Cooling Fans Qs

[Samuel Lee]

Hi Vinz, maybe you can mount the AC fan on the glass itself using 3M tapes it could cool down your glass tank and indirectly bring the temp down. I do on my fan for 24hrs on mounted on top of my 2ft tank and the temp remain constant at 27-28 degrees

[sherchoo]

Vincent,
Quite hard to comment leh.... dun mind, a picture of your cover would be great....

[vinz]

Old pic, hope it's clear enough.

[bawater]

vinz- try getting those light diffusers(aka egg crate) & mounting fan right on top. It still covers the tank,Allows a little light thru(u can cut a piece just for a corner) & it will allow the air to flow thru.
my 2 cents- & that's what i gonna try.

Just got my piece today(a 4'x2'x2' piece $1 from the hardware shop in the petmart area(its near the bird shop,round the corner from rainbow).

sealife@balestier sells those big fans $20 each(much cheaper than other LFS i've been looking).
i got mine from cash converters $4.50(hee hee! bargain!)

[vinz]

Bawater,

Does the Sealife fans come with clips or something to mount onto tank? Do you know the noise level? AC/DC?

[Simon]

vinz, y dun u try to clip the fan btw the lights?

[cheeboonyong]

Heh, never thought of it. I'm using an internal filter (comes with the Ruwel tank). My tank consistently hovers around 29-30 degrees w/o fans. Might be due to the filter. Anybody else have this experience? I'm having a tough time trying to grow moss at this temperature. Not succeeding at all.

[cheeboonyong]

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On 10/8/2002 1:22:49 PM

could be the heat from the filters motor.
i have a 2' tank which have a internal filter, no lights and no cover. the temperature was about 29-30 deg.
when my fishes started jumping out, i covered with undergravel filter trays. i noticed that the temperature increased to about 32 deg. so i removed the covers and the temperature drops back to 29-30deg.

i have 4 80mm dc fan for my 2 1/2' planted.
keeps temperature around 28 deg if fans are switched off in sync with lights.
if fans are switched on for 24hrs, temperature will be about 27 deg in the morning and 28 deg at night.
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Heh, never thought of it. I'm using an internal filter (comes with the Ruwel tank). My tank consistently hovers around 29-30 degrees w/o fans. Might be due to the filter. Anybody else have this experience? I'm having a tough time trying to grow moss at this temperature. Not succeeding at all.

[sherchoo]

I think to blowing at the lights will cool but only slightly. You can try using a table/stand fan to experiment first. Probably it will give you good idea how much the temp canbe reduced.

[kubrich]

i place my cooling fan ontop of my fl tube light housing,cos i am using two sets of 2 fl tubes for my 2 ft tank...i leave a small gap and i juz placed it over...i turn on the fan only when my room's air con is not on and i manage to keep the temp around 26.5-28...when the aircon goes on the heater kicks in and maintains it at around 26 degrees celcius...so i guess its not so bad..maybe u could try tt? or you could try the diy cooling fan method..but instead use a few of those small computer cooling fans and secure it to a plastic piece then secure to ure tank with a C-clamp or something...then just try and angle it to blow slightly across your water surface...just a thought..[]

[vinz]

Hmmm... I'm definitely getting AC fans to do the cooling, just a matter of how to set them up. The easiest is to get it to blow across the glass and the space between the glass and the lights, so I'll start with that.

Thanks for all the help. Thanks to Loupgarou, I found out Chan sells fan holders...

[logan]

actually, is it really a need for a cooling fan to be installed??? If so, why ah?

But, whats the diff bet an AC fan and a DC one...i mean, the working diffences,.....

[vinz]

You need to cool your water only if the water temps are higher then what you required for your plants and fishes health. In most cases the heat is caused by the light sets.

To lower temps there are more then 1 method. Fans, chiller, leaving hood open, raising the lights, ensuring good circulation of air over the tank...

[logan]

Any diff bet the AC and DC fans other than the electrical working principles?

[tawauboy]

ac fan is noisier, more powerful and more dangerous.

[logan]

Hmmm...i would understand the dangerous part...but the other two?

And, i have been wondering this for a long time but got no reply :is a cooling fan really important for a planted tank?

[logan]

Ooops! Sorry, VInz..didnt see your post....


Why else can the water be heated??

so, using the fans just one of the options lah....but would the others be as effective?

Thanks.

[tawauboy]

more powerful will definately be noisier.
noise from the air movement and impeller cutting through the air.
returned all my electrical stuff [] but it has something to do with ac motor has the benefit of a rotating magnetic field.

fans is the cheaper option.
the more expensive option would be chiller.
an option everyone would like to have.

[vinz]

You can always try the other free options first if your setup allows it... like raising the lights and keeping the hood open. Could make a difference of 1 or 2 degrees.

[bawater]

nope vinz- didn't see clips for the fans, but they were the cheapest i've come across(Plug & play wise).
i like to DIY but most of the times it cost me more than just to buy ready made. & yeh they give off a whirl sound just like CPU fans.which is why i gonna connect to the light extension which is on a timer.
i find the lighting is the major factor in raising temp. More fans=more evaporation.
i raised my lights & tank a little cooler- doesn't go beyond 30c anymore.- i use an old overhead box & fill up with blocks of ice(using ice-cream tubs).
very cold water top up-using drip method(plop a block in & let room temp do the rest). This drops temp down by 2c very slowly(to avoid thermal shock)& it stays down for a couple of hours. If i need to add additives i just add to the water before i freeze it. The bigger the block the longer it lasts.Small cubes melt in seconds.