AP 24 cooling

[madnav87]

I was thinking of using a small computer fan to blow air across the sump area of my AP 24 to keep it cool. Does anyone know of a good way to mount it (on the side of the tank near the surface skimmer) so it doesnt fall into the tank when someone bumps it, and so it looks good?
Thanks

 

[waynemk]

not familiar with the stand config but how about cutting a hole in the back wall just above the lip if the sump and mounting from the rear?

Can you post a pick of what you have?

 

[madnav87]

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does that help?

 

[madnav87]

sorry for the fuzziness, i want to put the fan on the top of the right side of the tank between the lights and the skimmer

 

[waynemk]

How married are you to the idea of blowing across the length of the tank?

my concern is open electronics so close to where they could get splashed with salt water as well as fall in. That said, if it was me, I would get a couple of grey cable ties and a 1 inch thick block of Styrofoam. I would cable tie it to the neck of the skimmer and point it towards the front of the tank rather that across your sump. Just below the point when the top of the skimmer comes off and another below that little elbow. The angle is bad to see if it would go under there. I would put the foam in-between the two devices to keep it a little further away from the possible contact with water. plus it would allow you to aim the fan higher or lower by tilting it forward or back.

I would also spray paint the Styrofoam as close to the color of your skimmer to "camouflage" it as much as possible. I would also let that spray painted block sit for a while to off gas any residual paint fumes.

I have seen c clamps on goose necks with alligator clips on the end. that would allow you to clamp it on and then attach a fan to the end. I cant find one now but will look while waiting on your thoughts about the first suggestion.

 

[madnav87]

I would like to stick to blowing air across the sump; thats what i've been doing, but with a oversized fan that cools the water off too much. But if you think its safer to mount it on the skimmer, then thats probably the way to go.
Do you mean mount it above the skimmer outlet? If so, i think it will blow air over the entire light fixture (sorry, its kinda hard to tell, the picture is a bit out of porportion)
But i do really like the idea of using the c-clamp with alligator clips. If i did that, I should probably surround the whole fan and fixture for waterproofing. I have to go to work now (LFS) but when i get back i will post a picture of the fan. I was thinking that i could use sillicone to seal every point where wires are exposed or where there are open electronics, and then use acrylic or plastic to surround the entire fan fixture.
Thanks for alll the help!

 

[madnav87]

This is the fan and the power cord that im going to splice it into.

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[momac]

A joke?

Please don't do that. Looks pretty suspect from here. Are you sure that "computer fan" is even a 120vac fan? Also, I wouldn't carelessly be running spliced 120 along the top of a tank of water.. everything would need to be epoxied or similarly sealed. Go to a 12vdc fan and get a wall tranformer to match. Instant saftey!

 

[momac]

... my bad. I reread your sealing intentions. I stand by the rest of my advice.

 

[madnav87]

Thanks for the constructive criticism... and good idea, the dc fan is something that i hadnt thought of yet
if i do go with the computer fan, i am going to seal all the connections to the absolute best of my abilities (either with epoxy or silicone, or something similar)