drilling though the floor

somethingphishy

New member
I would like to draw cool air from the basement of the house into my canapy to cool the tank...i figure...drilling through the floor/adding a flexable tube/conecting it to a fan in the canapy to draw cool air in will aide in temp reduction

has any one else tried this approach? any thoughts....
 
doesn't seem like it would be effective. have you measured the difference in temperature between the basement and the upper level?
 
You can do that, and just run a insulated fle duct that use for use HVAC. They sell it at almost every hardware store. You could also think about ducting out the hot air from the hood to the outside. This will also help keep the room temp down in your house.
 
Yes, it CAN work, but is it worth it is the question. If you're only talking about a 2 or 4° difference in temp, then it won't be worth the effort and destruction required. The air temperature above the tank doesn't change the system temperature much at all. In fact, the cooler the air, the less evaporation which is what cools the tank (add the fact that most basements are cooler AND damp, and you really will hurt your evap capability). Regarding JUST convection, the tank probablly loses more heat via the glass walls and the sump than the top water surface. You just won't have a good heat transfer mechanism with cooling the air in the canopy by a few degrees. I surely wouldn't cut up my home for this tiny impact.

I agree that venting the hot air from the canopy to the outside is a good solution but mainly to prevent moisture damage to the canopy and prolong the life of the lighting equipment. If super hot air is trapped in the canopy, then it can cause the temp in the tank to rise. I would just add some fans.
 
i will have to check into the temp differnces between the basement and the first floor(i would have to say it is at least 10 degrees less)...but will repost on this situation....this will give more light to the question "is it worth it"

interesting point about the humidity......
 
I also agree that you won't get alot of heat disapation by trying to pull air from the basement. We're not sure of all the conditions you have (tank size, type of lights, etc...), but a small fan or 2 blowing into the canopy, across the water does wonders. In my humble opinion, if you are willing to cut thru the floor, then I would be looking at putting a fuge or sump and other equip into the basement.
It would be very easy to control temp if you were pulling out of "a reservoir" which is at a cooler temp (guessing 65 degrees). You also wouldn't need anything "fancy" in the basement. Chances are, with a large fuge, DSB, alot of cheato or vegetation, etc... you may even need a heater on the whole system year round. I always thought one of the best parts of a "sweet setup" was all the invertabrates and other items that you could put into a fuge.
 
Although, the difference between the ambient temp on the first floor and the basement may be minimal the air around your tank could be alot warmer than the rest of the room. Before deciding to do this, I would check the temp a few inches from your canopy and in the basement. If it is more than five degrees difference I would say give it a shot. Since the hole is already there, you could plump water to the basement throught the existing hole.
 
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