George Monnat Jr Posted January 29, 2013 Share Posted January 29, 2013 I'm not sure if this thread will stay here or need to be moved to the DIY forum. Because the house A/C isn't running, ambient is in the mid 70s and I don't have a chiller, my LEDs have been pushing my DT temperature higher than I like and varying more than I like (had Frogspawn die off and trying to stabilize as much as possible to figure out why). I have two cheesy HOB Zoo Med Aqua Cool Aquarium Cooling Fans that I got from Amazon. They are ok but a little loud for the air flow they provide. I stopped by a LFS yesterday, and they had a couple fans that looked like over-priced computer case fans. I don't have spots to install them in my setup. I like fans instead of a chiller due to cost and simplicity, plus I bolus dose kalkwasser (limewater) meaning I like evaporation. But has anyone found a HOB fan that works well, is quiet and is reasonably priced? Or does everyone do DIY installed in their hoods? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jestep Posted January 29, 2013 Share Posted January 29, 2013 I use the Azoo fan. I think they're discontinued but you should still be able to find them somewhere. I'm switching to the 4 fan unit, but the 2 fan is keeping my temp rise at about 1.5 degrees over 5 hours with 500W of Mh. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
(Bio)³ Posted January 29, 2013 Share Posted January 29, 2013 I'm a big big fan of inline duct fans,just pipe tubing where you want the cooling and place the fan remotely for sound issues. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+Mitch Posted January 29, 2013 Share Posted January 29, 2013 George, I suggest you bite the bullet and get a chiller. I fought it for a while, then gave in and it was probably one of my wiser choices. I believe there's at least 2 chillers available on the For Sale forums. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
(Bio)³ Posted January 29, 2013 Share Posted January 29, 2013 Wizard had one for sale right now, great price! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FarmerTy Posted January 29, 2013 Share Posted January 29, 2013 I am a fan/evaporation guy. For my application, it works and cheaper than a chiller. Plus, I can have more redundancies with multiple fans versus one chiller. Wal-mart clip-on fan... $10-15, add to my controller and done. -Ty Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+Mitch Posted January 29, 2013 Share Posted January 29, 2013 Well, I was trying to do the fan thing, but I got tired of having to keep the house at a reasonable temp while I was gone just for the tank. The long term cost of the chiller was much cheaper than the cost of a/c'ing my house. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
victoly Posted January 29, 2013 Share Posted January 29, 2013 Truth mitch. I can very easily spend 100-200 per month in extra electricity if i crank my AC down for the tank (with the obvious correlation to higher outside ambient temps). It doesn't take too terrible long to payback a chiller's upfront cost. I however do not have a monthly operating cost for a chiller handy, but I can't imagine it would be more than a couple bucks a month. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
George Monnat Jr Posted January 29, 2013 Author Share Posted January 29, 2013 Thanks for all of the responses. I agree with everyone, which is a problem I saw the chiller for sale and thought about it (followed the topic, anyway). I keep my A/C around 78F during the summer and my DT at 80F, so the fans were fine. If I left for days with my wife, I would probably need to keep it in the low 80s for my dogs. In other words, I haven’t run into the case yet where I’ve expended A/C just for my tank. But I can see how that could become an issue. I’ll probably rig up some fans now (the inline duct fans sound good) and get a chiller later (if I don’t get Wizard’s or another deal that comes up). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FarmerTy Posted January 29, 2013 Share Posted January 29, 2013 It works in my application as I keep the house at 80 while I am at work and aim to keep my tank at 81-83. When I am at home, the temp is 77. The fans are capable of keeping it in that temperature range so no additional running of my AC is needed for tank, other than my own personal settings I set my AC at independent of having a tank or not. Doesn't apply to everyone but works for me. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
esacjack Posted January 29, 2013 Share Posted January 29, 2013 just put your tank in the fridge, toss a few heaters in it.. done and done! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
George Monnat Jr Posted January 29, 2013 Author Share Posted January 29, 2013 just put your tank in the fridge, toss a few heaters in it.. done and done! I think I saw that Tanked episode... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mFrame Posted January 29, 2013 Share Posted January 29, 2013 I have a 4 fan Azoo I'm not using if you want to try it, it was enough to control the swings on my 90g before I upgraded. The other thought is that a lot of surface agitation does help evaporation, so more cooling, but then you have to worry about more frequent topoffs. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
George Monnat Jr Posted January 29, 2013 Author Share Posted January 29, 2013 I have a 4 fan Azoo I'm not using if you want to try it, it was enough to control the swings on my 90g before I upgraded. The other thought is that a lot of surface agitation does help evaporation, so more cooling, but then you have to worry about more frequent topoffs. Sure, I'll try it. I like increased evaporation, because that means more lime water (dKH and Ca) added via my Apex-controlled ATO. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
(Bio)³ Posted January 29, 2013 Share Posted January 29, 2013 If you like the look of a bubble curtain that would be great movement and cooling all in one. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
George Monnat Jr Posted January 30, 2013 Author Share Posted January 30, 2013 If you like the look of a bubble curtain that would be great movement and cooling all in one. Why do freshwater aquariums have bubbles and saltwater do not? Is it because SW tanks have skimmers, so they don't need bubblers? Is it an aesthetic thing? Or do the bubbles harm filter feeders like Feather Dusters? You think a bubble curtain in the sump would significantly cool the water? I mean besides the skimmer. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Timfish Posted January 30, 2013 Share Posted January 30, 2013 I like cheap muffin/box fans that run on 12 vdc. They can be run at much lower voltages to eliminate any noise. variable power supplies are cheap and using several provides redundancy. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jestep Posted January 30, 2013 Share Posted January 30, 2013 I don't use any sort of bubbles in any of my FW tanks unless I am medicating. There are a few good reasons to use them in FW, although I think most people use them for decorative purposes or someone just told them they need an airstone. Undergravel filters require suction, and bubbles in those provide passive suction which allows water to be pulled downward through the substrate and back up through the tubes. Secondly, FW tanks are often run at 85+ degrees and the dissolved O2 is almost zero. The surface agitation helps CO2 degassing and O2 absorption due to an increased surface area and breaking the water's surface tension, but again, I don't think many FW keepers understand it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ShawnM Posted January 30, 2013 Share Posted January 30, 2013 I have a 4 fan Azoo I'm not using if you want to try it, it was enough to control the swings on my 90g before I upgraded. The other thought is that a lot of surface agitation does help evaporation, so more cooling, but then you have to worry about more frequent topoffs. dont want to still the thread but if he doesnt need them all I could really use one or two. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Timfish Posted January 31, 2013 Share Posted January 31, 2013 If you like the look of a bubble curtain that would be great movement and cooling all in one. Why do freshwater aquariums have bubbles and saltwater do not? Bubbles provide the same benefit to saltwater they do freshwater that Jestep pointed out and maybe noreso since the dissolved oxygen in salt\water is only half of fresh under typical or normal conditions. The downside is in saltwater bubbles can cause a lot of salt creep. I usually use bubbles on my tanks and I prefer the look of large bubbles from just an airline to the small bubbles from an air stone, the intermediate sized bubbles from an air wand like (Bio)3 mentioned I like also. For keeping anemonies Delbeek and Sprung actually recommend the three methodologies that use bubbles for circulation instead of pumps1. As far as using battery back up bubbles are arguably a better choice since an air pump will last much longer on batteries than a powerhead. There definitely is an element that has an issue with bubbles though, the owner of one of the systems I set up was told I clearly did not know what I was doing since I included air bubbles (his wife likes the bubbles so I'm safe ). 1 Delbeek and Sprung "The Reef Aquarium" Vol II pg 354 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jestep Posted January 31, 2013 Share Posted January 31, 2013 I have a 4 fan Azoo I'm not using if you want to try it, it was enough to control the swings on my 90g before I upgraded. The other thought is that a lot of surface agitation does help evaporation, so more cooling, but then you have to worry about more frequent topoffs. dont want to still the thread but if he doesnt need them all I could really use one or two. I was able to find several on ebay up to 6 or 8 fan units when I was looking for a 4 fan azoo unit: http://www.ebay.com/sch/Aquarium-Fish-/20754/i.html?_from=R40&_nkw=cooling+fan Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BBMarlin Posted January 31, 2013 Share Posted January 31, 2013 I've got a number of these running on all kinds of things including my tank (I also run a chiller during the warmer months) http://www.coolerguys.com/840556058199.html It's weird because Amazon had these as prime all day for $18.99. It is the exact same fan as the Tunze: http://www.marinedepot.com/Tunze_Aquawind_Aquarium_Fan_Cooling_Fans_for_Aquarium_Lighting-Tunze-TZ8611-FILTACAF-vi.html ... perhaps they are discontinued. I paid for the Tunze a few years ago and they are literally the same thing, the Tunze fan even has the PacificBreeze branding. -brett Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
George Monnat Jr Posted January 31, 2013 Author Share Posted January 31, 2013 For keeping anemonies Delbeek and Sprung actually recommend the three methodologies that use bubbles for circulation instead of pumps1. As far as using battery back up bubbles are arguably a better choice since an air pump will last much longer on batteries than a powerhead. There definitely is an element that has an issue with bubbles though, the owner of one of the systems I set up was told I clearly did not know what I was doing since I included air bubbles (his wife likes the bubbles so I'm safe ). 1 Delbeek and Sprung "The Reef Aquarium" Vol II pg 354 I only have volume 3. I need to get Vol II, but it's >$50 used on Amazon. I've always been told that feather dusters should never be exposed to air as it somehow injures them. I'm assuming that an air pocket can be trapped in their tube and suffocate them and bubbles aren't really a threat. Does it say anything about that? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Timfish Posted February 1, 2013 Share Posted February 1, 2013 I apparently haven't been keeping up with the latest as I've never heard that about featherdusters. I looked through the indexes of all three books and featherdusters were never mentioned (guess I'll just have to reread them ) To be honest I seriously doubt they are hurt by being exposed to air for a couple reasons. The large species that are purchased on line and at stores easily get rid of bubbles from my experience. In moving established tanks all the species I've encountered in aquaria have had to be exposed to are for minutes in not longer and I've never known them to die off. I suspect as long as they are damp they should survive. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
George Monnat Jr Posted February 1, 2013 Author Share Posted February 1, 2013 If it's false information, I'll be happier. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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