To those of you with a chiller, and a hood

[Wiskey]

Hello all!

I have a basic 75g mixed reef with a 29g sump. I've always cooled it with fans, but I've recently moved it into my office and I've found that in a 10x12 foot room it makes the area more humid than is liveable.

To fix the issue I'm going to put a 1/5 HP chiller in my garage which shares a wall with my office and turn off the fans. I've tested this and it is able to keep the temp down with a 40% duty cycle.

My question is, does anyone out there do this? Do you have trouble with condensation in a closed stand that contains a sump that does not have fans moving air through it? Do you have any condensation issues inside a hood that has an open back? Do you have things like mold issues?

Thank you,
Whiskey

 

[Dr. Dendrostein]

Hello all!

I have a basic 75g mixed reef with a 29g sump. I've always cooled it with fans, but I've recently moved it into my office and I've found that in a 10x12 foot room it makes the area more humid than is liveable.

To fix the issue I'm going to put a 1/5 HP chiller in my garage which shares a wall with my office and turn off the fans. I've tested this and it is able to keep the temp down with a 40% duty cycle.

My question is, does anyone out there do this? Do you have trouble with condensation in a closed stand that contains a sump that does not have fans moving air through it? Do you have any condensation issues inside a hood that has an open back? Do you have things like mold issues?

Thank you,
Whiskey

Is it possible to get relative humidity readings in office, if reads high, like 70% or higher, may get condensation certain areas.
50% relative humidity is ideal. Also does your garage have some type of attic fan to remove hot air. Depending where you live my not need. To help chiller.

 

[Wiskey]

The garage does have large vents up above. My office humidity is getting closer to 85% with the fans running, but when I kill them and run the chiller (not plumbed to the garage yet) the humidity is much closer to 50% like the rest of the house.

My concern is humidity in the stand and hood. With no fans to clear it out that humidity has to get close to 100%. I'm curious if I'm going to have problems with mold or condensation on my lights and apex.

Whiskey

 

[Dr. Dendrostein]

The garage does have large vents up above. My office humidity is getting closer to 85% with the fans running, but when I kill them and run the chiller (not plumbed to the garage yet) the humidity is much closer to 50% like the rest of the house.

My concern is humidity in the stand and hood. With no fans to clear it out that humidity has to get close to 100%. I'm curious if I'm going to have problems with mold or condensation on my lights and apex.

Whiskey

That's humid, have you tried no fans, for week or two? May need humidifier?

 

[roberthu526]

I use glass cover on my 300G and cool it with a chiller in the garage. I chose this route specifically for the issue you ran into. I love fish tanks but I don’t want to destroy the house for this hobby. The humidity can cause paint peeling off and impair the wood structure. It’s just not worth the risk.

 

[Wiskey]

I use glass cover on my 300G and cool it with a chiller in the garage. I chose this route specifically for the issue you ran into. I love fish tanks but I don’t want to destroy the house for this hobby. The humidity can cause paint peeling off and impair the wood structure. It’s just not worth the risk.

That's an interesting thought. I do have glass tops but have never considered using them. How do you deal with the sump? Is it covered too?

Whiskey

 

[roberthu526]

That's an interesting thought. I do have glass tops but have never considered using them. How do you deal with the sump? Is it covered too?

Whiskey

The sump is in the garage already so I left it open. The garage does get hot in the summer so I tried to leave the door open as much as I can.

 

[ca1ore]

Open back hood should be fine. Closed cabinet may be a problem. Can you vent the stand to the garage?

 

[jda]

You can use a smaller fan just to move a bit of air - like a computer fan. With your open back, then this might be enough... or leave the lid open during the hot season. Air your room out whenever you can. I have never had any mold issues, even in the super-humid midwest.

 

[Wiskey]

Open back hood should be fine. Closed cabinet may be a problem. Can you vent the stand to the garage?

Not reasonably, but I can cover most of the top of my sump. It's got lots of stuff in and out, but I have a ton of scrap 1/4" acrylic and I could make like an inverted tank that sits over it and clears the skimmer with small notchouts for my pipes. That should cut down on stand humidity a great deal.

Whiskey

 

[Wiskey]

You can use a smaller fan just to move a bit of air - like a computer fan. With your open back, then this might be enough... or leave the lid open during the hot season. Air your room out whenever you can. I have never had any mold issues, even in the super-humid midwest.

I have a 75G in a room that is basically 100 Sq Foot where my wife often closes the doors because the sound bugs her, I'd like to avoid fans at all, but this is an option. I've never had mold issues in the house, but I have had in the hood. The condensation forms droplets on my lights and hood lid overnight and I get a black gunk over time on the wood surface.

Of course, I'll be running the tank a bit cooler now, so perhaps that won't be such a big issue. I usually run at 80, in the summer it can creep to 81.5 before lights shut off and I'm dropping it down to 78 now that I have better cooling.

Whiskey