fan setup in canopy

[sailfish]

I am looking for some experienced opinions on a fan setup in my canopy. I have never had a canopy before. I have seen and understand the premise of the one fan blowing in and one blowing out design. The most common I have seen is with the fans on the ends of the canopy.

Question: What is the best way to have fans setup in canopy and why?

Why not have the fans on top of the canopy blowing air out of the canopy?
Is this because the light will shine on the ceiling or what?

#1 I was thinking of having 2 or 3 fans in the back pulling air out and have vents in the top towards the front of the canopy for air intake.

#2 Have 2 fans in the top pulling air out and 2 in the back pushing air in.

#3 Have fans on the ends one pushing air in one pulling air out. (The way you always see it.) Does not look very nice but seems functional.

On other note at this time my canopy is completely enclosed. I can cut out as mush or as little as needed. It is 60” x24”x16” . I will have 3, 400 watt MH or 2, 400 watt and 1, 250 watt.

Thanks for any help.

Joe
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[jason sartain]

On an old DIY canopy I built,I put a fan on each end blowing in and one out of the back blowing out.
It was a 75gal with 2-175w MH and 2-54w actinics and it never got too hot.
Hope this helps.

 

[james s_]

I like idea #2. But the reason why option 3 works so well is the air is being drawn across the whole length of the tank. With option 1 or 2 you may not get the same cooling effect. I would Imagine the canopy would only stay cool in the spots where the fans are. If you did option 2 I would probably put the two fans on the back toward the middle of the canopy and put the fans on top towards the sides. That way the air is pushed out to both sides and therefore they would be cooling the canopy as a whole.
I would pass on option 1. For the reason the fans are going to be blowing nastiness from the tank into your walls behind the tank. I would imagine that would lead to moisture issues long term(Just a guess). I would much rather you have the outgoing fans on top blowing into the open room.

 

[skriz]

1 fan blowing in + 1 fan blowing out = <span style="color: red">1 fan</span>
(35cfm in can only push 35 cfm out)

Point being, you only need to have the fans in one position. I'd reccomend pushing in. Fans are more efficient at pushing rather than pulling. The air will find a way to escape the canopy, you don't have to worry about that. Think Jurassic Park: "nature will find a way"

If I were you, I'd have fans on each side blowing in. Position them low, so they're blowing over the water's sruface and pushing the hot air from the halides out. Heat will naturally rise, so position your vents in the top-center.

 

[sailfish]

Forgive the typos stupid program would not let me edit.:shout:

Thanks for ideas i just can't make up my mind.lol

Joe

 

[sailfish]

It seems to me if you push enough air in that just some vents in the top would allow the heat to escape.

This would allow me to put them as low as I want and would let me hide them. The downside would be when I open the canopy it would be blowing in your face.

joe

 

[skriz]

sailfish;252258 wrote: It seem to me if you push enough air in that just some vents in the top would allow the heat to escape.

This would allow me to put them as low as I want and would let me hide them. The downside would be when I open the canopy it would be blowing in your face.

joe

Isn't that what I just said?

You could always install a switch to turn off the fans when you need to open the canopy. Also, the fans aren't going to be that powerful, so it won't bother anything/you anyway. The more air they move, the louder they usually are.

 

[mufret]

Another advantage of only "pushing" air in, is the longevity of your fans.

 

[sailfish]

Yes it is I am just making it my own . I already have 2 variable ice cap fans 4" I may buy another so I can have one right behind each reflector. I also saw some wooden house ac vents that I could use for the top.

It definitely sounds like pushing in is the way to go.

Skriz;252262 wrote: Isn't that what I just said?

You could always install a switch to turn off the fans when you need to open the canopy. Also, the fans aren't going to be that powerful, so it won't bother anything/you anyway. The more air they move, the louder they usually are.

 

[kelloggreef]

On my tank, I have a fan on each end at an angle blowing out. the only down side is when you walk by the tank it blows the" fishy" smell into the hall way.Its not a big deal but thought I would let you know.

 

[sailfish]

Thanks Barbara and everyone else.

Joe

 

[derek_s]

I hve considered #2 for my tank. I thought about using large diameter fan from car radiator systems, and placing a potentiometer on them so I can control the speed (so they arent too loud).

I have also thought if I had a fish room or a basement it would be cool to use a cage fan and use duct work to pull or push air through a canopy so the fan can be placed in a remote location.

Also, here is a link to my canpy build where I used fans on the back pushing IN, and large openings/vents on the top to let the heat escape. This seems to be working really well for cooling my overdriven T5s.

 

[derek_s]

Here is a good pic of it almost completed. You can see the case fans on the back ( ended up adding 4 more because they super cheap on newegg.com), and the huge ports for letting the heat escape. I used black plastic mosquito netting to seal the holes from jumpers.

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