Keeping a fish room mold free?

[Burks]

Ran into a problem today. After 6 months of no problems with my fish room, I decided to open the windows yesterday since it was 65F out and lovely. I come into the room today, I have mold around both my windows. Total area probably 2sqft between both windows. Nailed it with Fantastik (which took the paint with it.....but big deal). Seems to have taken care of the problem temporarily.

I believe my only solution to preventing this again is a dehumidifier. Correct?

I've never owned one so I know nothing about them. What should I look for in one? I'm obviously going to look for an Energy Star one so the electricity bill isn't outrageous. Clueless here. The room is roughly 15x15.

I am going to borrow my parents for a bit until I buy my own. They aren't using it. It's old but still works. My dad doesn't know much about them except he bought the biggest they had that he could roll around himself, typical guy thing. Buy the biggest you can afford!

Thanks.

[L number Banana]

Hi,
First off be really careful with using products like fantastik etc because the tiny particles can float through the air and land in your tank water, just a tiny speck to us but very toxic to the fish. Don't spray anything if you can avoid it, put the product onto a cloth instead.

Next idea is to use kitchen or bathroom paint if you need to repaint after the area is totally dry, these contain fungicide type things. All the windows wide open of course and throw a bag over your tanks, unplug the air supply for a time while painting too. Sound like overkill but that's exactly what you might want to avoid

A dehumidifier is a great idea but you may want to look into getting a vented ceiling fan, like you see in some bathrooms. It will require a hook-up to the electricity and a pipe to vent it out but they work. Another option is too look into the kind of fans used by green house growers, smaller, cheaper and can be fit into a window opening.

By the way, many people use the dehumidifier water for their tanks, no chlorine Look for one without copper pipes - bad for fish. Lots of energy star models available but try to find one with a drain attachment and the ability to set it at what you want instead of a simple on off button. Mine was on sale for $39, so depending on Ohio weather, you may have an 'off-season' when companies are selling off their stock. Check craig's list too.
Good luck and we look forward to fishy pics someday

[MatsP]

If you get lots of mold/condensation on your windows, it's possibly worth considering covering the window up in some way, so that the room is more insulated against the outside cold.

Ventilation is a solution. Keeping the tanks well covered probably also a good idea.

--
Mats

[Burks]

So here is what I am planning.

1. Repaint the areas around the windows with mold/mildew resistant paint.

2. Buy a dehumidifier that has no copper pipes, reuse the water for the tanks themselves.

3. Cover the tanks with glass/plastic.

Sound good? I actually planned on going glass hunting next week on my week off school (yaaaaaay for a break!)

The dehumidifier I borrowed from my parents has multiple "settings" for how moist or dry you want the air. I just put it on 5 (goes from 1-10) and will see how that does. I will see if it has copper pipes though.

Doing a fan would be AWESOME but sadly I do not have a ceiling fan to replace. I have no way of running electricity to the ceiling unless I did some major renovations, which I don't have the cash for.

Keeping the windows open and putting a fan in the window would work.....if it weren't so darn cold out! Soon I won't have the problem of humidity as much (can just keep the windows open) but when winter rolls back around, it's going to be a pain.

[2wheelsx2]

How about venting through a wall or a window?

[Burks]

Wall, I'd prefer not to.

Window, definite possibility provided I can keep the heat in. My furnace already costs enough to keep the house even at 60F in the winter ($250...). If anyone has links to something that would work, I'd greatly appreciate it.

[bronzefry]

I just started making some of the basic cleaning supplies: vinegar/water, etc. They actually sell it now, but you can get the solutions online for free. Just Google homemade cleaning supplies, I think, or something for the proportions. You can mix it in small amounts to test it out. I don't use the mixtures with bleach in the fishroom. Some folks do. I just use water and a towel on the lids and tanks. Vaccuuming the floor is important, too. I think this has been my biggest preventative, recently. I was amazed at what fell down there. Lots of mold/mildew potential.
Amanda

[2wheelsx2]

Vinegar is a very good choice for natural cleaning and the household stuff you get is very diluted. Good for removing water stains and natural disinfectant. Leaves windows streak free too.

[Farid]

hi there,
if you open windows...open then so that you get a open airflow through the room(not only one window this get's moisture but no air-exchange!

i also use a dehumidifier or what's it called

do now use the water from it ...because it also filter's the air...and as the preairfilter mat will use a cleanup from time to time the water will for sure not be that clean for a re-use!!

before you paint with a anti-fungus paint wash your wall with "Shavel" this is a chemical product to bleach cotton...this kills all fungus spores! let it dry as much as possible...then paint !

regards
farid

[L number Banana]

Farid wrote:

do now use the water from it ...because it also filter's the air...and as the preairfilter mat will use a cleanup from time to time the water will for sure not be that clean for a re-use!!

This may seem like a silly question but since lots of people use this water, doesn't it make sense that the water is very clean since the filter is in front of the water area? It seems like it does a good job trapping pollutants.

Another forum mentioned that water from a dehumidifier may not contain enough mineral content which fish need. I haven't used mine in a while since I don't need it with the pellet stove running but I looked in the bucket at some water left in there from last year - no 'dust' has settled to the bottom and the coils still look clean, no molds or mildew anywhere.

In the summer, my water never sits there since it fills and is emptied so often, there's no bacteria issues but I suppose if water sits there for any period of time it may get contaminated with something. Probably safe advice not to use it without testing it first....my kingdom for cheap water testing kits!

It's really good for orchids and other potted plants though - I have many ribbons to prove that part I'll monitor my goldfish better this year to see if they have any dehumidifier issues.

Clean snow is good for low ph water, got any in Ohio at the moment?

[MatsP]

Dehumidifier water is one of those controversial things that some people think is a great idea to use in the tank, others think it's pretty stupid idea. I'm in neither of those camps, but I do realize that there may be problems with both picking up ions from the metals in the system, and picking up all manner of particles (such as yeast/mould). The water resembles rain/RO water in chemical composition, so it will be unstable - which can lead to more problems with pick-up of ions in the water, as it's "more aggressive" than the tap-water which is treated to make it stable.

--
Mats

[Bas Pels]

If I rememeber the biology lessons correctly, plants have some cork in ther roots protecting them against invasion of harmfull ions - such as heavy metals

However, high ionstrength is another matter - which might be harder to protect against

Therefore, the fact the dehumidifier water is excellent for potted plants can not be used as an agrument for its use in a tank. Personally i would never take the risk. Use the water for your plants, perhaps to wash clothes in (RO water is good for that purpose too, as calcium reduces the soap strength) but not for a tank

[bronzefry]

We had a wet basement in the past and tried a dehumidifier. The noise was outrageous. Do they make quiet ones now?
Amanda

[funnyceline]

You better use a dehumidifier or a ceiling fan or an ordinary fan to let the air circulate the whole time to prevent moisture. Keeping it dry could prevent molds also. The Soleus Air CFM-40E brand of a dehumidifier is the best I've seen. Check it out yourself.