Humidity problem

Any ceiling fans in there? They might help push air back down to the dehumidifier. Increasing your air circulation is all I can really think of.

HTH

How old is your home? My mom is also psycho about this, and has a de-humidifier running most of the time now. However, I think your safe zone is 40-50% humiditiy.

You don't have that many tanks, so I really don't think that it's the bulk of the problem. The bulk of your humidity is coming from somewhere else, possibly bad insulation, not enough vents. The demudifier should be helping somewhat, ours was able to bring it down from 54% to 38%. I have 1 135g, 1 50g, 2 10g's, 1 30, and a 15g. Our region is also naturally humid and wet and we live next to a large park and large lake.

Any covers on the tanks? This will help, as will making sure the temp is stable in each tank. I'd worry that the wood stove would result in spiking temps (I know it does in my in-laws house, anyway), and that will increase the temps in the tanks, increasing evaporation.

Get a humidity monitor--so you know about where it's stable. As the temp rises, more water is pulled into the air, and the condensation on cold surfaces pulls the water out, making room for more water, etc--it's a cycle. Covering the tanks will help reduce the amount of water available to come out, and keeping the temp stable will help. Make sure the dehumidifier is rated for the size sapce it's working in, as well.

Just a word of caution: Condensation on glass windows and doors is sometimes caused by carbon monoxide build up. Do you have a carbon monoxide detector in your home? Might be worth a look see.

Covering the tanks will help. My 33g is more or less open top (just has the canopy) and the water level drops by a few cm's over the course of the week. The 18g in the bedroom has a glass top with only holes for filters, its water level stays constant, more or less.

If the tanks are covered, and you don't notice the water level dropping, they are not the source of this humidity. They may contribute a small amount, but you'd notice the water level dropping over the course of a week if it was this significant. I have a few uncovered tanks, and I add about 5-10 gallons of water PER WEEK to keep them at the right level--and this still only brings the humidity in my house up to about 65% (normally humidity levels are around 25-30% in Wyoming).

A significant source of the humidity problem you are suffering from will be coming from the construction materials themselves. Friends of mine just built a new home and were told they could expect high humidity for the first year. Their ventilation system (triggered by the humidity) ran pretty well non stop for several months after construction. It will take a year for the lumber and other materials in your new addition to dry out. Other common sources of humidity are bathrooms that do not have exhaust fans and kitchens. My house use to suffer from a humidity problem due to a crawl space with a dirt floor that didn't have a vapour barrier installed. Does your house have any sort of ventilation system to remove moist air. How high is the temperature set in your home, the lower the temperature the more condensation, you will have around doors, windows and other cold surfaces. Raising the temperature will help some. The higher the temperature the more moisture the air can hold. While undoubtledy they contribute to humidity, I would be surprised if the removal of your aquariums had any sort of appreciable effect on the humidity level of your home. Mold and mildew are pretty serious problems in a home and I'd suggest consulting with a contractor or other knowledgeable person to find out what needs to be done.

Good post, are you a contractor by any chance canuck? =)

Bottom line, no matter what the tanks are not responible for that much humidity. Poor construction or poor ventilation is the issue before that.