water temperature for CRS

7330 Views 31 Replies 10 Participants Last post by jowy, Oct 23, 2010

jowy

Discussion Starter · Oct 1, 2010

Hi all,

I am new to this forum.
Having some problem with my water temperature as i am living in singapore.
is there any way to lower my tank water temperature without using chiller, air-conditioner-ed room. currently i have a small fan to lower the temperature.

For your info, the best temperature i have now is 28.5 degree.
Please advise.
Thanks.

1 - 20 of 32 Posts

msnikkistar

· #2 · Oct 1, 2010

Wow, your water temperature is pretty high. It is about 83 degrees F.

I would try and rig up a dual pc fan one. I have found that the pc fan cooling I use is better then the regular small fans that are out there because they are designed to cool computers.

You just need to buy some 80 or 120 mm pc fans, and have some sort of DC adapter with two wires, cut the wire on both, braid them together, and then use electrical tape to cover the wires. If you want to control the speeds of the fans, you can buy those adapters that have adjustable volts. I did that with mine. Now I have the option of turning it high to very low.

Jaggedfury

· #3 · Oct 1, 2010

I myself use computer fans also, 2 would work fine. Any more than 2, would just be a result in much more evaporation of your tank's water. Regardless of what CFM each fan puts out doesn't matter. My 2 computer fan with an output of 84 CFM total did the same cooling as a 6 computer fan with 504 CFM. The fans were putting out 18dBA which is silent. You won't even hear it on. Couple it with a Mini chiller and your good to go!

I have heard people going to the hassle of freezing Four 2 liters Soda Bottles and routinely put them in the tank, repeat process.

Moe

· #4 · Oct 1, 2010

i use fans also. its simple to add water to keep up with evaporation.
on my breeding tanks I insulate the the sides except the front panel.
it helps alot keeping the tank cooler

Dave-H

· #5 · Oct 1, 2010

Cooling aquariums with fans seems to be pretty easy. The CFM of a fan does matter but only when you consider net intake/output venting that is available to the fan, and to a lesser degree the force with which the air moves.

In an open top situation where the fan is just blowing air over the lights and out into the room, you need very little force from the fan to move the heat away from the light. If you are under a canopy, you need to consider that the air has to come in to the canopy through an unobstructed vent (net intake) and leave the canopy through an unobstructed vent (net output), and the amount of air moved will be the CFM - resistance from the net intake/output.

On most aquariums you can just mount a fan and aim it at the lights and it will make a huge difference. I put a Vornado Zippi fan behind my lights (no canopy) and it does the trick - nearly silent and 15 bucks. The computer fans are great, too, if you have a place to mount them.

jowy

Discussion Starter · #6 · Oct 2, 2010

thanks all for the advise...

May i know it extra fan or powerful fan will lower the temperature.
having headache on my water temperature.
And now also have PH problem.
My water PH now is around 5-6.
I think it is kind of low right.
I have ask aquarium shop which sell mainly on shrimp.
The person say that coral stones will raise the PH of the water.
How true is it. how can i maintain my PH at around 6-7 instead.
Thanks

OverStocked

· #7 · Oct 2, 2010

Jaggedfury said:
I myself use computer fans also, 2 would work fine. Any more than 2, would just be a result in much more evaporation of your tank's water. Regardless of what CFM each fan puts out doesn't matter. My 2 computer fan with an output of 84 CFM total did the same cooling as a 6 computer fan with 504 CFM. The fans were putting out 18dBA which is silent. You won't even hear it on. Couple it with a Mini chiller and your good to go!

I have heard people going to the hassle of freezing Four 2 liters Soda Bottles and routinely put them in the tank, repeat process.

Science says the CFM output would matter.

mordalphus

· #8 · Oct 2, 2010

Yes, CFM matters. I have a small clip on fan that will only lower the tank ~7 degrees fahrenheit. I have a large tower fan that will lower the temperature 20 degrees and more fahrenheit. I also use a squirrel cage fan with 500 CFM that will lower the tank 20 degrees or more. The reason I'm saying "or more" is because I keep my tanks at 75, and I've only had the room temperature over 95 once, but all the time when those fans are on and it hits 75, the heater comes on to keep it there.

Jaggedfury

· #9 · Oct 2, 2010

Science proved me wrong when I had 6 extactly indentical fans wired up and hung facing down on a shrimp rack storage shelf, same temperature reading as with 2 fans. Temp drop barely 3 degree Celsius. Then I opt the decision to why do I really need 6 fans when the difference is the same temperature drop but twice as much water evaporation. All were mounted at same height from the tank's surface, 1 inches part from each other.

This is regarding shrimp tanks, no heater. I leave mines on 24/7. I'm using one of those Homedepot storage shelves, http://fp.vendaria.com/vpop/VpopVie...&bg=FFFFFF&nm=BZOpener&err=0&title=&pf=t&fr=t , and it's perfect for hanging computer fans above it on the grids.

I'm not one to argue, but that's just my experienced.

Jaggedfury

· #10 · Oct 2, 2010

mordalphus said:
Yes, CFM matters. I have a small clip on fan that will only lower the tank ~7 degrees fahrenheit. I have a large tower fan that will lower the temperature 20 degrees and more fahrenheit. I also use a squirrel cage fan with 500 CFM that will lower the tank 20 degrees or more. The reason I'm saying "or more" is because I keep my tanks at 75, and I've only had the room temperature over 95 once, but all the time when those fans are on and it hits 75, the heater comes on to keep it there.

I could re wire it back to 6 fans, mount the 6 fans again, at the same height and observe it for a couple of days having it on 24/7. I'm certain even with my total 6 fans putting out 504 CFM I will most likey never hit anywhere close to lowering it 20 degrees.

jowy

Discussion Starter · #11 · Oct 2, 2010

sorry, may i check what CFM?

Jaggedfury

· #12 · Oct 2, 2010

It stands for Cubic Feet per Minute. It's a measure of how much air the fan can move.

Dave-H

· #13 · Oct 2, 2010

The only way a fan will reduce 20 degrees is if the room is much colder than the tank.

jowy

Discussion Starter · #14 · Oct 2, 2010

Due to the weather in singapore, i was unable to make my room temperature cooler without air-conditioner.
Is there no other way as i just try a normal standing fan blowing towards my tank.. but it seem nothing happen.. temperature still at 28.9 degree and now 29 degree... damn headache..
Must i really get a chiller system?
How much did a cheapest chiller cost in all of your country. :frown:

Jaggedfury

· #15 · Oct 2, 2010

Chillers ranges from $199 to a few thousand. I"ve seen chillers that are rated for 800 gallon tanks that's well over $3,300 dollars! It depends on the horse power of the chiller which will make the price go up.

jowy

Discussion Starter · #16 · Oct 2, 2010

199 in which currency? i dont really need a super horsepower chiller as my shrimp tank isnt very big..
If there is no other way then i will need to purchase a chiller :icon_cry:

mordalphus

· #17 · Oct 2, 2010

2

Dave-H said:
The only way a fan will reduce 20 degrees is if the room is much colder than the tank.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Evaporative_cooler

I know it sounds crazy, but it's science!

It was only 87 that day, but this is what it's like with my tank heater fighting the fan. I was losing about a gallon from evap every day.

The fan needs to be pointing directly across the water.

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jowy

Discussion Starter · #18 · Oct 2, 2010

oh man.. that is crazy..

msnikkistar

· #19 · Oct 2, 2010

Uhhh, I don't know why some people said CFM doesn't matter. But my own personal experience states otherwise.

I had to disconnect one of my 80mm PC fans because with two, I was having issues of it getting too cold to about 64 F constantly when both were running on my 30C. Once I removed 1 fan, my temperature now remains 70 F no matter what room temperature I have, as I can change the speed of the fan.

My other tank stays at 68-70F with just a clip on fan blowing over the light fixture and water on low, but that tank is 33G so it doesn't heat up as fast.

My ambient room temperature is about 85 at the peak of the day before my programmed AC kicks on at 3 pm.

I have a CRAP ton of evaporation though. I have to refill a gallon a day in my 30C, and another 1 1/2 in my 33. Gets pretty tedious.

Jaggedfury

· #20 · Oct 2, 2010

jowy said:
199 in which currency? i dont really need a super horsepower chiller as my shrimp tank isnt very big..
If there is no other way then i will need to purchase a chiller

Since your from Singapore, there's a ton of overseas aquarium chillers that are not too pricey compare to here in USA. It's USD currency.

Coolworks IceProbe is failry cheap, for $89.99 (Might be cheaper if you do your research) it states that it can cool 10 gallons tank between 6-8 degrees. Not sure how small your tank is but you can always get two if needed. From that unit, then there's other ones that are expensive.

Here's a link with a indept description.
http://www.jbjnanocubes.com/contents/en-us/d788_Coolworks-Iceprobe.html

mordalphus said:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Evaporative_cooler
I know it sounds crazy, but it's science!
It was only 87 that day, but this is what it's like with my tank heater fighting the fan. I was losing about a gallon from evap every day.
The fan needs to be pointing directly across the water.

I know about the scientific formula for cooling air and heat. Just seems weird that it didn't do much. Wondering if it has to do with what type of fan. Since your using a tower fan, some use those clip on wal-mart fan, and some use tiny computer fan. I'm not sure what each of those fans put out. But that's the first time I've seen a tower fan directly ontop of a aquarium. lol looks crazy funny. Maybe I might be wrong, I only dealt with rigging up computer case fan. I'd have to look into this in the near future if there's a need for a tower fan.

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