I figured I'd post this in hopes that it helps someone down the line as I could never find the info myself.
So I have a 500G using (3) external Vectra L1 pumps and 1 Shark pump for Aquamaxx skimmer. The tank runs at 78.6 degrees with 8 hours worth of LED lights. Lights run from 1pm to 8pm (fish only tank). I have a nano 10g tank which was setup a month ago (sitting next to the 500G), is currently empty and that has been running at 77.2 degrees, same light schedule and just single pump that came with the tank. So, the 4 pumps equate to 1.4 degrees, most of that heat is coming from the Vectra vs the skimmer pump.
Vectra #1 runs at 47%
Vectra #2 runs at 55%
Vectra #3 runs at 100% from 9am-8pm then drops to 30% (closed loop).
Room details:
Relative humidity: 52-53% (Without a fish tank I was able to keep it at 47-50% depending on time of year. Natural water evaporation and the use of lower room temperature has raised the humidity a bit. I can get this down to 50% but that equates to changing my room temperature from 74 at night to 75 and from 75 during the day to 76, however; that changes my tank temperature and brings it to 80 degrees and while it's perfectly fine with most fish some are more finicky than others, also, it also evaporates more water - even though the overall humidity in the room drops to 50%). It's a balancing act but I'm trying to avoid using fans, that would just skyrocket the rate of evaporation and the overall RH in the room and whole house not to mention more noise, given we're already at 50%+ that would equate to an uncomfortable feeling while inside. So, while I've been able to lower the temp of the 500G to 73.9 (yes you read right) through evaporation using a fan across the top of the tank, the evaporation rate and humidity in the room was just not pleasant).
If you live in any other part of the country where the outside RH humidity is not a constant 85-95% then using a fan across the top would be a perfect setting because it may bring an already low internal RH setting of 10-30% to a more comfortable setting. I.e if you lived in Arizona or California where humidity dips below 30% for example.
Anyway, here are the room temperature settings for where the tanks are:
12:00am-8am - 74 degrees
8:01am-11:59pm - 75 degrees
Outside climate:
91-93 degrees during the day (HOT AND HUMID! I live in Florida). No windows are open, ever, unless it's a cool, dry winter - which hasn't happened in a couple of years
Tank details:
Material: Glass
Thickness: 3/4"
Fans: none
Chiller: none
Tank top: open
Bottom line is that the amount of heat transfer is minimal as long as the pumps are run externally; however, overall tank temperature will also be affected by the surrounding room temp, rate of evaporation, use of fans of any, etc. so keep that in mind.
When I was shopping for DC pumps noise and heat were big concerns of mine and while many posts addressed the noise factor by posting comparisons and measured DB numbers I could not find a reference of how much heat transfer would actually take place.
Hopefully this post helps someone down the line when shopping for Vectra L1 pumps or DC pumps in general.
Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
So I have a 500G using (3) external Vectra L1 pumps and 1 Shark pump for Aquamaxx skimmer. The tank runs at 78.6 degrees with 8 hours worth of LED lights. Lights run from 1pm to 8pm (fish only tank). I have a nano 10g tank which was setup a month ago (sitting next to the 500G), is currently empty and that has been running at 77.2 degrees, same light schedule and just single pump that came with the tank. So, the 4 pumps equate to 1.4 degrees, most of that heat is coming from the Vectra vs the skimmer pump.
Vectra #1 runs at 47%
Vectra #2 runs at 55%
Vectra #3 runs at 100% from 9am-8pm then drops to 30% (closed loop).
Room details:
Relative humidity: 52-53% (Without a fish tank I was able to keep it at 47-50% depending on time of year. Natural water evaporation and the use of lower room temperature has raised the humidity a bit. I can get this down to 50% but that equates to changing my room temperature from 74 at night to 75 and from 75 during the day to 76, however; that changes my tank temperature and brings it to 80 degrees and while it's perfectly fine with most fish some are more finicky than others, also, it also evaporates more water - even though the overall humidity in the room drops to 50%). It's a balancing act but I'm trying to avoid using fans, that would just skyrocket the rate of evaporation and the overall RH in the room and whole house not to mention more noise, given we're already at 50%+ that would equate to an uncomfortable feeling while inside. So, while I've been able to lower the temp of the 500G to 73.9 (yes you read right) through evaporation using a fan across the top of the tank, the evaporation rate and humidity in the room was just not pleasant).
If you live in any other part of the country where the outside RH humidity is not a constant 85-95% then using a fan across the top would be a perfect setting because it may bring an already low internal RH setting of 10-30% to a more comfortable setting. I.e if you lived in Arizona or California where humidity dips below 30% for example.
Anyway, here are the room temperature settings for where the tanks are:
12:00am-8am - 74 degrees
8:01am-11:59pm - 75 degrees
Outside climate:
91-93 degrees during the day (HOT AND HUMID! I live in Florida). No windows are open, ever, unless it's a cool, dry winter - which hasn't happened in a couple of years
Tank details:
Material: Glass
Thickness: 3/4"
Fans: none
Chiller: none
Tank top: open
Bottom line is that the amount of heat transfer is minimal as long as the pumps are run externally; however, overall tank temperature will also be affected by the surrounding room temp, rate of evaporation, use of fans of any, etc. so keep that in mind.
When I was shopping for DC pumps noise and heat were big concerns of mine and while many posts addressed the noise factor by posting comparisons and measured DB numbers I could not find a reference of how much heat transfer would actually take place.
Hopefully this post helps someone down the line when shopping for Vectra L1 pumps or DC pumps in general.
Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
