Upgrading BC29 fans?

[kclauser]

I have the BC29 with the 4.36 lighting upgrade. My temps normally hit about 82-83 after a full day of light (that was before my heater, now my photoperiod will start with a water temp of about 79 rather than 76). Im looking for something that can get these temps down about 2-3 degrees and at the same time get quieter than the fans used in the upgrade (they are crappy 10mm thick ones). Id really like to do a 80mm fan in there but it looks like the fan on the right side would be a very very tight fit, if it fit at all. Just because of that shroud that goes around the stock fan. I think it would take some dremeling. Id like to keep the cutting to a minimum if possible but its still an option where necessary. Has anyone upgraded to a quality fan thats quiet and better flowing than stock? Any 60/70/80mm fan is an option at this point. Im looking for someone thats done it already, a forum and google search has resulted in little.

 

[bgardz]

Not sure if this will help you but I did the 4.36 light upgrade and bought the adjustable increased air flow fans. On full speed (12), the fans are loud..on (9), it's alot quieter. I just leave mine on 9 all the time and I haven't seen any increase in temp even after they are on 8 or 9 hours.

 

[kclauser]

Hmm, I have the adjustable voltage fan controller but I didnt get the increased flow fans, instead I used some 60x60x10mm fans that shipped with the kit, they are pretty noisy and during extended photo periods (I dont have a timer yet and would leave the house with the lights on at around 7am and turn them off when i got home ~10pm) the temp would have no problem hitting ~82.5.

Im sure I would have less of a heat issue with a proper photo period (no lights at all right now because of a bubble algae problem) but then again Im not sure because I just added my heater so the tank sits at 79 with the lights off instead of cooling down to around 76. Im not sure how much effect this will have on the temps I see throughout the day. However as long as I get a flow similar to the fans I have in there now Ill be pretty happy, and it will be very very easy to do with a 25mm thick fan or so, compared to the 10mm in there now. My main concern is the noise because the tank is in my room.

My goal is 80mm fans, they push a ton more air then a 60 and are far quieter at the same time. Since this is probably gunna take some DIY as well, Im gunna make sure vibration is not an issue, probably with some gasket or sound deadening material. But I only know one person who has done this and I dont know any details at all, and trying to contact them hasnt worked so now Im looking for other people who have done this or something similiar so I can get an idea of what will really fit in there and what kinda work it takes. And also what kinda CFM is needed to really keep temps down without getting so much that its noisy.

 

[kclauser]

I know someone has to have an idea!

 

[obsled]

I upgraded my BioCube 14's fans with 50x50x15mm fans. They increased the flow by what I feel is twice (I didn't have the CFM measurement before, now it is 34). This helps quite a bit with the temperature, keeping it a a degree or degree and a half cooler than before. I opened up the louvers in the hood to allow more airflow and removed the metallic shield that ebbs some air transfer.

We'll see how the tank acts in the summer as my apartment temps climb. Right now ambient is 74.5F, tank is 80.1F. Although, I forgot to mention noise -- these new fans are loud even though advertised at 34dBa. It is right at the level to be annoying . Luckily, or unfortunately, the TV or stereo is on whenever I'm in that room so as to drown out the noise, but compound the overall levels in the room.

I am going to try to counter flow chiller in the summer on my tanks utilizing a fresh water sump in a cool place with a fan and evaporation based cooling. This will be done with a very small pump and will circulate water via thermodynamic transfer. I'll work with my EE friend on a temperature controlled PLC circuit for on/off. Either this is something totally new to the reef based hobby or not that easy/effective. We'll see, but from my experience of cooling boiling wort at 212F to 70F via 50' of tubing and drain temperature water, this works very well. An example is here:
http://www.strandbrewers.org/techinfo/chillers.htm

 

[kclauser]

Wow that looks really interesting, reminds me of water cooling on PCs, uses the same basic principles. I could see that being a very cheap "chiller".