

 

[nuxx]

We actually ran two large dehumidifiers at all times of the year.

We'd empty out gallons a day

 

[I.AM.MR.MIKE]

I just got a whole home dehumidifier installed.

It has an external sensor and control for my fish room.

Just started it but very quiet and seems to work well! Not cheap though

Hey are you in a winter climate area? The lowest I can get my humidity year around is 35%. I prefer more in the winter but when it gets under 32 outside my windows are wet on the inside and then mold starts. I need the humidity down to 20 probably in these situations to prevent the wet windows. I have very little room to add a whole house dehumidifier or HRV. If you are in a freezing climate, how low do you have to get your humidity to stop window condensation? I like the idea of the outside sensor to lower the humidity when needed.

 

[mfollen]

Yea I’m in Illinois. It’s been freezing.

The sensor I have is an external sensor, but it’s inside away from the actual unit.

I believe if you keep the humidity at 40-45 then that should avoid the moisture buildup. I could be wrong tho.

There are cheaper industrial units on Amazon. But they don’t operate as efficiently or aren’t as effective in this type of application I believe.

 

[nuxx]

Ones we had were residential and you could set the level.

Think it was set at around 40.

Austin - Central Texas btw.

 

[I.AM.MR.MIKE]

I guarantee you 40 is too high when it is 32 or less outside and will cause wet windows inside.