Cooling question

V

Virgil68

Since I added the t5's to my tank my Temps are going up just a little...I tend to keep my tank around 80-81 and now they're getting up to 82...which is where the Apex kicks them off till it cools back down. Really don't want to get a chiller unless I really need too...could I run a fan setup like the Tunze Aquawind just to help cool off the water a little? Any suggestions are appreciated...hate seeing my lights kick on and off in the evening time lol
 
I would get Marc to build you one of these to fit over your sump. I've run MH and use 3 fans and never get above 78. Keep house at 76. Don't use the fans Marc list use pc fans.

Marc's fans holders
http://melevsreef.com/catalog/fan-tray-bracket

This is the best balance of cfm and Dba in my opinion. I've ised these a lot. They last atleast 18 months or so but they will go bad eventually. There not build for the humid air. But they work dang good and I just keep extra in hand to replace when they go bad.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=9SIA85V36V6232

On a self permoting note
Marc should give me a royalty on that fan holder he built the first one after I sent him the Idea/ crude drawling.
 
Pretty nifty idea...leave the hobby for a few years and come back to all sorts of new and cool things. One question, would each fan need a plug outlet or can multiple fans be ran in unison?

I built my vortech acrylic holder last night, not as nice looking at his but wasn't bad for my own and using a torch for the bend
 
Oh wait forgot that part. Go to northern tool and get this. I know it's starting to get pricey but it works and cost nothing to run. New fans will be the only on going cost.

http://www.northerntool.com/shop/tools/product_200326263_200326263

You cut the cigarette lighter part off and just wire one fan socket up to it. Then the fans plug into each other. There is no positive and negative just make sure fan is turning in correct direction. I've run 6 fans on it with no issues.
The fans sometime come with an male socket (female socket on fan) so I soldered that on and can easy replace the fans. My Invertor is probably 6-7 years old and still kicking.

Do a google/ eBay search on those fan you can usually find a deal on 3 or 4 at a time.
You need an auto top off for this too. As the point is to evaporate water to cool. Youre not going to evaporate that much water but you will evaporate more then before the fans.
 
Got it, much appreciated. I do have a smart ATO already...just need a bigger reservoir for it...only 2 gal at the time. Think I'm going to swing by frys tmrw and grab a couple of fans...may do some with the leds in them for visual coolness and see if they have a inverter like you posted.

I also saw a youtube video where someone used an old cell phone charger as the power supply...thoughts on that?
 
same concept the fans will tell you how many DC amps they draw, your power supply has to supply more then you are using to get full power out of fan. It can produce way more amps then what you need that is not an issue, it's only an issue if supply is less then demand. More amps does not speed up fan, the power is just there to be drawn from.
Bring your smart phone with you to fry's some of the fans may not have CFM and DBA listed. You do not want a fan much louder then what the ones I listed are.
I guess it just depends on how loud your skimmer and system is though.

I doubt you will find a wall wart big enough to power multi fans. I like the inventor idea because it can power all the fans, and only use one outlet.
 
@Virgil68 wrote:
Got it said:
Fry's sells 12V wall wart chargers specifically designed for these fans. They come with the plugs already installed so connecting/disconnecting is a breeze.
Click to expand...
 
@Mike R wrote:
[I]@Virgil68 wrote:[/I][quote="Got it said:
Fry's sells 12V wall wart chargers specifically designed for these fans. They come with the plugs already installed so connecting/disconnecting is a breeze."]

They sure do, here is one for $10 it is so high quality it doesn't even tell you how many amps it provides, so how many fans can you run at full speed? It has the correct molex connector though.
So you can go this route and hope all your fans are full speed or you can just get something you know provides plenty of power. For a little more. DC current is nothing to worry about either so if you can't solder the connection you can just twist and wrap in electrical tape.

http://www.frys.com/product/7613847?site=sr:SEARCH:MAIN_RSLT_PG
Click to expand...
 
Well I did go to Frys today and they have a pretty nice selection of fans, pretty much all of them had the cfm listed on the box, they range in price from 9.99 to 18.99 for the 120mm fans...I found 2 rated to push 95cfm for 14.99 each with red leds in them lol. The fans are rated at 12v .42amps, so I have a wall charger that is a 12v 1.5amp that I cut the ends of and soldiered...well on the first one I wired to the third pin and burned up the motor, then googled the right wire (pin 2) on the other fan and it works great! Going back to Frys tmrw to get another fan and wire it up. I also made my own fan holder since I have some 1/4" acrylic laying around. I have a trigger systems 36 ruby sump...so I am putting them over the refuge section. If I could figure out how to load pics from my phone on here I'd post them up lol. But one fan today kept my temp down to 82° and let my t5's stay on all day
 
Agreed on the fans, personally I don't see the need for chillers at all, aquariums are usually kept inside where there is AC, not to mention natural reefs regularly get up to 86 F or more with no adverse effects.
 
I agree, I was most looking for a way to keep Temps steady...instead of going from 80ish in the morning to 83 in the evening...today with both fans going it kept around 81-81.5 which is where I like my tank to run at.

I did notice today that the fans I got are water and dust resistant which is a bonus along with them having led lights lol
 
@Oscarmk wrote:
Agreed on the fans said:
For me a chiller is cheap insurance. I came back from vacation to a tank that was 93. AC had gone out. Lost most of what I had. You can get a good used chiller for a couple hundred bucks. I have individual fish and coral both that cost more than that. I do agree that mid 80's are no problem for reef critters.
Click to expand...
 
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