Cooling Fans

[BigC]

Hi,
I am currently in the process of entering into the world of a Nano Reef Aquarium. I have purchased a complete new tank and cabnet. The hood will house 3x 55w T5 power compact lighting with 55w triphosphor tubes. As you can see the hood will probably get quite hot inside. How would the membership solve such a problem i.e. fans and in what configuration and placement within the hood to effectively dissipate the heat. Links to fan types, drawings and diy jobs would be greatly appreciated. Also noise would also be a great concern, are these things noisy.
Thanks in advance.
Reghards
BigC

 

[SkiFletch]

Depending on how big the hood is, you're probably looking for PC fans. I myself have 2 120mm PC fans (65CFM each)on the sides of my hood blowing in and a hole in the back for exhaust, all fan-guarded to keep my jumping wrasses in the tank. PC fans come in 40, 60, 80, and 120mm sizes commonly. The larger the fan blades, the more air they can blow at a lower rpm, and thus quieter they become. Properly constructed 120s are nearly silent, but the smaller ones can get a little whiny sounding.

 

[BigC]

Thanks for that Fletch,
Please forgive me for being so dumb but please explain in detail how I power these PC fans. Do you plug them straight in to domestic electricity supply or do they need some sort of stepdown transformer. Please tell me what should be on my shopping list. I know I will probably get 2 fans to suit the size of my hood (from PC World) but where do I go from there.
Regards
BigC

 

[SkiFletch]

Well, PC fans are DC so they will require a power supply. PC fans run of 12 volts so you'll need a power supply capable of 12 volts. Typically the fans are low-current which means most 12V transformers will work. You should double check the current rating on the fans and make sure that the sum of the currents of your fans is less than the current rating of the transformer. If your fans try and draw more current than the transformer is rated for... blown transformer . Anyway, you can pick up a transformer cheap from household devices (things like chordless phones are commonly 12V), or you can probably buy one from a local electronics store. Every transformer should be labeled on the back with a voltage and current rating, so no matter what its original purpose, it can be re-used for your aquarium.

Then, you just connect the positive wire of the transformer to both the red wires of the fans, and the two black wires of the fans to the negative wire of the transformer, plug it in the wall and voila

 

[BigC]

Thanks a million Fletch.
BigC

 

[BigC]

Hi Fletch, what about one of these fans.
http/www.stm-shop.co.uk/acatalog/Whats_New.html

 

[SkiFletch]

Those would work just fine. Eliminates a little DIY of wiring thats for sure

And just as an aside, its interesting to note that those "Wave Skimmers" look like identical knockoffs of the Coralife Superskimmers... Interesting.

 

[leo77]

Hi Fletch, what about one of these fans.
http/www.stm-shop.co.uk/acatalog/Whats_New.html

Hey BigC, I tried 1 of those clip-on fans and they suck...not much wind flow off the 2xfan model and for that price you can get 2 of these, they go for about £10.00 each and have different speed settings.

 

[BigC]

How big is one of those and where will I locate that under the aquarium canopy. It seems to large to me. (I might be wrong) I am still toying with the PC fan, Fletch suggested. I'll nip down to maplins and get there advice on how to run two such fans and a tranformer, If I fire the question to them then they can set what I need on the counter and I know I have the necessary kit I require.
Thanks anyway for your interest in this thread.
Regards
BigC

 

[leo77]

How big is one of those and where will I locate that under the aquarium canopy. It seems to large to me. (I might be wrong) I am still toying with the PC fan, Fletch suggested. I'll nip down to maplins and get there advice on how to run two such fans and a tranformer, If I fire the question to them then they can set what I need on the counter and I know I have the necessary kit I require.
Thanks anyway for your interest in this thread.
Regards
BigC

no it does not fit under the hood, all I do is open the feeding flap and clamp it on so it blown into the tank and it works wonders.