What is my reef doing to my furnace?

[bluemarlin]

My 180 gallon tank is built into the wall in my basement office. The "maintenance" side of the tank is in my furnace room. So the room is a furnace/fish room. I have always wondered what, if anything, having the aquairum in that room is doing to my house, floorboards or furnace. I loose about 4 gallons a day to evaporation. I know the salt stays in the tank so thats cool but what about the evaporated water? Is that humidifying my house or ruing my furnace? Any thoughts on this? Should I cover my tank to reduce evaporation?

 

[goldrush]

I don't see 4 gallons on a 180 as being excessive,does anyone else?

 

[phil1964]

I lose 2 gallons a day out of my 180

 

[azonic]

4 gallons on a 180 doesn't seem like a lot to me. I lose anywhere from 2-3 a day on my 90 when I have the halides on.

 

[nm reef]

My refugiums and sump are in the same room with my central heat furnace...and I evaporate about 2-3 gal per day. I doubt that the evaporation is a problem for the furnace....each room of the house has a return air vent and a heat duct....air for the furnace is gathered from several locations in the house. Plus we run evaporative coolers during the summer months which adds even more mositure to the air...i seriously doubt that the mosture content of the air inside my house is of concern.

 

[reefaddicted]

I would say that unless you are noticing things like moisture on your window sills, then you are not going to see any adverse effects from the humidity, in fact many people spend hundreds of dollars to add humidifiers to their furnaces which work on the principle of evaporation. This is JMO, however, my profession is Project Manager for an HVAC controls company.

 

[finland]

I just recently posted a topic along these lines. I have dumped over $375 into furnace repairs this winter, and the furnace repair man is blaming the problem on humidity from my fish tanks. Since I replaced my dehumidifier, I haven't had any problems with the furnace , so I think it is helping. I was also getting a lot of condensation on windows, outside door hinges, door handles. I have two 75gal tanks and a 150 gal tank, and a 25 gallon sump and a 35 gallon refugium. I lose about 2-4 gallons a day between all the tanks. I personally would suggest a dehumidifier to prevent possible future problems. I wouldn't use the dehumidifier water in your tank, though. Yeah, the water is pure when it condenses on the coils of the dehumidifier, but the it mixes with all kinds of crud floating in the air. Ever look at the cooling coils of a dehumidifier? Yuck!

 

[bluemarlin]

Thanks for all the great replies! I think that water circulation and the fact that the water is much warmer than the air contributes to my 4 gallon a day water loss. I will use a dehumidifier but I do not think I will reuse the water, just to be safe.

 

[reefaddicted]

Just keep in mind that if you dehumidify, the ability of the air to absorb water will increase and you will evaporate more water. Notice in finlands post it states that there was condensation on the windows, door hinges, and door handles. Humidity is a good thing as long as you do not see the condensation. It will actually save you alot of money in heating bills since moist air feels warmer than dry air.
Good Luck.

 

[hurley]

WHATS A FURNACE? Is this something that keeps the house warm for the winter! Todays winter temp in So cal a chilling 85 deg. Im j/k hope i didnt touch any sore spots. Sometimes I am so amazed, on how we are all apart of such a great hobbie, and how focused we are on it, that I forget how many members live in such different climates and how it affects their tanks, house, etc. I was just reading this thread, as I do most, trying to gain more knowledge, and it just blew me away. As a hobbiest I spend so much time keeping my tanks in order watching( levels,perams,diseases,epuipment). It never even crossed my mind, on how what other members half to deal with just because of where they live.