fans in canopy

[mskohl]

Hey, I'm trying to remember which fans were the best ones to get from Radio Shack. I thought they were less expensive than buying ones marketed for aquariums. The Radio Shack near me has 4" fans for $25. Does this sound right?

Here is the link for a search for fans on the Radio Shack website:
http://www.radioshack.com/search/index.jsp?kwCatId=&kw=fan&origkw=fan

I believe the 3rd fan is the one that's here at the store.

Thanks,
Stephanie

 

[eddybabyhd]

yes, thats the ones i always buy. I like them because they are 120 volt. The move alot of air too

 

[mcox33]

I got mine from pctoys.com and they are way quieter and are plastic instead of metal so they don't rust. I have been using them for almost a year now and they are still very quiet. The ones I got are the pctoys brand made for them by stealth

 

[papagimp]

There has to be somewhere that you can get them cheaper, radio shack is ungodly expensive for stuff that really isn't worth the extra cost. If you need PC fans for the canopy, you could try pricewatch.com , I'm pretty sure they would have them listed cheaper.

 

[Travis L. Stevens]

Here's a related question. Can you convert a computer fan to 120vAC to be used in a canopy? If so, then there are fans available as low as $0.99 here - http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produ...94418552+1057708556&Submit=ENE&SubCategory=62

They arrange the fans in size in the menu on the left hand size. They are measured in millimeters, so for the Conversion Challenged (like me), here are the quick calculations:

<60mm = < ~2.3622 in
60mm - 80mm = ~2.3622 in - ~3.1496 in
81mm - 110mm = ~3.189 in - ~4.3307 in
>111mm = > ~4.3701 in

 

[eddybabyhd]

fans for the comp dont move near the volume that the fans steph was originally refering to

 

[Travis L. Stevens]

Maybe not. But two $0.99 fans is still cheaper than one $24.99 fan.

 

[captbunzo]

Yes, and TWO $0.99 fans STILL don't move the volume of air that ONE $24.99 fan will move. Besides, sometimes you need / have room for ONE fan, not 6 or however many...

 

[somethinfishier]

Radio Shack is really expensive. You can find some on newegg that move the same amount of air for cheaper. But with radio shack you do not have to wait.

 

[Matrexz]

Newegg is the way to go. Here is what I found http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16811999613
It moves 119 cfm and it's dc power and it's under $11 just pick up a cheap dc converter or use and old computer power supply and there ya go.

 

[Dragon68]

Not to thow another question in but when mounting fans in a canopy you put them blowing in toward the water right?
Thanks!!!!

 

[Matrexz]

Most people do it that way. But honestly I think it would work fine either way. Either pulling hot air out of canopy (make sure you have a vent hole on oposite side of canopy) or blowing cool air in across inside of canopy. I imagine the blowing air in would be more efficient.

 

[Dragon68]

oh thanks lots! I was thing moisture in the fans motor.

 

[captbunzo]

Nope - water is cooled MUCH MORE if the fan is blowing toward the water. And don't underestimate the power of evaporative cooling. You can actually go chillerless by using evaporation to cool your tank. Now, you'll have to topoff. And your humidity will go up.

But you don't have to buy a chiller for a heck of a lot of money...

 

[Matrexz]

Have you actually done a thermodynamic study. Until I see the numbers on a study I'm a skeptic. Just because I've seen it work both ways fairly well in person.

 

[eddybabyhd]

the canopy will cool better if the fans are extracting the heat rather than swirling it around. I agree that fans blowing directly on the water does serve a valuable purpose, but at least one fan needs to be extracting the heated air from the canopy

 

[eddybabyhd]

i used them on a 92 corner tank chillerless for 2 years. And when i reversed the direction to extracting the air, it dropped the tank temp drastically

 

[captbunzo]

eddybabyhd - that's an interesting thought. I didn't realize that....

 

[Travis L. Stevens]

I can tell from experience that I prefer evaporative cooling. While I don't have any real numbers or thermodynamic studies, I can still offer a little experience on both sides of the issue.

With fans blowing out, I encountered a few bonuses and problems. First, the heat from the canopy blew out and away from the aquarium. This kept evporation down and the air inside cool. But the light from the MH was still enough to heat the water beyond an unsafe range. I noticed that salt creep had a tendency to build on the fan as it brought water to the fan as it pulled air out. The humidity in the house was less as well.

With the fans blowing in, there was a sharp decrease in temperature and a huge increase in evaporation. I now have to fill about 2g a day to make up for evaporation on roughly about 30 gallons of water factoring in rock displacement, etc. But, I don't have to run the fans at night when the lights are off and the temperature stays the same. I also don't notice salt creep on the fan, but it increases the chance that foreign objects enter the tank because it is pulling air from outside the canopy. For example, I need to clean the dust build up off of the fan. Our house now stays at about 50-60% humidity because of this.

Also, for those that are looking to getting a cheap, variable speed fan, most people pick up a cheap PC fan such as those on NewEgg.com and then add a DC/AC converter. Check out what some people have done here - http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=932451

 

[Dragon68]

For dust controll you can make a bracket to hold a piece of reuseable a/c fiter like the ones you get at lowes over the drawing side of the fan.And change it often to keep good air going though it.I did this on my PC for dust controll you just have to keep it clean!!Just my opinon.