[nayr]

so yesterday I tossed a 10" Portable fan I had laying about into my canopy, pointed right at the water and I was surprised by the results... I posted a little bit of this in my journal but I decided on a new thread for people searching.

There both the same graph, the second one shows outside temperature/humidity levels.

At 19:00 is when I setup the fan, temps finally settled at ~13:00 the next day, more than 5 degrees below ambient... before putting the fan on the tank the water temps were often a few degrees ABOVE ambient (due to canopy trapping heat).. I was flirting with 76F the day before I started this test.. here it is the same time the next day and my tank is over 10 degrees cooler!

So if you live in a desert-ish environment expect good cooling results with just a fan, Ive got automatic RO top off so I dont mind loosing a few gallons a day if I can keep my subtropical tank nice and cool without a chiller.

Long term trend you can see how much difference the fan made:

 

[GraphicGr8s]

Evaporative cooling is very effective. We are living proof of that. Until the RH gets to high then it becomes less and less effective until you pass out and suffer heat stroke. Here in FL it will work until the end of June outside. In an air conditioned home it should be very effective and mold/mildew won't be too much of a problem if the A/C runs enough.
Yesterday after I got my tomatoes in the ground I had the sprinklers running. These are overhead sprinklers. Even outside, since RH was in the pleasant category you could feel a definite temperature difference near them. Felt good since I was putting up the gas tank in my van in the sun.

 

[nayr]

Oah I know how effective it is, my house is cooled by a swamp cooler and I can drive it 20 degrees below ambient in the summer.. Swamp Cooler is sort of a misnomer as nobody in a swamp uses them, there for us desert rats to feel like were in a swamp

I need a little help though when it gets into tripple digits come July, inside the house will be riding in the 80's, and the swamp cooler will naturally raise the humidity so I expect to loose effectiveness with the aquarium cooler but I can drive the temps low at night and try to hold onto that throughout the day.. I dont want to get any higher than mid 70's for very long with this tank and its inhabitants.. the'd prefer it to stay at ~68 degrees.

I know gas saturation level gets higher the lower the temperature of the solution, so I wonder if keeping the temps low will make more co2 available for the plants? Seems like once you hit 80 degrees the oxygen levels plummet.. how does that hold for co2?

 

[GraphicGr8s]

Oah I know how effective it is, my house is cooled by a swamp cooler and I can drive it 20 degrees below ambient in the summer.. Swamp Cooler is sort of a misnomer as nobody in a swamp uses them, there for us desert rats to feel like were in a swamp

I need a little help though when it gets into tripple digits come July, inside the house will be riding in the 80's, and the swamp cooler will naturally raise the humidity so I expect to loose effectiveness with the aquarium cooler but I can drive the temps low at night and try to hold onto that throughout the day.. I dont want to get any higher than mid 70's for very long with this tank and its inhabitants.. the'd prefer it to stay at ~68 degrees.

I know gas saturation level gets higher the lower the temperature of the solution, so I wonder if keeping the temps low will make more co2 available for the plants? Seems like once you hit 80 degrees the oxygen levels plummet.. how does that hold for co2?

A gas is a gas. I would imagine what holds true for O2 holds for CO2.

You don't have AC? That would kill me living with a house in the high 80s. I can't sleep now I can't imagine trying to sleep in a hot, humid house.

 

[PhysicsDude55]

Thanks for the graphs and info! I have 2 120mm cooling fans on my 105g tank, I'm wondering how they will compare to the 10" fan you used, I'm assuming the 10" fan puts out a lot more air. I don't expect more than 2 degrees of cooling, which is enough for my purposes.

 

[nayr]

yeah no AC, here in the desert its never been tripple digits at night, or humid.. so when you go to sleep the house is at a nice 65 degrees.. look at my graph again, we got down to ~20% humidity at high noon... you dehydrate just being here, no need to do anything.

the days the house is in the 80's typically I could count on one hand, and its not that bad as the swamp cooler is providing a really nice constant cool breese.. helping the body do its own evap cooling. The swamp cooler costs me pretty much nothing to operate, maby $50 a year in water/electricity/fresh pads? I doubt that much.. alot more energy efficient than your air conditioners.

PhysicsDude55, the fan I used was on low but still pretty high flow.. I am going to try to reproduce these results with a pair of 140mm computer fans at each end of my 55.

 

[GraphicGr8s]

Why is Denver a desert?

Never mind. Just looked it up.

 

[nayr]

Colorado is a desert, you might not picture it as such but believe me it is..
Since the vast majority of our precipitation is snow in the winter were considered a high altitude desert, even our snow is dry and wont get you wet.. The North and South poles are deserts too.

Other than Hawaii, Colorado is the only state in the Union that has no river flowing into it.. we are the source of the west's water and it leaves us high and dry once the snow has melted.

Looks can be deceiving, its green and lush outside today.. in a few months it will be a brown and barren tinderbox.. then followed by a white and barren tinderbox.

 

[GraphicGr8s]

Colorado is a desert, you might not picture it as such but believe me it is..
Since the vast majority of our precipitation is snow in the winter were considered a high altitude desert, even our snow is dry and wont get you wet.. The North and South poles are deserts too.

Other than Hawaii, Colorado is the only state in the Union that has no river flowing into it.. we are the source of the west's water and it leaves us high and dry once the snow has melted.

Looks can be deceiving, its green and lush outside today.. in a few months it will be a brown and barren tinderbox.. then followed by a white and barren tinderbox.

No rivers? What about the Colorado? But I understand what you mean. You're talking about rivers that run through Colorado not that start there.
The Green River and Cimarron River do run through the state and the headwaters are in other states. Of course while they may start in other states they really don't have much distance in CO. What a hundred miles or so? At best?


Adams Fork Conejos River
Alamosa River 383 km2 (148 mi2)
Animas River 3,562 km2 (1,375 mi2)
Apishapa River 2,798 km2 (1,080 mi2)
Arikaree River 4,429 km2 (1,710 mi2)
Arkansas River 478,501 km2 (184,750 mi2)
Aspen Brook
Bear Creek 4,500 km2 (1,737 mi2)
Bear Creek 339 km2 (131 mi2)
Bear River
Beaver Creek 2,939 km2 (1,135 mi2)
Big Dry Creek (Littleton, Colorado)
Big Dry Creek (Westminster, Colorado)
Big Sandy Creek 4,825 km2 (1,863 mi2)
Big Thompson River 2,149 km2 (830 mi2)
Bijou Creek 3,612 km2 (1,395 mi2)
Blue River 1,770 km2 (683 mi2)
Box Elder Creek
Boulder Creek[2] (1,160 km2 (448 mi2)
Cache la Poudre River 4,959 km2 (1,915 mi2)
Canadian River 122,701 km2 (47,375 mi2)
Canadian River
Chalk Creek
Cherry Creek 1,050 km2 (405 mi2)
Chico Creek 1,934 km2 (747 mi2)
Cimarron River 44,890 km2 (17,332 mi2)
Cimarron River
Clear Creek 1,497 km2 (578 mi2)
Colorado River(67,993 km2 (26,252 mi2)
Conejos River 2,078 km2 (802 mi2)
Crow Creek 3,717 km2 (1,435 mi2)
Crystal River
Cucharas River
Culebra Creek
Dolores River 11,998 km2 (4,633 mi2)
Dry Fork Michigan River
Eagle River 2,515 km2 (971 mi2)
East Fork Arkansas River
East Fork Cimarron River
East Fork Eagle River
East Fork Little Cimarron River
East Fork Navajo River
East Fork Piedra River
East Fork Rio Chama
East Fork San Juan River
East Fork South Fork Crystal River
East Mancos River
East River 762 km2 (294 mi2)
Elk River
Encampment River
Fall River
Fall River
First Fork Piedra River
First Fork South Fork Piney River
Florida River
Fountain Creek 2,418 km2 (933 mi2)
Fraser River
Frenchman Creek 7,398 km2 (2,856 mi2)
Fryingpan River
Geneva Creek
Gore Creek
Green River[3][4] (115,903 km2 (44,750 mi2)
Gunnison River[5] (20,851 km2 (8,051 mi2)
Hidden River
Hill Branch Cucharas River
Horse Creek 3,680 km2 (1,421 mi2)
Huerfano River 4,840 km2 (1,869 mi2)
Illinois River
Kettle Creek
Kiowa Creek 1,888 km2 (729 mi2)
La Plata River
Ladder Creek 3,645 km2 (1,407 mi2)
Lake Fork Gunnison River
Laramie River 11,961 km2 (4,618 mi2)
Left Hand Creek
Little Beaver Creek 1,602 km2 (619 mi2)
Little Cimarron River
Little Dolores River
Little Dry Creek
Little Navajo River
Little Snake River 10,629 km2 (4,104 mi2)
Little Thompson River
Lodgepole Creek 8,374 km2 (3,233 mi2)
Lone Tree Creek
Los Pinos River
Mancos River 2,099 km2 (810 mi2)
McElmo Creek 1,842 km2 (711 mi2)
Michigan River
Middle Fork Cimarron River
Middle Fork Conejos River
Middle Fork Elk River
Middle Fork Little Snake River
Middle Fork Piedra River
Middle Fork Purgatoire River
Middle Fork South Arkansas River
Middle Fork South Platte River
Middle Fork Swan River
Middle Mancos River
Montezuma Creek 3,044 km2 (1,175 mi2)
Muddy Creek
Navajo River
North Branch Conejos River
North Fork Animas River
North Fork Apishapa River
North Fork Arikaree River
North Fork Big Thompson River
North Fork Cache la Poudre River
North Fork Canadian River
North Fork Cimarron River 4,462 km2 (1,723 mi2)
North Fork Conejos River
North Fork Crystal River
North Fork Elk River
North Fork Fryingpan River
North Fork Gunnison River 2,492 km2 (962 mi2)
North Fork Little Snake River
North Fork Little Thompson River
North Fork Los Pinos River
North Fork Michigan River
North Fork North Platte River
North Fork Piney River
North Fork Purgatoire River
North Fork Republican River 13,172 km2 (5,086 mi2)
North Fork Rio de los Piños
North Fork Smoky Hill River 1,965 km2 (759 mi2)
North Fork Snake River
North Fork South Arkansas River
North Fork South Platte River
North Fork Swan River
North Fork Vermejo River
North Fork West Branch Laramie River
North Fork West Mancos River
North Fork White River
North Platte River 80,755 km2 (31,180 mi2)
North Saint Charles River
Owl Creek
Parachute Creek
Pawnee Creek 1,875 km2 (724 mi2)
Piceance Creek 1,630 km2 (629 mi2)
Piedra River 1,770 km2 (683 mi2)
Piney River
Plateau Creek
Purgatoire River 8,923 km2 (3,445 mi2)
Quartz Creek
Ralston Creek
Rio Blanco
Rio Chama 8,204 km2 (3,168 mi2)
Rio Chamita
Rio de los Piños
Rio Grande 457,275 km2 (176,555 mi2)
Rio Lado
Rio San Antonio
Roan Creek
Roaring Fork Little Snake River
Roaring Fork River 3,766 km2 (1,454 mi2)
Roaring River
Rush Creek 3,570 km2 (1,378 mi2)
Saguache Creek 3,482 km2 (1,345 mi2)
Saint Charles River
Saint Vrain Creek 2,572 km2 (993 mi2)
San Juan River 64,560 km2 (24,927 mi2)
San Luis Creek 7,000 km2 (2,703 mi2)
San Miguel River 4,060 km2 (1,567 mi2)
Sand Arroyo Creek 1,938 km2 (748 mi2)
Sand Creek (Adams County)
Sand Creek (Colorado Springs)
Sand Creek (Larimer County)
Sidney Draw 1,949 km2 (753 mi2)
Slate River
Smoky Hill River 51,783 km2 (19,994 mi2)
Snake River
South Arkansas River
South Fork Animas River
South Fork Beaver Creek 1,939 km2 (749 mi2)
South Fork Cache la Poudre River
South Fork Canadian River
South Fork Conejos River
South Fork Crystal River
South Fork Cucharas River
South Fork Eagle River
South Fork Elk River
South Fork Fryingpan River
South Fork Huerfano River
South Fork Little Snake River
South Fork Michigan River
South Fork Piney River
South Fork Purgatoire River
South Fork Republican River 7,195 km2 (2,778 mi2)
South Fork Rio Grande
South Fork San Miguel River
South Fork South Platte River
South Fork Swan River
South Fork West Mancos River
South Fork White River
South Platte River 62,738 km2 (24,223 mi2)
Spring Creek
Spruce Creek
Stoner Creek
Swan River
Tarryall Creek
Taylor River 1,258 km2 (486 mi2)
Tomichi Creek 2,874 km2 (1,109 mi2)
Trinchera Creek
Two Butte Creek 2,107 km2 (814 mi2)
Uncompahgre River 2,921 km2 (1,128 mi2)
Vermillion Creek 2,500 km2 (965 mi2)
West Branch Laramie River
West Dolores River
West Fork Animas River
West Fork Cimarron River
West Fork Elk River
West Fork Encampment River
West Fork Little Thompson River
West Fork North Fork Purgatoire River
West Fork Rio Chama
West Fork San Juan River
West Mancos River
White River 12,989 km2 (5,015 mi2)
White Woman Creek 3,000 km2 (1,158 mi2)
Williams Fork (Colorado River)
Williams Fork (Yampa River)
Willow Creek
Wind River
Yampa River 21,506 km2 (8,304 mi2)
Yellow Creek 760 km2 (293 mi2)

Bump: And now maybe I'll stop being a PITA. But don't count on it.

 

[nayr]

We have rivers yes of course, yet no major body of water flows into our state..

The Green river is just a tributary of the Colorado river which starts in Colorado, and to that point the Cimarron river is just a tributary of the Arkansas, again starts in colorado.. both rivers are taking more water out of the state than there bringing in

We can get semantical, but the the first shots fired in the water wars will surely be in Colorado, desert enough for yeh?