Is there a temp controller for a nano cooling fan

[ZoeReef]

I'm looking for a simple solution to turn a cooling fan on for a 25g nano. Temp got up to 83 so I set up a small cooking fan. Temp dropped this morning to 74. Obviously too big a swing.

I'm hoping there is a radio shack gizmo or similar that would sense water temp and switch the fan on.

Anyone got an idea? Thanks

 

[ZoeReef]

err.. cooling fan.. Guess I really ought to porrf these things before I post them.

 

[vanmle]

Ask James "Wiskey". I think he did this.

 

[Wiskey]

You can buy a ronco temprature controler from Granger (What I did) but for such a small tank I would reccomend just buying a 100 or 200W heater, setting the temp on that and letting it fight the fan. You can also set up the fan so it comes on when the lights do (plug the fan into your light timer) so the heater does not need to fight the fan all night too.

Whiskey

 

[grenaria]

I originally had my 25g with 250W MH with a dual-stage controller on my fan and a peltier cooler. But I ended up with exactally what Wiskey said. I have a 150W heater and a clip-on fan set up on the same timer as the lights. The tank goes from 81.1 to 81.9 right now, and evaporates about 1.2 gpd.

 

[ZoeReef]

Van, Wiskey and Grenaria.. Many thanks for the ideas. I think I'm going to combine the light/timer and heater combos and see what happens.

 

[iboard2]

As far as the top side of your temperature swings, I was having a similar problem with my temps hitting 84+ regularly on my 24g DX.

I have 24g DX modded with a MJ1200 on one side and small 145g/min generic pump on the other side.

So what I did in the 3rd back chamber, where the stock pump is located. I put the MJ1200 on a "Lifter" to get the top of the powerhead just barely above the water level so that the heat would disipate into the air vs the water. I immediately had a 2-4 degree drop in temp.

To build the "Lifter" I did the following:
-Get 1/2" PVC, bring your powerhead along to make sure the ID of the PVC will slide snuggly onto the intake of the powerhead.
-Cut a piece that will allow the top of your powerhead to sit just above the waterlevel, mine was approx 12in
-Notch the bottom of the PVC to allow for free water movement into the PVC
-Insert the intake of the powerhead into the PVC
-Attach rubber hosing. Make sure to zip-tie the hosing to the powerhead and the water outlet, otherwise the hose tends to come off and spray everywhere.

Hope this all make sense. Good luck!

 

[ZoeReef]

iboard..I only have the generic pump running at this time. I didn't realize that these pumps generated a significant heat load. As Col Clink would say....verrryyyyy interesting.. I was planning on adding an additional head.

I think I got it except for the final 'rubber hosing' step. What is the hosing attached to?

 

[iboard2]

Zoe-

The rubber hose is just your standard 1/2" ID vinyl tubing, the same as the green tubing in the factory nano.

You just run the vinyl tubing from the Powerhead output to the outlet on the backwall of you nano.

****Be careful not to kink the hose. I used 1/2"ID and 1/2"OD clear vinyl hose, from home depot $2-$3, and inserted one into the other to "Double Wall" it to avoid kinking. Also ziptie the hose ends to keep them from popping off the wall or powerhead***

Hope this is making sense....Let me know if you need any more description or a picture and I will see what I can do.

 

[ZoeReef]

Thanks iboard...hard to believe my degree was in civil engineering but a picure would be worth 100 posts. Thanks.. Andy

 

[iboard2]

Here you go:

Front of the tank: There is the added bulk head on the left that is connected to the generic 140gph power head, the hydor on the top right factory hole is connected to the lifted MJ1200.

This is a pic of the back chamber see the power head just above the waterline.

Pic of all back chambers

Pic of the lifter

Finally a pic of the Dual Layer hose to prevent kinking

 

[ZoeReef]

iboard.. YOU DA MAN. It all makes sense.

Simple and elegant solution.

A million thank you's..... Andy

 

[ZoeReef]

I got my final solution..for the time being. I bought a better heater (Pro Heat (titanium - no glass) 150 watt heater. Its really great because it has a separate temp sensor and there is no glass that can possibly break. More significantly it is very accurate. So I put a small walmart fan on top, blowing across the water, and the heater in the back sump and my temp has stayed rock solid between 77 and 78 degrees. I'll keep iboard's mod in reserve for when I add additional pumps...soon.