DIY Canopy cooling - how much

RyansReef · Apr 21, 2020

I have created a canopy for a 29 gallon tank to help contain the light spilling out in my small home office. Works great at containing the light from the single AI Prime 16HD LED but... the fan is now running on high and is fairly loud. I measure at 55 dB with an app on my phone. With no canopy the light fan hardly runs or runs only on low speed.

i have cut 2 2” holes in the back panel near the top to help with cooling hoping that with the opening for return and overflow would crest a draft to allow heat to flow out. This has not really helped.

so I have seen others with much larger canopies use these cooling fans my question is how much cooling do I need to keep the LED fan from running? Can I get away with 1 4” fan with 26 cfm or would I need more with maybe the dual setup with 52 cfm? If I need to go bigger I might need a canopy redesign. Note: I would like to add a second AI Prime in the canopy after tank matures to add SPS corals which would generate more heat.

RyansReef · Apr 21, 2020

RyansReef said:
I have created a canopy for a 29 gallon tank to help contain the light spilling out in my small home office. Works great at containing the light from the single AI Prime 16HD LED but... the fan is now running on high and is fairly loud. I measure at 55 dB with an app on my phone. With no canopy the light fan hardly runs or runs only on low speed.

i have cut 2 2” holes in the back panel near the top to help with cooling hoping that with the opening for return and overflow would crest a draft to allow heat to flow out. This has not really helped.

so I have seen others with much larger canopies use these cooling fans my question is how much cooling do I need to keep the LED fan from running? Can I get away with 1 4” fan with 26 cfm or would I need more with maybe the dual setup with 52 cam? If I need to go bigger I might need a canopy redesign. Note: I would like to add a second AI Prime in the canopy after tank matures to add SPS corals which would generate more heat.

This was the fan I was looking at:

cymonous · Apr 21, 2020

I think that fan would be sufficient even with the added light. You will probably have to play with the speed control. Make sure to install that fan with it blowing air INTO the canopy. I would also make another hole at least 4x4 for air to blow out from the canopy for circulation.

Edit: I would also suggest added some kind of filters to the intake of the fans. It helps with dust buildup inside your canopy from the fans.

RyansReef · Apr 21, 2020

Great idea On the dust filters. Had not really seen that in my research yet. Thanks!

SuperDodge · Apr 21, 2020

Just be ready to replace the cooling fan often. I used to run Metal Halides and had to have cooling fans in canopies on various tanks over a decade. They always failed due to salt creep. it was a pain in the butt.