Dehumidifier

Brew12 · Nov 27, 2017

Has anyone tried to run a dehumidifier next to their aquarium and run the collected water directly into their sump?
Seems like this could not only keep the house less humid but save on a bunch of RODI.

I'm thinking about giving it a try while leaving my regular ATO system on and running the dehumidifier from a controlled outlet so I can turn it off if salinity starts dropping.

Thoughts?

Crabs McJones · Nov 27, 2017

Brew12 said:
Has anyone tried to run a dehumidifier next to their aquarium and run the collected water directly into their sump?
Seems like this could not only keep the house less humid but save on a bunch of RODI.

I'm thinking about giving it a try while leaving my regular ATO system on and running the dehumidifier from a controlled outlet so I can turn it off if salinity starts dropping.

Thoughts?

I cannot find them right now, but there have been other users who posted a similar question, and the general consensus was it was not a good idea.

DLHDesign · Nov 27, 2017

I'd think at the least that you would want to run it through a filter process (sediment and carbon, at least) before adding it back into the tank. I'm thinking of those videos that show cigarette smoke passing through cotton balls or the like... Eg; Just because your air looks clear does not mean there aren't undesirables suspended in there. In addition, I imagine that the humidifier itself would pick up and collect dust and debris...
Of course, all that stuff hanging out in the air is getting into the tank anyways, but the humidifier seems like it would be concentrating them...

Would be interesting to pull some water from that process and test it, though - all the above is more of a theory than fact, after all...

Brew12 · Nov 27, 2017

DLHDesign said:
I'd think at the least that you would want to run it through a filter process (sediment and carbon, at least) before adding it back into the tank. I'm thinking of those videos that show cigarette smoke passing through cotton balls or the like... Eg; Just because your air looks clear does not mean there aren't undesirables suspended in there. In addition, I imagine that the humidifier itself would pick up and collect dust and debris...
Of course, all that stuff hanging out in the air is getting into the tank anyways, but the humidifier seems like it would be concentrating them...

Would be interesting to pull some water from that process and test it, though - all the above is more of a theory than fact, after all...

I was thinking about running it through a carbon reactor with sponges on either end.

Randy Holmes-Farley · Nov 28, 2017

A possible concern is metals leaching from the cooling coils.

Brew12 · Nov 28, 2017

Randy Holmes-Farley said:
A possible concern is metals leaching from the cooling coils.

Thanks Randy, I hadn't considered that.

skiergd011013 · Nov 28, 2017

I think of mold right away too. I have seen moldy coils on dehumidifiers, their drip tubes etc. I dont think this would be a great idea.

mcarroll · Nov 29, 2017

Try that search
https://www.reef2reef.com/search/2834864/?searchform=1&q=Dehumidifier&o=relevance&c[title_only]=1

andrewkw · Nov 29, 2017

I don't see how the savings could be worth the risk. Or even the effort. Maybe you have a pretty sterile home, but there is dust, cat hair ect in my house despite the fact we clean frequently. Speaking of the cats I'm grossed out when they drink the dehumidifier water and I can't imagine it going in the tank. Look at how dirty the back of your dehumidifier likely is if its not new. Even if you were to collect a bunch of water and filter it, that's going to take time and effort when you can just run your ro/di once a week.

I am all for looking at ways of saving money and making things easy I just don't think this is a good idea.

Brew12 · Nov 29, 2017

andrewkw said:
I don't see how the savings could be worth the risk. Or even the effort. Maybe you have a pretty sterile home, but there is dust, cat hair ect in my house despite the fact we clean frequently. Speaking of the cats I'm grossed out when they drink the dehumidifier water and I can't imagine it going in the tank. Look at how dirty the back of your dehumidifier likely is if its not new. Even if you were to collect a bunch of water and filter it, that's going to take time and effort when you can just run your ro/di once a week.

I am all for looking at ways of saving money and making things easy I just don't think this is a good idea.

Agreed, not a good idea on my part at all. It sounded much better after I had just finished working 32 out of 40 hours on two emergency call outs and came home to a very humid house. Its normally not a problem because our AC runs enough to keep the humidity down but the cooler weather has changed that.

Greybeard · Nov 29, 2017

Eventually, the dehumidifier in my sump closet will drain through the front wall of the house, into a flower garden. Gotta find a monkey I can pay to crawl under there and run the hose. I'm old, fat, and a tough claustrophobic. For now, I'm catching the flow in a bucket. Produces about a half gallon per day. Looking at that bucket after a couple of months use... Nope. Dumping that into my tank is not going to happen. Yuck.

Randy Holmes-Farley · Nov 29, 2017

This is funny. Here's a dehumidifier company touting how "good" the water is from a dehumidifier, but their own study shows it has too much copper (IMO) for our use.

https://questhydro.com/grow-info/laboratory-test-condensate

maroun.c · Nov 29, 2017

believe water condensates on aluminum tubing in dehumidifiers which can't be good for your tank. I say not worth the risk.

batfish5 · Nov 29, 2017

maroun.c said:
believe water condensates on aluminum tubing in dehumidifiers which can't be good for your tank. I say not worth the risk.

I have been using dehumidifier water the last 3 winters, empty the dehumidifier every morning right into my display tank,no problem.That makes it easier for me to give my RO unit a break for the winter months!!

maroun.c · Nov 29, 2017

Any ICP testing on your tank to see if it resulted in any heavy metal accumulation?

batfish5 · Nov 29, 2017

maroun.c said:
Any ICP testing on your tank to see if it resulted in any heavy metal accumulation?

No,just winging the past 3 yrs.I guess the proof is in the tank.

mcarroll · Nov 29, 2017

Brew12 said:
ame home to a very humid house. Its normally not a problem because our AC runs enough to keep the humidity down but the cooler weather has changed that.

Definitely a factor worthy of consideration – those in-between months when HVAC stops running so often really can make a difference!

Sealing up your tank a little better to limit evaporation might be a better strategy though. Or sealing the room and giving it its own AC system.