tank causing mold on the walls??

[blazehok68]

2 weeks ago we found mold in our 600 sqft apartment. i have a 120gal reef.
we notified the leasing and maintenance office and they came in and cleaned all the mold off of the walls and took off the siding on the outside of the building and inspected the plywood and vapor barrier. they found that the vapor barrier was defective and a lot of the plywood was rotted. so they replaced it.
by that plywood being rotten, would that cause the sheetrock on the inside of the apt to get mold all around the base board?
the mold we found was in our bedroom and in our living room which is where the tank is located. the mold was worse in the bedroom in the corners and on the windowsills and all along the windows seams. the mold in the living room was in similiar areas, but not as bad. the windows in the apartment get tons of condensation on them all the time, winter spring summer and fall.
the maintenance "manager" seems to think that its the tank tahat is causing all of the mold and wants to put a dehumidifier in the apartment to see if it helps. i know it will help, but is my tank really causing all of this mold? that doesnt seem right to me. we have been in this apartment for 3.5 years and the tank has been set up the entire time and we just found the mold.
i know the dehumidifier cant hurt us but i dont think it will getrid of the mold.
another thing is if its the fish tank causing the mold, why dont i have any mold in my kitchen which is attatched to my living room and is very close to the tank?
the wall which we found the mold on is an exterior wall meaning it gets hit by rain, snow, sun etc....
all of the wallis in the kitchen are ******** walls that dont get hit by the elements at all.
it is an open floor plan from the kitchen to the living room and the bedroom is completely closed off from both rooms.

 

[bigarn]

It's not the tank, and don't let them convince you otherwise. If the vapor barrier and plywood are rotting from the outside, that's where the problem is.

 

[autofreak44]

the tank probably is causing mold, cause as you know you have to top off your tank with gallons of water a week, and all that water has to go somewhere (your walls)
mold sucks, good luck

 

[rylan1]

Probably are mulitple factors... a dehumidifer will help get the vapor out of the air from the tank..... which is probably part of the problem... keep in mind that is a lot of water for 600 sq ft space... you probably have a lot of evaporation.

 

[blazehok68]

my evaporation rate is about 2.5 gallons a day. thats with 2 cooling fans blowing fresh air into the canopy 24/7. maybe i should put a fan on the sump too?

 

[blazehok68]

Originally Posted by bigarn
http:///forum/post/2566334
It's not the tank, and don't let them convince you otherwise. If the vapor barrier and plywood are rotting from the outside, that's where the problem is.

i agree with you.... if the maintenance guy tells me to get rid of the tank im gonna run him over with my truck. it also doesnt say anything in our lease about not being allowed to have fish tanks, so we are safe on that one.

 

[lovethesea]

IMO the mold started on the outside. My sis in laws house had to have all of her siding and insulation removed due to defective siding. Mold had gotten into a small area of drywall in a room. If it gets into drywall, it MUST be removed and the area treated properly for mold before new drywall installed. Drywall is constant food for mold and PLUS it is a hazard to your health. It will grow and spread to places you will never see until it is rotting away.

 

[blazehok68]

Originally Posted by lovethesea
http:///forum/post/2566414
IMO the mold started on the outside. My sis in laws house had to have all of her siding and insulation removed due to defective siding. Mold had gotten into a small area of drywall in a room. If it gets into drywall, it MUST be removed and the area treated properly for mold before new drywall installed. Drywall is constant food for mold and PLUS it is a hazard to your health. It will grow and spread to places you will never see until it is rotting away.
i agree...

 

[reefforbrains]

Mold around entire edge of apt around floor?
You say apt, so what about the other apts nextdoor?
Some pictures would be great.

 

[digitydash]

If they had to rip off the siding and the seal underlay.I would lean more toward it being from outside not your fish tank.Also the humidity from the fish tank will not make another room mold up it would have to be just where the fish tanks at.

 

[crashbandicoot]

honestly the ammount of humidity your tank is putting into the house is minimal . My 75 gets topped off everyday and we still run a humidifier that takes aprox 3-4 gallons a day just to keep our apt at 50% humidity .
They are just looking to point the finger at you .

 

[jennythebugg]

IMO the mold started on the outside. QUOTE]
i agree if the majority and worst of it was on the outside of the building and not on the inside walls it only makes sense that the damage is from outside , is there an apartment above you that has a damaged window? had it been the moisture from the tank the drywall/paint would have bubbled and cracked , and there would be issues with the flooring around it.you would have seen more actual damage than just mold spots.they should be ashamed of themselves blaming those poor innocent fishies

 

[alyssia]

I'm certainly no expert but it sounds like they are just trying to pin it on you.

 

[blazehok68]

Originally Posted by lovethesea
http:///forum/post/2566414
IMO the mold started on the outside. QUOTE]
i agree if the majority and worst of it was on the outside of the building and not on the inside walls it only makes sense that the damage is from outside , is there an apartment above you that has a damaged window? had it been the moisture from the tank the drywall/paint would have bubbled and cracked , and there would be issues with the flooring around it.you would have seen more actual damage than just mold spots.they should be ashamed of themselves blaming those poor innocent fishies
the mold was not on the outside of the building. it was on the sheetrock inside the apartment on the only exterior wall. our apartment is on the ground floor and it is on a slab so there is no issues with the floor. the carpet isnt even messed up. what actually happened on the outside is the saw a piece of the siding bowed out and it looks like some water got in that way. they admitted that thats what they saw and now they say its the tank.

 

[blazehok68]

Originally Posted by ReefForBrains
http:///forum/post/2566714
Mold around entire edge of apt around floor?
You say apt, so what about the other apts nextdoor?
Some pictures would be great.

from what the maintenance guy said, the apartment next door does not have any mold, nor do either of the apartments above us.
i would put up some pics, but they came and cleaned the walls with bleach before i could snap any up. although i think my wife took one or 2. i will see when i get home.

 

[blazehok68]

Originally Posted by digitydash
http:///forum/post/2566739
If they had to rip off the siding and the seal underlay.I would lean more toward it being from outside not your fish tank.Also the humidity from the fish tank will not make another room mold up it would have to be just where the fish tanks at.
also the mold in the other room is worse than behind the tank!

 

[digitydash]

I wouldn't worry about it.I am just shooting ideas for u.If their is more then one room it not the fish tank and if it was worse in one room.I bet the floor has a slight slop and the water is running down the wall from where it worse.Easy way to find out is with a level.

 

[michaeltx]

was the molded walls the outsde walls of the building and about a guestament of how old the building is.
I had an apartment that when the vapor barrier messed up and had to replaced the outside walls behind furnature and draperies ended up with mildew that looked like mold because the furnature held the moisture close to the walls. I had to throw out a lot of things because of it. once it was cleaned up and the vapor barrier was fixed right we didnt have a problem with it again.
Mike

 

[lovethesea]

I thought you had stated that the exterior vapor lock was defective and the plywood was rotted. That would be what started your issue IMO.
Bleach will not make it go away, it will most likely come back. My sister in law had a heck of a time with their defective siding causing mold on the ******** of their house. The clean up was taken care of by the manufacturer of the siding.

 

[tizzo]

As mentioned, the water that the tank evaporates is normal air moisture.
But... If your tank evaping so much water that your walls are literally WET? Windows?
If your apt is so sealed up that there is no circulation and the water vapor hangs in the air and builds up, then they may have a point, but as long as your walls are dry to the touch then there is no way!
Just for your own protection, take LOTS of pictures around your tank. Pics showing dry walls, and no tank leaks etc... That way when you move out they don't try to pull your deposit saying you caused this.