Hot sweaty stand

Dj City · May 1, 2020

Looking for advice...

I have the SCA 180 PNP with upgraded stand and canopy. I have my skimmer and Clarisea 5000 filter roller in the sump.
The stand gets very sweaty and moist. Its to the point that I can smell it outside the stand.

Any ideas or suggestions on what I can do?

homer1475 · May 1, 2020

Does yours have the center tower style overflow with the large cutout in the stand for the plumbing?

Dj City · May 1, 2020

homer1475 said:
Does yours have the center tower style overflow with the large cutout in the stand for the plumbing?

Yes it does.
One small hole on each side on the back of the cabinet along with the opening for the plumbing.

codycolina707 · May 1, 2020

Dj City said:
Yes it does.
One small hole on each side on the back of the cabinet along with the opening for the plumbing.

could maybe try a small fan like a pc fan on one of the electrical cutout holes

homer1475 · May 1, 2020

Yes I have those also, good.

What i did was to buy 2 54cm 12V DC PC fans, and a cheap 12V power brick off amazon. Put those 2 fans blowing out, zip tied to a piece of eggcrate, and put them in that large hole.

Keeps my stand walls nice and dry now. All you need to do is to exhaust all that hot salty evaporation out of the cabinet. The doors have enough of a gap to suck dry air through.

Dj City · May 1, 2020

homer1475 said:
Yes I have those also, good.

What i did was to buy 2 54cm 12V DC PC fans, and a cheap 12V power brick off amazon. Put those 2 fans blowing out, zip tied to a piece of eggcrate, and put them in that large hole.

Keeps my stand walls nice and dry now. All you need to do is to exhaust all that hot salty evaporation out of the cabinet. The doors have enough of a gap to suck dry air through.

You don't have any problems with the wall your tank is on doing this?
My tank is about 8 inches away from the wall.

homer1475 · May 1, 2020

Nope. And mine is even closer since it's a center tower overflow, I put it as close to the wall as humanly possible. I can barely squeeze the power brick for my MP10's between the stand and wall. I do get some salt creep, but I can easily use a rag and my hand to clean that up once in a while. No paint or wallboard damage.

I'm assuming the moisture evaporates before it condensates on the wall? IDK to be quite honest, but it's been that way for 3 years now. The sweating walls was the first thing I thought of when building this tank.

I actually considered just drilling several small holes in the sides, installing PC fans in them, and have one fan blowing in, and the other out. But with the fans on the back hole, thats all that was needed.

Dj City · May 1, 2020

How is the noise from the fan?
Will this fan work and move enough air?

https://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B009OWRMZ6/ref=ox_sc_act_image_1?smid=A2AW0W4FKP16S5&psc=1

They have a dual fan too.

Amazon.com: RAISING ELECTRONICS Server Cooling Cabinet Fan 110V Rack Mount 2 Pieces: Computers & Accessories

Buy RAISING ELECTRONICS Server Cooling Cabinet Fan 110V Rack Mount 2 Pieces: Case Fans - Amazon.com ✓ FREE DELIVERY possible on eligible purchases

www.amazon.com

homer1475 · May 1, 2020

I specifically used silenX fans, only because I know them to be dead silent at any speed you run them.

Looking back at my email, I guess it was 120mm fans I bought, sorry.

SilenX EFX-12-12 Effizio Quiet Case Fan - Newegg.com

Buy SilenX EFX-12-12 Effizio Quiet Case Fan with fast shipping and top-rated customer service. Once you know, you Newegg!

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20$ a piece.

And a 12V power brick off amazon:

9$ On amazon

homer1475 · May 1, 2020

I think you'll find those 120V wall plug fans, to be considerably loud. They don't list a db level.

I specifically chose the SilenX fans because I know them to be dead silent(previous use in building a PC), and at only 12db, you will not be able to hear them at all.

Dj City · May 1, 2020

homer1475 said:
I think you'll find those 120V wall plug fans, to be considerably loud. They don't list a db level.

I specifically chose the SilenX fans because I know them to be dead silent(previous use in building a PC), and at only 12db, you will not be able to hear them at all.

Can you post a link?

Dj City · May 1, 2020

I see several different ones on Amazon.
I don't see how to plug them up?

How do you power them?

homer1475 · May 1, 2020

Strip off the plug on the fans, bug up the 2 like wires, then strip off the barrel end on the wall plug.

Wire them up either black to black, or white to white(whatever color choice your presented). Wireing backwards isn't an issue as no matter how you wire them, if they are backwards, just reverse the wiring.

Dirt simple electronic wiring.

Dj City · May 1, 2020

homer1475 said:
Strip off the plug on the fans, bug up the 2 like wires, then strip off the barrel end on the wall plug.

Wire them up either black to black, or white to white(whatever color choice your presented). Wireing backwards isn't an issue as no matter how you wire them, if they are backwards, just reverse the wiring.

Dirt simple electronic wiring.

Fan is strong enough to take 120v from the wall without a dc converter or power brick?

homer1475 · May 1, 2020

No, those are 12V DC fans. I linked a 12V 2amp power brick:

Hence the "cut off the barrel end of the plug" in my previous post.

Dj City · May 1, 2020

Gotcha.

Thanks. I'm buying one today.

One fan will do the job right? Or do I need two?

homer1475 · May 1, 2020

I used 2 only beacuse I already had them. I cannot say for sure if 1 would do it or not. Your certainly welcome to try it, and if need be, just buy another later down the road. They are simple to wire up, so adding another down the road wouldn't be all that hard.

Dj City · May 1, 2020

Thank you.
They are not expensive so I will just buy two of them from the start.

135zman · May 1, 2020

I have a SCA stand too for a 135 cube with same condensation issue. I did cut two holes in side and installed Octo USB Smart Fans. The power cord ends in a USB plug that I then plug into a dual USB block that takes up one outlet on Apex EB8. One fan is mounted up high in the stand blowing out and the other mounted low along bottom blowing in. These fans are great because they have a temp sensor that ramps up RPMs the hotter it is in the stand. I also run them with an OSC command in Apex to come on and off every 15 minutes so they don’t run continuously. Here is link for fans...