Karim's 1500gal dream reef

A skylight would limit light to a portion of the day and a portion of the year. It would be an accent.

I have no other light planned for the tank except for a set of high power UV LED strips to recover the list blue-UV range. No halides. There should be no other sources of heat in the room. Even the LEDs have an ultra thin profile to minimize shadowing and are liquid cooled to minimize noise.
 
The room is 12' x 23' and the ceiling is 12' high... So, it's a relatively small area <300sqft.

The volume is 3300 cubic feet. That means that a 300 cfm fan will extract all the air every two hours. If I push four fans (preferably DC for volume control), they'll move all the air every 30 minutes. The idea is to run the fans at a screeching speed while noone is in the room and then go quiet when I come in.

The speed can also be a function of environmental variables (see above).
 
If I get desperate, there are two pane glasses that are more expensive but much lower E. Unfortunately, that'll burn all the blue and UV away and I'd have to replace with more LEDs per strip. That's why I designed it to be modular. :D
 
karimwassef said:
The room is 12' x 23' and the ceiling is 12' high... So, it's a relatively small area <300sqft.

The volume is 3300 cubic feet. That means that a 300 cfm fan will extract all the air every two hours. If I push four fans (preferably DC for volume control), they'll move all the air every 30 minutes. The idea is to run the fans at a screeching speed while noone is in the room and then go quiet when I come in.

The speed can also be a function of environmental variables (see above).
Click to expand...


With all fans at max speed you will remove and replace two volumns of air per hour. IMO, that is not enough CFM removed during the heat of the day to provide a temperature comfort level for the air in sunroom.

Not in central Texas during the summertime.
 
That's when the HVAC needs to kick in to keep the 300 sqft tolerable. :D

There is no passive method that'll work in TX in 108F summers.
 
Obviously you have already done some previous evaporative cooling project. I think you should design your sunroom to be able to add more vent fans to maximize evaporation and reduce noise.
 
sure - mostly with failure in the TX heat...Unless the air is very dry, it's like trying to soak a puddle with a wet towel... not going to happen and might made the puddle bigger.

Yes. I agree that I need to add access for more fans, even if unused.
 
what flowrate of air would you consider reasonable for cooling a 300sqft area / 3300 ft3 ?

Assuming a cooler inlet air of 80F (shaded intake close to ground level) ?
 
karimwassef said:
what flowrate of air would you consider reasonable for cooling a 300sqft area / 3300 ft3 ?

Assuming a cooler inlet air of 80F (shaded intake close to ground level) ?
Click to expand...


In a 40' by 20' by 10' high greenhouse, I moved 50K CFM of air, about 35 volumns per hour.. I was able to maintain water temperature at < 80 degrees during 100+ days. Humidity was lowest during the hottest part of day, ranging from 80% to 55%. Even in Floridays high humidity, fish farmers are able to effectively use evaporative coolers.
 
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karimwassef said:
I could go with an array of small computer fans but then throttle them way down when I'm in the room. 20 of these guys at half speed?

http://www.frozencpu.com/products/7...M_AFB1212GHE.html?tl=g36c435s1109&id=DwPnjnPr

I use these now in my projects but they're very loud

https://www.amazon.com/Sanyo-Denki-SAN-Ace-120mm/dp/B00QWB1X3O
Click to expand...

I would look at whole house fans with remote ductwork to remove noise pollution.

http://www.airscapefans.com/learn-about/whole-house-vs-attic-fans.php

http://www.greenhousemegastore.com/product/typhoon-exhaust-fan-with-cone/exhaust-fans
This is where I bought my greenhouse supplies. I resized air volumn removed after looking at specks. Instead of 40K CFM it was 10K CFM. 600 KCFHr divided by 8K cubic feet or 75 volumns per hour.

https://www.alibaba.com/product-det...60370766687.html?spm=a2700.7724857.0.0.82yukN
Check out the low noise centrifugal blowers.
 
karimwassef said:
impressive flow, but no specs on noise? what dBA?
Click to expand...

For your application, I would talk with technical sales representative with the three links that I listed.

I think that the blower could be remote mounted with ductwork connecting to sunroom.
 
http://www.greenhousemegastore.com/...-drive-evaporative-cooler/evaporative-cooling

This belt drive evaporative cooler is very quiet. If your sunroom had fold open French doors, it could be kept open with this evaporative cooler. I recommend the 1/2HP three speed motor for quietest operation. You would still need a heat pump with heat exchanger for system water. One of the earlier links that I gave you was to Pentair. They are specialist in aquaculture and greenhouses.

http://pentairaes.com/

PS. I would let the technicians at Pentair size your heat pump.
 
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I checked it out, but these systems are very expensive.

I prefer to use the physics and use a DIY to get most of the way there without spending the tens of thousands. It's why I intentionally made the room small and the tank shallow. I have more opportunities to optimize for my needs.
 
Subsea said:
For your application, I would talk with technical sales representative with the three links that I listed.

I think that the blower could be remote mounted with ductwork connecting to sunroom.
Click to expand...

karimwassef said:
I checked it out, but these systems are very expensive.

I prefer to use the physics and use a DIY to get most of the way there without spending the tens of thousands. It's why I intentionally made the room small and the tank shallow. I have more opportunities to optimize for my needs.
Click to expand...

From my experiences with heat gain from direct sunshine, it is better to be deeper than shallower.
 
the reef is shallow, but another 50% of the tank volume is in the dark fishroom behind the sunroom.

<a href="http://s1062.photobucket.com/user/karimwassef/media/Designs/2_zps0e17wld4.png.html" target="_blank"><img src="http://i1062.photobucket.com/albums/t496/karimwassef/Designs/2_zps0e17wld4.png" border="0" alt=" photo 2_zps0e17wld4.png"/></a>
 
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