Fan versus Chiller for my tanks

[seldin]

I have a 55 gallon reef tank with a MH/T5 light that takes up much of the open top, so I don't consider it a full open top, along with sump and chiller.

I also have a completely open rimless Solana nano tank, with Viper 150 MH lighting. On this tank, I have a large fan blowing across the top.

With the heat wave, I have been watching both tanks and seeing how the temperature is doing.

Here are my results.

The open top Solana with fan has kept my tank at 81 degrees, which is the set point and has risen to a high of 83.5 degrees. The fan has worked fine.
Based on room temperature, my room temperature can hit up until 89 degrees and fan is successful. It actually, goes a bit higher, but that is pretty good.

Of course, the chiller has been on and off since May.

So fan on open top reef is good to go up until 89 degree room temperature. Please remember, that includes open top with MH lighting from above.

The fan used is an 18 inch round fan on stand located near the tank. Not that pretty. I am purchasing a JBJ clip on blower and going to compare results.

I use a Reefkeeper lite controller that turns fan on at 81 degrees.

My chiller is 1/3 hp and is located in a closet. The heat in there gets pretty hot and has a cr@ppy vent to the outside that does not work well. However, chiller works great. It was purchased 4 years ago and was already used for several years. The chiller goes on at 83 degrees and stops at 81 degrees, so it has a 2 point set point. Works great, and help keep electric company rich.

The evaporation on my Solana is around 4-5 gallons per week. I don't care, because ATO works great.

My light on my 55 gallon reef, is an Aquatinics MH/T5 combo, with 2 X MH150 Ushio bulbs and 2 t5 bulbs.

Summary:

Fan on open top tank, is successful for room temperature up to 89 degrees, with high water evaporation.

Based on results, I would like to get a new light setup for my 55 gallon reef and use the fan setup to save electricity costs.

 

[mray]

You can increase evaporation by lowering humidity in the room so that your fan works more efficiently. However, a dehumidifier would defeat the purpose of saving electricity so what you can do is have an open bucket of calcium chloride (same as your calcium supplement), which is a desiccant, near your aquarium to absorb the moisture. Every couple of months you can 'recharge' the calcium chloride by baking it or even placing it in a microwave.

 

[seldin]

Mray,

Very interesting...

Today, A/C went on in room.

Thanks for the info.

 

[pecan2phat]

I think the theory will only work with smaller tanks where you are not running a ton of equipment such as heat emitting return pumps, closed loop pumps, reactor pumps, skimmer pumps, UV sterilzers etc.
I have a 120g in the basement with 2 fans blowing over the sump and a larger fan blowing across the top of the tank, if the ambient room temp is above 78, I cannot keep the tank below 81 with just the fans going.
Everything adds 2 degrees :lol:

 

[seldin]

Understood.

I do think, that on the display tank, that the fan should still work ( to some point ).

FYI, for this tank, I have a Tunze 9002 skimmer with pump, return pump, vortech mp40w pump and MH lighting on open top.

The other tank, would need a new light fixture that does not sit on top of tank. For that tank, I would leave the chiller connected, for extremely hot days.

 

[johnny roastbeef]

I have a 300 gallon display with a 150 gallon fuge / sump. There is around 1400 watts of halide light on the tank, and 3 submersible mag pumps in the sump. Mag 5, Mag 9.5, mag 24. My fish room has central air that is set for 75. Over the last few weeks my tank got over 83 degrees. I installed a 10" fan, oriented so it blows air across the top of the sump. The fan is on a timer so that it goes on an hour before and an hour after the halides are on. Since installing the fan, the tank has hovered around 80 degrees and has been much more stable. I think the large volume of water helps keep the tank stable, but the fan definitely helps to keep the temp down.

 

[seldin]

As an update, I recently purchased the jbj c-breeze clip on. It has a small foot print and blows over the top of a tank. It is not loud and works great. I was able replace my large standing fan for this small unit. I don't think this unit has the power of a large fan, but it has worked great. Still keeps my tank doing well, when my office is at 89 degrees.

 

[pweissma]

I'm surprised that you like the little c-breeze clip on. I got one then promptly returned it. I thought it was noisy and very expensive for the amount of air it moved. I replaced it with 7" clip-on fan on my Solana. Like you, I'm finding that the fan does a great job at keeping the temperature down.

As an update, I recently purchased the jbj c-breeze clip on. It has a small foot print and blows over the top of a tank. It is not loud and works great. I was able replace my large standing fan for this small unit. I don't think this unit has the power of a large fan, but it has worked great. Still keeps my tank doing well, when my office is at 89 degrees.

 

[seldin]

pweissma,

I was also surprised because I had an 18 inch fan on a stand, that blew a lot of air across the water.

This blower, is no way as powerful. However, all I did was use this fan, on my controller and also have my vortech make sure it is wavy on top part of aquarium and it is working great.

My measurement, is that the temperature is staying fine even at 89 degrees, as compared to the big ugly fan next to my aquarium. Much nicer look.