When getting a chiller is simply not an option...

[Dylan Grech]

Tried frozen 2ltr water bottles but that did nothing..
My power head and return is pointed at the surface yet temperature keeps rising.
Top-off water is coming in @ a whopping 36C (97F).

This is my last resolute... Tank currently sitting @ 26.8C (80F)

 

[andrew james]

A couple of years ago my AC crapped out in the middle of a hot Georgia summer. I ran down to walmart and got one of these blowers and aimed it at the surface. It's been a key part of my aquarium ever since. On my redsea 425 it will evaporate 6 gallons a day and keep the tank close the last evening ambient temperature throughout the day. An example of this is running the blower 24/7 with temperatures at 92/75 It can maintain my tanks temperature and not exceed 80 degrees even when it hit 87 indoors at 4pm.

 

[roberthu526]

80 is fine. Mine is over 81 and the tank is doing better than ever.

 

[Dylan Grech]

A couple of years ago my AC crapped out in the middle of a hot Georgia summer. I ran down to walmart and got one of these blowers and aimed it at the surface. It's been a key part of my aquarium ever since. On my redsea 425 it will evaporate 6 gallons a day and keep the tank close the last evening ambient temperature throughout the day. An example of this is running the blower 24/7 with temperatures at 92/75 It can maintain my tanks temperature and not exceed 80 degrees even when it hit 87 indoors at 4pm.

I've never seen these in any local stores but will have a look if anything I'll order it online. Thanks

 

[Dylan Grech]

80 is fine. Mine is over 81 and the tank is doing better than ever.

Yeah I know but summer has just started so my worry is that is will just keep going up and up until it reaches ambient temperature of 85F sometimes even a bit higher.

 

[Budman's Corals]

them fans are like the best thing ever. moves alot more air then the typical blade fan

 

[roberthu526]

Yeah I know but summer has just started so my worry is that is will just keep going up and up until it reaches ambient temperature of 85F sometimes even a bit higher.

You don't have AC in the room? I kept the room temp a little high because I have discus. But I am getting rid of them so I can dial my AC down.

 

[Dylan Grech]

You don't have AC in the room? I kept the room temp a little high because I have discus. But I am getting rid of them so I can dial my AC down.

Nope, we moved in about a year ago still no budget for an AC. I have an open plan kitchen / living / dining and an AC for that room costs way too much for the time being (+- 1500EUR)

 

[chipmunkofdoom2]

I don't know if window AC units are available in Malta, but window units are very cheap in the US (this model is $130/116EUR). The benefit of a window AC unit is it doesn't require you to mess with your tank's plumbing and you can actually use it for cooling the room instead of just cooling the aquarium. It's not exactly pretty since it hangs out your window, but it will get you through until your home's HVAC system is up and running.

 

[Dylan Grech]

I don't know if window AC units are available in Malta, but window units are very cheap in the US (this model is $130/116EUR). The benefit of a window AC unit is it doesn't require you to mess with your tank's plumbing and you can actually use it for cooling the room instead of just cooling the aquarium. It's not exactly pretty since it hangs out your window, but it will get you through until your home's HVAC system is up and running.

Nice. Thanks

 

[lion king]

I manage to keep 6 tanks all at a steady 80 while setting my ac at 85 while I at work; with just fans and a temperature controller.

 

[Dylan Grech]

So guys I've finally decided that evaporative cooling will do the trick for my tank however not 100% sure about my plan.

In all the designs I see the fans are blowing across the water surface however I wanted to go down the route where the fans are sucking air. Let me elaborate a little bit:

Currently the tank has no cover and I was going to get a screen cover so fish don't jump, than I will need some sort of system to hang my lights when I upgrade them and finally the fans need to be mounted somehow so the idea was to enclose the tank. I would put a piece of wood on top of the tank maybe 4-5" above the water level and this would enclose the tank. With this piece of wood I now have space to mount my lights, fish cannot jump and would place 3-4 bathrooms fans so that when temperatures rise they would kick in and pull the hot humid air from the cover which should in-turn cool down the tank.

What do you guys think?

 

[Family Tank]

I did a fair bit of reading on venting our stands with sump/fuge and all the associated electronics. While I want to exhaust the heat and humidity into the room. I'm going to push air into the cabinet and let it escape thru vent holes near the top back. Reason being--- the longevity of the fan. Less salty moisture being drawn across the motor housing. I'm setting up 2 cheapy temp driven controllers (~$20). One for venting cabinet with a computer fan to kick on sooner temp wise and the second a fan blowing across the water.

 

[Dylan Grech]

I did a fair bit of reading on venting our stands with sump/fuge and all the associated electronics. While I want to exhaust the heat and humidity into the room. I'm going to push air into the cabinet and let it escape thru vent holes near the top back. Reason being--- the longevity of the fan. Less salty moisture being drawn across the motor housing. I'm setting up 2 cheapy temp driven controllers (~$20). One for venting cabinet with a computer fan to kick on sooner temp wise and the second a fan blowing across the water.

I like it! Completely agree with venting cabinet I will not use fans for that though I have planned the system out and I will have positive air pressure throughout the stand/cabinet/hood this will in turn force hot stale air using the chimney effect.

Quite hard to explain in writing, I will post pictures and explanation once its fully done though

 

[Daniel@R2R]

Looking forward to seeing the result. Any drawings of the plan?

 

[Dylan Grech]

Looking forward to seeing the result. Any drawings of the plan?

I tried to do a quick sketch to explain the concept hope you can understand where I'm going with this as it's probably going to take a while till I actually do it.

As you can see from the diagram above, the tank would be enclosed from all sides and even the sumps. This does 3 things:
1) Keeps the tank warm in winter = less heating required = cheaper to run
2) The fresh air that enters the tank is 80-90% utilized by the tank and not lost in the surrounding
3) CO2 can be fairly easily raised/lowered inside the stand irrelevant of the room it's in as most of it is maintained or removed from the stand

How is the chimney effect used?
As you can see by the side of my tank I have a small utility room around 4' x 2' but that is not closed off meaning it's open underneath the tank up till under the shelving. Now we all know that hot air rises and cold air falls therefore when the hot air is rising from the top left fan it's leaves the sumps area as a slightly lower pressure zone thus in turn the hot air under the tank is also sucked naturally in the left fan which in turn cools the sumps and the stand.

Note: This is the same principle of why european houses have "service shafts" and all rooms should have an air vent connected to this "service shaft"

 

[Breadman03]

The issue to consider is that your fan is going to be constantly exposed to warm, humid, salty air that will acceleate corrosion. The simplest solution is using the fan to force air into your system. Alternatively, you can be sure to look for a fan specifically rated for the exposure and protect the wiring.

 

[Dylan Grech]

The issue to consider is that your fan is going to be constantly exposed to warm, humid, salty air that will acceleate corrosion. The simplest solution is using the fan to force air into your system. Alternatively, you can be sure to look for a fan specifically rated for the exposure and protect the wiring.

100% agreed. That's a price that I will have to pay though, trying to cool a 2.2m long tank in our climate is just not viable using conventional methods. The only areas I know in the US that have a similar climate to ours is Texas. We basically get the same summer heat but add 70-80% humidity to air and welcome to the lovely Maltese islands hehe.

 

[ReeferDave01]

I've never seen these in any local stores but will have a look if anything I'll order it online. Thanks

I saw that at Home Depot just yesterday and was going to pick it up but they only had floor model & were sold out of new units. May want to pick one up now on Amazon

 

[xjiang7]

Try to shed your windows. That really helps.