Do you use a fan on your tank?

[vetteguy53081]

I have a continuous running fan under my stand towards the sump

 

[Reefer Matt Verified Media Partner]

@Reefer Matt - that looks like the start of a new video!!!

You may also want to experiment with a smaller fan directed across the top of the water (and tilted slightly down toward the water). I have tried a range of solutions like multiple 4" computer case fans, Vornado fans, and more. I like the Vornado fans, but after seeing @TheHarold's fan, I may be reaching out to him soon to see if he can make more! I realize that what you did was a quick test, but I have mine on a timer so it only comes on during the day, which limits the evaporation and any heat from the fan motor when the extra cooling isn't necessary.

I think that's a great video idea too! Climate control, both for the tank, and the surrounding room. Current conditions in my Reef Cave are 77°F and 75% humidity. Time to turn on the dehumidifier! And yes, that fan looks awesome! Thanks again for the reminder, and ideas!

 

[hoffmeyerz]

Last year I just left the glass lid open and that was all I needed. This summer I have a snowflake eel so I couldn't leave the top open. Idea popped into my head to take an old computer case fan, wire it to an old orphaned 12v adapter and plug it into my EB8. Now my apex controls it to come on and off as needed based on temp reading. I love it so far!

 

[exnisstech]

I have 3 tanks but so far only have to cool one. I assume because I have a skimmer, carbon reactor, and uv all with internal pumps. I use a dual clip on fan from Amazon. It works great and doesn't look terrible since it's black. I tried it in the sump first but it did nothing so I moved it up to the DT.

 

[Peace River]

I have 3 tanks but so far only have to cool one. I assume because I have a skimmer, carbon reactor, and uv all with internal pumps. I use a dual clip on fan from Amazon. It works great and doesn't look terrible since it's black. I tried it in the sump first but it did nothing so I moved it up to the DT.

This reminds me that another way to cool the tank is to make sure that the pumps are clean. Additionally, to control heat in the past I have turned of non-critical reactors, switched to UV only overnight, etc.

 

[Mattiejay6]

I made my own system that is controllable with Hydros or Apex. Provides about 5-6 degrees of cooling by directly blowing air across the ~75g tank. IP67 waterproof fan should last a long time!

Would you care to share your Stl? I happen to have a fan waiting for a use lol

 

[Troylee]

I have 2 exhaust fans in my stand that keep the heat humidity down inside there and that’s it.. my tank runs 78-80 with the halides on 8 hours a day now.

 

[nereefpat]

I don't have a need. House is about 75 in the summer and 72 in the winter. My T5s don't add enough heat, so my heater runs.

 

[Nano_Man]

Yep

 

[Ef4life]

I use quite a few usb computer fans for cooling things. I have one on sitting on the.top of my 10g hob filter controlled with an inkbird. Works perfectly to keep the small tank cool in the summer if needed. Ceiling fans do the majority of air movement in my house year round.

I also use usb fans to cool the drivers for my led lights, they put off a ton of heat in my stand so keeping them cooler keeps the stand cooler, and hopefully prolongs the life of the drivers too. These are just on 24/7 didn’t Feel the need to shut them
Off as they help with air movement in the closed space.

Finally my newest tank I set up I built in fans into the stand to ventilate it and keep it free from too much humidity. They pull in air from the doors, then down a channel to an open space under the stand where 2 more fans are used to suck the air out from underneath the stand. This also keep the floor dry if there is any major spills as it’s constantly moving air.

 

[littlefoxx]

During the summers I often use a fan blowing across the top of my reef tank as part of the temperature control plan. The fan that I have been using for many years just recently stopped working and my replacement fan arrived today. While I was setting it up - it is controlled my my Hydros - I was wondering who else uses a fan on their tank? If so, what type of fan do you use? Do you have it on a controller or timer?

Im investing in a chiller. My 125 has no temp issues but my 70 gets up to 84 degrees some days. Waiting on it to come! Ive added a huge airstone to counter the temp and keep ice cold RO to top off with to help keep it down. Fan did nothing for mine!

 

[zoomonster]

The only time I ever used a fan was sometimes in heat of summer when AC was not keeping up and I would open the stand doors and run a box fan. Always have a lot of evaporation/salt creep as is even with closed tops. Fortunately, finally replacing my AC and ducts solved most of that. The roof was also replaced on insurances dime with more EE shingles and an additional off ridge vent was added. I also got rid of the junk ceiling fan in the room and replaced with a Hunter 6 blade 70" which also works very well. Still wanted to keep temp more stable at 77-78 so I added a chiller which took care of any internal pump generated heat and any ambient changes. Even with house at 73F the tank temp will still rise and chiller will run briefly a few times a day and I have finally managed to average 78f. More importantly I can run the chiller on generator when power is out and AC off. Might really pay off being we are now in what's predicted to be one of the worst hurricane seasons ever. Ah the pleasures of living in FL the heat and the hurricanes LOL.

Pretty extreme/$$$ case but a chiller is the way to go on most larger tanks. Everything else just helps it run less.

 

[pap2]

I use a usb fan clipped to my light canopy

 

[Peace River]

Im investing in a chiller. My 125 has no temp issues but my 70 gets up to 84 degrees some days. Waiting on it to come! Ive added a huge airstone to counter the temp and keep ice cold RO to top off with to help keep it down. Fan did nothing for mine!

Interesting! How did you have the fan set up? Mine is pointed across the top of the water and turned slightly down so you can actually see it making little tiny ripples in the tank. Of course, how powerful the fan is will also make a difference.

 

[Stahre]

Yes, I have one built in to my rsm 250 max.
Connected to a temp controller, so kicks on when it’s getting to hot.

Having ac in the room, so does not get over heated very often

 

[Gumbies R Us]

I made my own system that is controllable with Hydros or Apex. Provides about 5-6 degrees of cooling by directly blowing air across the ~75g tank. IP67 waterproof fan should last a long time!

That thing is awesome!

 

[ReefDreamz]

I do. It works great for cooling the tank.

 

[BeanAnimal]

It will make a huge difference but be prepared for more evaporation and salt creep! Worth it though!

So I guess this is where we explain to everyone why/how the fan cools the tank

The fans on your aquarium do VERY LITTLE cooling of the water by "blowing heat away" or "blowing cooler air onto warmer water". Those processes, "conductive" and "convective" cooling, have minimal (almost no) effect on the water temperature.

What the fans do is increase is evaporation. In fact, you get ~8,000 BTUs of cooling for every gallon of water evaporated.

It takes 1 BTU to raise or lower a pound of water by 1 degree Fahrenheit. So a 100 gallon tank (~800 pound of water) would be lowered by 10 degrees for every gallon evaporated.

Evaporation occurs when dryer air is in contact with the surface of the water. Without getting into a lot of detail, the most efficient method is to blow dry air across the surface of the water, not "at" the surface of the water. You don't need big fans to do this. You can use rather small well aimed fans that create a sheet of air moving over the surface and way from the tank.

Evaporative cooling is extremely efficient. But as the Rev says - beware the salt creep and have a way to remove the humidity from the room or house.

Have Fun.

 

[NanJ]

So I guess this is where we explain to everyone why/how the fan cools the tank

The fans on your aquarium do VERY LITTLE cooling of the water by "blowing heat away" or "blowing cooler air onto warmer water". Those processes, "conductive" and "convective" cooling, have minimal (almost no) effect on the water temperature.

What the fans do is increase is evaporation. In fact, you get ~8,000 BTUs of cooling for every gallon of water evaporated.

It takes 1 BTU to raise or lower a pound of water by 1 degree Fahrenheit. So a 100 gallon tank (~800 pound of water) would be lowered by 10 degrees for every gallon evaporated.

Evaporation occurs when dryer air is in contact with the surface of the water. Without getting into a lot of detail, the most efficient method is to blow dry air across the surface of the water, not "at" the surface of the water. You don't need big fans to do this. You can use rather small well aimed fans that create a sheet of air moving over the surface and way from the tank.

Evaporative cooling is extremely efficient. But as the Rev says - beware the salt creep and have a way to remove the humidity from the room or house.

Have Fun.

Thank you for adding the “why”. It is important to understand the trade-off when using evaporative cooling.

Our sump is in the basement, the DT on the main floor. We run a dehumidifier in the basement on the HVAC set to 50% and it runs a lot, especially during these hot, humid days in SC. The tank is cooled by a chiller. The room with the sump and all the other aquarium related stuff doesn’t get great air movement so I run a small Vornado fan near the ceiling to blow the hot air out of the room. Cools the room by about 2 degrees.

Recently the Apex EB was zapped by a power surge and we didn’t realize there was a problem until we saw the tank temperature. I put a medium Vornado fan in front of the sump. That did bring the water temp down a couple of degrees.

 

[codenfx]

I had a fan clipped onto the sump but it didnt do much cooling the tank so I purchased another 2 fans and they're sitting on the overflow cover blowing the surface of the main display now. Works great. Only issue I have is no way of making it turn off/on automically when it reaches a certain temp. I'm using the KASA smart to control it, don't have hydro or apex. Is there another cheaper alternative I can do for temp sensor to trigger it on/off?