Enclosed aquarium stands

[Mbelanger]

Hello everyone. So I am in the process of making my own stand because the stand that came with the tank was very unpractical. anyways long story short I'm planning on placing this tank fairly close to my lounging/tv area so I want to make my set up as quiet as possible.
So I am planning on closing the cabinet on all 3 sides with one door in the front. Now I know that without air flow it will build up condensation and what not so I am thinking of placing two fans similar to these: http://www.amazon.com/AC-Infinity-A...F8&qid=1399065339&sr=8-7&keywords=cabinet+fan
on each end of the stand with one side "sucking" outside air and blowing it inside the stand and the other one across blowing it out. Would this be sufficient air flow to prevent mold/mildew condensation?
On another side project I am considering connecting the "blow out/exhaust" fan to a small dryer type tubing and going through an exterior wall to vent the smell and humidity directly outside.
So Please someone tell me if these thoughts only sound good on paper or wether it could work well.

Thanks!

 

[billdogg]

Using the fans is a great idea, but you should have them both so that they blow in to the stand. A third hole in back will allow the moisture laden air an escape route. If you have one that sucks the air out it will fail fairly quickly from the corrosion caused by the humidity.

 

[scott3569]

I built my stand, the whole front comes off But looks like its all framed out..I am not a carpenter so I am sure it could have been better but for me it looks real good. If I had my stand in a different place a couple small fans would not be out of the question, but the whole back is open also, so I am not worried about air flow..here are a couple of pics

 

[Ahanix]

The fans will be a great idea. I would definitely make sure to keep checking the inside of your stand for moisture. One thing that may help is to use Rustoleum Appliance Paint and silicone the cracks in your stand - This will make sure that even if you have moisture in the stand you shouldn't warp the wood over time.

 

[Ryan2013]

I planned on doing a totally enclosed stand as well. I looked into the fans for air circulation as well and decided to do a half wall on the back and allow for air to circulate through there. I also used ceramic floor tile for the inside of the stand. It makes cleaning up spills much easier, and I don't have to worry about the moisture as much. This is an old pic from before I put my sump in.

 

[Mbelanger]

Nice stands. I figured rust and corrosion on the fan might be an issue but I'm really hoping to make it work. At the moment where I want to place the stand/tank leaving the back open would not be an option. A. it would expose the couch the humidity of the sump and B. it would be too loud.
I attached a picture just for explanation sakes. So the overall plan for this is to run some sort of exhaust to the outside going through that wall.
And so far I've caulked the interior so water won't leak through seems and I will stain and lacquer the whole thing or lacquer the inside and paint the outside.. Still gotta figure out how I will wrap it up

 

[Rognin]

I'd look for different fans. Ones you can control on 12v (120vac fans don't have that much leeway).

What about these? Linky

12v controller (for 5 fans) all in one with one 120vac outlet. They are 38mm thick so they have more mmh2o. They work great (I've got 5 total in my system). Just don't mount them horizontally (most sleeve bearing fans will make noise).

Here's my stand.

OPEN

CLOSED

 

[davocean]

Even w/ fans you may find the need for some kind of vents, they make some nice ones out of wood, and then just focus on quiet gear as well.
Most of the sound would be pretty muffled that way.

 

[Matthias7]

I think you we either have to leave the door open slightly when you are not in the room or make a few slits in the back for air flow

 

[915MANG]

Hello everyone. So I am in the process of making my own stand because the stand that came with the tank was very unpractical. anyways long story short I'm planning on placing this tank fairly close to my lounging/tv area so I want to make my set up as quiet as possible.
So I am planning on closing the cabinet on all 3 sides with one door in the front. Now I know that without air flow it will build up condensation and what not so I am thinking of placing two fans similar to these: http://www.amazon.com/AC-Infinity-A...F8&qid=1399065339&sr=8-7&keywords=cabinet+fan
on each end of the stand with one side "sucking" outside air and blowing it inside the stand and the other one across blowing it out. Would this be sufficient air flow to prevent mold/mildew condensation?
On another side project I am considering connecting the "blow out/exhaust" fan to a small dryer type tubing and going through an exterior wall to vent the smell and humidity directly outside.
So Please someone tell me if these thoughts only sound good on paper or wether it could work well.

Thanks!

Have you completed your stand already? If not, id leave the back of the stand open. Thats what I did because I had MOLD in my first stand...long story!

 

[Mbelanger]

I haven't completed it yet. It still looks like the picture. Just frame w a floor. I've caulked the seems everywhere and by the time it's all done the inside will have a nice thick layer of lacquer all around. Like I said I really do not want to have open back. We a good fan system w fresh air been blown in and air been blown out I would think it should do alright as far as keeping a lot of moisture out.
Seems like many things in this hobby the house is devided on this...

Question for those w fans blowing sir out. How much "fishy" smells gets in the house? Just wondering since I'm coming from a 14 gallon biocube to a 57gallon w sump and skimmer, media reactor...

 

[thegrun]

Here is the cabinet I made. I used perforated sheet metal panels with computer fans mounted behind them. The fans blow across the sump and the back of the stand is open.

 

[davocean]

http://www.ventingdirect.com/grillw...rr1~ClickCP~GrillWorks~grillworkstrimlinebv15