Help- Questions for a new tank set up...

ANother option, and in my opinion would be buying an adjustable power
supply. They have wall warts that have a slide switch to vary
voltages. YOu can get them that have 3, 4.5, 6, 7.5, 9, 12 volts
output all at the slide of a switch. Its all I use to vary the speeds
of my fans. In winter with a wood stove going and no real means to get
a stable interior temperature since the wood stove does not have a
thermostat, and is dependant on damper settings, I can run my fans up
on higher output voltage and get a lot more coolking effect, and in
spring and fall when its just right out around here I can reduce the
speeds way down, and in summer with AC on, I can virtually run em as
slow as they will go and its sufficient to keep lights cool. Its
basically the same as what your thermistor device on the fans that
automatically change speeds is doing, only this way its done
manually. You can find those wall warts at Wal MArt or Radio Shack for
little money, and its easy to cut it into existing fans........I do
find 9 volts is about what I use most of the time, but its still nice
to have the option for more volts or less volts at the slide of a
switch....
Regards


On Sat, 18 Feb 2006 10:00:20 -0600, "adv_aqua"
wrote:
The manufacters are covering thier butts for liability because the lamps
burn so hot - hence loud fan.

I have discovered a really neat trick because as a fabricator of custom
system I noisy systems wheter it be water or air......try retrofitting a 9V
power supply. Ive done this on custom canopys Ive built and the fan noise is
almost inaudible. Only downside is that the power supply may not have the
ooouumph to start the fan. Since the fans became too quiet to hear I just
let them run 24/7. A 9V power supply will run you about $5. Good luck!

Pomacanthus
www.advancedaquarium.com




"groo" wrote in message
news:Xns976D8941EB6A8944818cac31cddd2466d@207. 115.17.102...

Any idea how much air flow is required? I have a new 75gal tank with 2
250W metal halide lights and 4 12" blue lights. The hood has a fan at
either end (one in, one out). The fans are 12VDC, temperature controlled
fans. At max they push 107 CFM. My problem is that they make lots of
noise...47dB according to the spec sheet. The installer put the
temperature sensors right next to the blue lights, and I'm wondering if I
can move them away (hence slowing the fans and reducing the noise)
without adverse impact. If the water temp stays OK, I'm presuming that
the only possible impact is to the lifetime of the lights, but I don't
know how significant that will be. Right now, with the fans running at
max, the outlet air barely feels warm, which makes me think that it is
overkill.



(Roy) wrote:


Seems the majority of foloks agree its best to blow air in and not
have any fan pulling air out, since the air can cause corrosion in the
fans. If you have an equal sized or just slightly larger "vent" to
allow the air pulled in, to escape from your fine. Most if not all of
the current manufacturers of light assemblys only have fans pulling
air in, and the same equal sized openings less fans for vents.......If
you can blow air in along the length of the bulbs and out the opposite
end. It heps cool the bulbs and covers a larger lengthwise portion of
the tank. Look for 2 VDC fans, and look for decibel ratings......as
yoiur looking for quietness as well. Typically the faster a fan runs
and the more air it moves the ouder the noise they make. Just ball
park figure how many cubic inches / feet of air are under your hood,
from the top of the water to the bottom of the hood, times length and
width....and match up a fan(s) to suit that cubic inch / feet of
volume. More is better than less. If you go with 12 VDC, you can buy a
voltage adjustable powersupply so you can also regulate the fans speed
which does come in handy a ot of time.......We heat with a wood stove,
so our heat is not all that uniform, so in winter we generally run the
hood fans a bit higher in speed, but in summer when the house is air
conditioned, we can reduce the fans speeds.......The adjustable
powersupplys are typical plug in the wall transformers with a slide
switch and can be found at Wal MArts and RAdio shack and lots of other
places for under $20.00 Another good thing to have with the fans is
a filter of some sort. I use a piece of 1/4" thick foam or some fine
bridal type nylon mesh/netting as you would be surprised how much
lint and hair etc they can pull into the tank if not caught in a
filter. Just place foam or netting infront of fan or under the fans
grill, and it works fine. Just hit it with a vac cleaner from time to
time and it pulls out any accumulated lint etc without the need to
remove it to clean it.


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