Fan in or Fan out?

RaddReef319

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I'm installing Azoo cooling fans into an AGA wood hood for my 75 gallon. My lighting consists of two metal halides at either end and strip actinics. Should I orient the fan to blow over the halides or suck air away by orienting them to blow towards the wall? I appreciate all opinions.
 
It would be best since you have two halides to use two fans if possible. That would make a big difference in your cooling.

Mount in the same direction - so one blows in and one draws out.

If two is not possible, I would go with blowing over the bulb.
 
I ran the fans both ways to test and my tank ran cooler with the blowing out..
But your experience may differ. Plus most commercial light systems I've seen
blow out..

JR,
 
I just now bought two, two fan Azoos from drfosters. So, that's 4 fans in two units. It might be best to have one blow in at one end of the hood and the other blowing out creating a current of air in the hood. I'm concerned about heat because the lights are going to produce ~10.5 wpg, oh yeah......
 
If the hood is sealed up tight then pull air out if not blow in on the water. Blowing in on the water will also increase evaporation.
 
I have run a push/pull and push/push fan system. When I had the push/pull, the pull fan always seized up due to salt moisture corroding the bearings. When I went to push push, I ran for 2 years with no issues.
 
In is better than out. For one, it can more effectively push cooler air into the canopy than suck heat out. Two, the air flow can be pointed toward the bulb where the heat is coming from.

I have 2 x 175W MH in the canopy over my 55. I cool it with 4 x 4" fans (Radio Shack) wired together to a variable voltage transformer (bought from Wal-Mart) thats controlled via my AquaController Jr. temperature probe. I have all four fans pointed inward. I tuned down the fans from 12V to 9V on the transformer to decrease the noise of the fans.
Fans.jpg
 
It sounds like the way to go is to have all 4 fans pointed inward and directed towards the MHs. The AGA canopy is quite open with two 4 inch openings, one on the top and the exposed back.
 
If the canopy is sealed fans blowing in with exit holes up high in the back center or better yet in the lid or roof of the canopy work best. You take advantage of convection that way, heat rises.
The suggested one in one out only gives you the CFM value of one fan, the second fan only moves what the first one fed it, it adds nothing to the flow. Fans blowing out also tend to gunk up quickly from the warm moist air. Fans blowing in move cooler dryer air so last much longer and stay quieter over time.
I use two 120mm (4") Vantec Stealth DC fans in a completely sealed canopy, one in each end blowing in. The roof of the canopy has equal sized or larger holes directly above the reflectors so heat escapes but light does not. The fans are controlled by a variable voltage DC power supply (wall wart to some) that can be purchased at Harbor Freight, Wal Mart or just about any electronics shop for less than $10, I paid $5 at Harbor Freight and its been in operation 6 years now. The fan speed can be adjusted by raising or lowering the voltahe with the turn of a small knob or sliding a switch. At 12v the fans move 53 CFM each which is 106 CFM and my 100G canopy at 16" high contains just under 10 cubic feet of air so I get 10 air changes a minute with almost zero noise. In the winter I slow them down to 10.5 or even 9v and its dead silent. The lighting is 2x250w SE MH and 2x140w VHO super actinics so I have plenty of heat to remove and this setup works great. My chiller has not run since April 2008 and the tank stays at 79-81 year round with only these two fans and a simple WalMart clip on fan over the sump in the summer months. The clip on is on a Ranco controller and comes on when it gets to 81 and goes off at 79 and maybe runs 8 hrs a day. The canopy fans are on the same timer as the lights so run only when the lights are on.
 
thanks for this tip i plan to switch my fanse around, had 2, 4" in and 4, 3" out now I plan to go all in and possibly add some new heat escape holes in the canopy, gracias.
 
At first I didn't like the idea of having the big gaps in the AGA hood but I guess they're good for convection heat. The one gap is right above the light's reflector so some heat can simply dissipate across the opening and the other gap is two inches wide and runs the length of the hood so that one will be good for the convection heat from having the fans blowing inwards.
 
I have a 4' tank with a canopy. I have 2 250w halides and 4 48"t5s. I mounted a Walgreens fan between the halides facing down on the water. I also mounted another fan of the same type blowing on the sump. My tank runs 78-79 degrees even on hot days. Total cost around $15.
 

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