lower water temp using fans

[knives2886]

So my tank has been running almost a year now. This summer is starting to take a toll on my poor tank. All my sps died off and my lps is starting to wither away. with out buying an expensive chiller that i cant aford atm i am going to try using some computer fans to lower the temp inside my canopy and the water. has any one tried this with good results? what were your results?

 

tank is running 79-81 at night and during the day it is hitting 84 with the lights on. 82 if i leave my canopy doors open. i just added standerd computer fan blowing about 80cfm aimmed at the water and my temps droped 1 to 2 degrees. do you think by adding 2X166cfm fans to each side of the tank aimed at the waters surface will bring the tank down 8 degrees? or should i come up with something?

 

another rout is to take the water going to the sump and run it over a 1'x1.5' sheet of plexi and slope it down hill run the water over it and have a fan blowing to cool it down faster.

[eddiecorrea]

Use a fan. If you have a controller set it to turn on and off by the temperature. I have a normal house fan set to turn on when the tank reaches 81.5 degrees and off at 79.9. A slow swing of 1-2 degrees isn't a huge deal. But your swing is pretty high. PLENTY of people use fans to cool tanks.

[swayd]

I have the same problem but I started to increase the temp to 80-81 in spring to accomodate high temps in summer. In the afternoon I sometimes find my tank at around 83-84 on really hot days but thats when I forget to run my fan.

I run a small house fan over my open top and the temp stays between 79-80ish. The only problem you will see is the evap. So with that said if you dont have a top-off system you trust then I would really watch your salinity and water level.

[steviejitsu]

if you do that second method of running water downwards and blowing it with a fan, i think your worries will be over.

[Xenia_farmer]

Fans work great IME. Keep in mind that your not cooling the water by doing this though, you are causing the water to evaporate which in turn creates heat exchange IE lower tempeture in the tank. This means you will need to keep up on your top offs.

 

Also don't be afraid of ice, it will lower your salinity but it can save your livestock in a pinch.

[knives2886]

fast reply that is what i love about this community! lol joind a reptile forum and ill be waitting for weeks for a reply on ####.

 

tanks for all your input. but i have a canopy so putting a house fan in it is out of the question. as for evap im used to it. my rooms dry any how. im losing 5 gal in 4 days on my 55g tank so meh its ok thats why i have a ro unit running 24/7

 

whateder i end up doing i will post pictures up. also the algae in this temp is getting out of control soo much of it and different types..

 

here are the fans im looking at http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx...N82E16835146003

 

and the controller for them http://www.amazon.com/Dimmer-Brightness-Ad...r/dp/B008CCMKTM

[jball1125]

Looks like you have gotten some great answers.

 

What type of reptiles do you have? I own a few ball pythons and breed them as a hobby.

[RooKi3]

here are the fans im looking at http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx...N82E16835146003

 

and the controller for them http://www.amazon.com/Dimmer-Brightness-Ad...r/dp/B008CCMKTM

 

I would like to know if that controller works out for you, please update when you have it setup. It is a really cool idea and much better looking than cheap fan controllers. I just swapped out my AIO fans for some really loud ones this would be perfect fix!

[AZDesertRat]

You will want to control the fan speed with a wall wart type variable voltage DC power supply. They are $5-$15 at places like WalMart, Radio Shack, Frys Electronics and I even bough both of mine at Harbor Freight Tools for less than $5 ea.

 

You don't need high CFM fans, they will be noisy, you want proper fan placement. I have done numerous fan threads on all the reef forum with my own experiences over the last 20 years with fans and placements.

You should be able to find a few with my screen name and fans or canopy or hood as search words.

 

I have found two 120mm, 53 CFM, 28 dBa, Vantec Stealth computer fans, one in each end of my 100G fully enclosed canopy with both blowing in works well in Phoenix AZ in the summer. I vary the voltage between 7.5v and 12v depending on the cooling needs and have equal sized 120mm (4" holes) in the roof of the canopy for hot air to escape, no leaving doors or rhe back open. This takes advantage of natural convection, even when the fans are off you can feel warm damp air rising out the top. I replaced a 1/4 HP chiller with fans and kept the same 79-81 degree year round temp with no sweat at all.

[knives2886]

noise is not that too important. i have 2 computers running any ways with big ol fans in them so it will fit right in XD betweed the trickling water of my tanks and my waterfall in the vivarium and the fans blowing i feel like im in jungle! all i need is afew bird noises and crickets and im set

[AZDesertRat]

That controller will not work. It does not vary the voltage, it varies the amperage or wattage which is what dims LED bulbs at a constant voltage. That is a different application.

You vary the speed of a DC motor or fan by raising and lowering the voltage, not the amperage.

[louy99]

If you have a sump, just put some frozen ice packs in there. I keep several bottles of water in the freezer for those hot summer days.

[AZDesertRat]

Frozen bottles and ice are very inefficient, they don't contain enough BTU units to do much cooling versus the time, effort and energy required to freeze the water. Fans are many many times more efficient and do not require the time and attention frozen bottles do.

[louy99]

Frozen bottles and ice are very inefficient, they don't contain enough BTU units to do much cooling versus the time, effort and energy required to freeze the water. Fans are many many times more efficient and do not require the time and attention frozen bottles do.

 

It works for me because my tank isn't very large

[knives2886]

by the time i make ice and melt it im adding more and makign ore it would be a 24/7 deal to do that. also you bring up a good point. it stays 12v and changes from 0-8a.. ima have to do some more searching. or just leave them all pluged in 24/7

 

for the time being i left the door to my sump open and put a fan in there aimed at the water and have a fan in the canopy aimed at the water and it seems to be staying at a cool 78* almost down to where i want it. i want to get to 74 XD i think 1 more fan could do the trick or maybe opening another hole in the back of the canopy.

[Tbone675]

or put a window ac unit it the room...keeps you can the tank cool...

[AZDesertRat]

Here, Wal Mart for $18.88, but I have seen them for less than $10.

http://www.walmart.com/ip/PowerLine-1300-m...r-Port/16778839

 

Notice the slide switch that adjust the DC voltage between 1.5v and 12v. You just cut the DC plug off and wire it directly to the red and black wires on your DC computer fans, ignore the yellow wire if they have them as that is for a speed sensor inside a computer, just tape it off.

[tako]

That controller will not work. It does not vary the voltage, it varies the amperage or wattage which is what dims LED bulbs at a constant voltage. That is a different application.

You vary the speed of a DC motor or fan by raising and lowering the voltage, not the amperage.

 

I agree; don't buy that. You could buy a PWM controlled fan and a proper controller for it, but your best bet is to use a regular fan and vary the input voltage like AZDesertRat has mentioned.

[RooKi3]

Thanks all for the info been following and I got my answer on the controller OP considered using.

 

I have a question and sorry to hijack, I found an old phone charger that is 12VDC 300MA and was wondering if I can tap into it two 60mm fans without losing power to the fans since there will be two. Or will I have to use two different wall chargers? I have quite a few in a box if that would be the case.

 

I already swapped two fans in my AIO and they went directly into the sockets the busted old ones used. I want to add 2 more with air blowing in like AZDesertRat mentioned earlier.

 

These are the fans I used

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx...N82E16835150054

they are loud but I do not mind at all.

 

Thanks again everybody.

[knives2886]

you would have to run the fans in a parallel and not in a series.

 

example: IGNORE THE .......... DOTS!! (they are there to space everything out)

 

[]===========[]=======Positive

f.............................f

a............................a.............................. >PLUG

n............................n

[]--------------[]----------Negative

[tako]

Check the current draw of the fans. It's usually on the sticker in the center of the fan or the packaging. That charger should work for 2 60mm fans, but I wouldn't recommend it for anything larger.

[RooKi3]

you would have to run the fans in a parallel and not in a series.

 

example: IGNORE THE .......... DOTS!! (they are there to space everything out)

 

[]===========[]=======Positive

f.............................f

a............................a.............................. >PLUG

n............................n

[]--------------[]----------Negative

 

Cool diagram + avatar (Gambit is my favorite Marvel character), I will def run them in parallel. Just gotta figure out if I should put them on the sides or on top. They will be pushing cool air in as the other ones draw the power compact warm air out. Might have to be on top cause the sides are looking too small... Thanks btw.

 

 

Check the current draw of the fans. It's usually on the sticker in the center of the fan or the packaging. That charger should work for 2 60mm fans, but I wouldn't recommend it for anything larger.

 

These fans read "Rotary DC fan Brushless Sleeve Bearing DC 12V WS971001" That is all the info then it is blank on the back. The box doesn't have any more current info nor the site. Guess that is why the are a few bucks right? Thanks.

[MeepNand]

What lights are you running? If its MH, then 1 or 2 cheap computer fans will lower the temp 2-3 degrees.

If you are using a cooler lighting system like led, then a few large fans or a bunch of small fans will work fine. But why do you want to vary the speed? Just set the heater to like 78 so if the fans cool too much you'll see. If they cool it to 80, that's great and no speed vary-ing is needed.

[tako]

I'd say go for it. Besides, you can usually overdraw power supplies a little bit with out any problems. Their voltage tends to drop and the signal is noisier, but that won't matter for a fan.

[RooKi3]

Going to pull out the Dremal and the wire strippers soon, thanks again!