Extractor fan

I noticed that now with the change in temp, there is alot of moisture buildup in the wooden hood of my tank. It is bound to happen either way. I have looked at buying an ectractor fan at the lps, but soon realised that they are overpriced pc fans.
I have seen yesterday at an electronic shop, fans going for R50 but you still need a powersupply. I have since acquired a fan for free.
I want to know, is it advisable to add this fan to the lid? as I do have an opening for it to fit in.
Should i let it blow air through the hood? or should I let it extract air?, the latter I am suspect about.
what do you guys think?

 

was speaking to guys at well kown marine lfs yesterday about same thing .they advised 2 .one going in one on other side going out .Still far from this point myself but let me know how it gos

 

cool, didnt think about 2, but i have few holes where the wires and piping go thru, there is more than enough space, hence I was thinking of only using one fan, maybe let it blow thru, more air over the water too that way

 

This is probably a very good idea...

You might find that the fan being on will cause the temperature of the tank to drop a degree or so, so your heater would be on a bit more... but I'm sure with even the one fan on at night you would mnage to elminate much of the condensation. Only problem now is that with the condensation being taken out, you might land up with moisture in the room, and hence mold build up.

Another point of concern is that the fan isn't waterproof, so the moisture might caus the motor to rust internally eventually.

 

This is true, the fan might rust, also will that bit of moisture seriously cause mildew problems in a big room?

 

It could if the room is not vented at all. Mildew doesn't need a huge amount of moisture hey... just continuous moisture to keep it wet

 

ok, then i should be good there, i was thinking of letting the fan blow into the hood, but one disadvantage would be the air over the water causing temp to drop, and if i let it extract any negatives to look at?

 

You can get 220v to 240v extracture fans from electrical wholesalers (the ones that supply companys). You can get moisture resistent extracture fans but they are on the expensive side.Zoom pretty much handeld the whole extraction and suction story.

 

I would go with the pc fans they are all 9v i think just get an old transformer(torch charger) and use that to power it i use this method to power my fire blower and my tanks moonlight if its more than 9v(the transformer) just get the neccessary resistors at a electronics store its abt R10 for 10 so that all cheap hope that helps

 

I just use my table fan and position it so it blows in the tank direction.

Only problem is that my room is now freezing cold at night with the fan on.

 

I have found that blowing air into the tank does prevent an algae build up, but have always had a filter before the fan, this prevents sucking dust into the tank and having it settle on the surface.

Sucking air from the hood, it is impossible to say what you are sucking into the canopy.

 

With the condensation being taken out of the tank you will see an increase is water loss so you will also need to do regular top-ups - if the fan creates to much of a draft the evaporation could be a more serious problem (heat loss, water level dropping etc.) than just having the condensation on in the hood. Is the hood not sealed well or why is the condensation a problem? Only time I would consider adding a fan is if I needed to cool things down .. not to move water vapor around. The idea of having a hood on a tank is not just for aesthetics - but rather IMO to keep the water in the tank - hence the use of non-toxic products in DIY hoods .. Not sure if you have ever compared two similar heated tanks - one with a hood, the other without ?

 

Just another thought. We all don't mind that fishy aquarium smell... an most of us don't even notice it anymore when we stick our hands into our tanks... BUT having a fan extracting the moisture out is going to suck out the smells too... and it could make your home less desirable for family and friends if it "pongs" in their opinion.

 

i like the idea of a pre filter for blowing in, havent thought about that. I managed to install the Fan last, and decided to let it blow into the hood. It worked well, and this morning the hood was dry, did notice that I didnt get that warm whiff of air that one normally gets when you open the hood. Thanks Guys

@f-fish, the codensation occurs I think because of my ohf it has very little water splashing but enough for it to manage to collect against the roof, it is more like mist

 

I have a fan on my reef tank blowing into the hood. The hood is somewhat open at the back. With reef tanks there's far more focus on cooling than on heating since the lights, pumps (sump return, protein skimmer, maybe some reactors, etc) all add heat. Fans blowing across the water surface are VERY effective at cooling the tank cheaply. The trade off however is increase evaporation but in some cases this is desirable as supplements are added to the resevoir for an automatic topup.
If I leave the fan off I will find the lights and everything in the hood all wet and get salt buildup etc. With it on it's perfectly fine.

 

I will have to monitor mine for increase in evaporation, but i think that this will be minimal condsidering that the fan is very slow and it does not blow directly onto the water, dont think it even touches the water

 

i would suck the air out teh canopy, if u pushing in or sucking out the fan is moving the same amount of air either way, if you blow in it forces the air out the sides of the canopy and if u blow it sucks air in at the sides of the canopy.

i would still cover the tank with sheets of glass then put the fan blowing out. ITs what i have done with my tank.

I bought a 220v fan coz i was told its quieter i got it from our sister company that supplies lighting and fans, also easier to wire up altho i do have a 12v transformer in my cabinet for my LED lighting

 

So is the 220v fan alot quieter? My 12v one is rather noisy, but also only noisy enough for one to only hear it in that room.

 

I haven't tried the 12v fan i just took someone else's advice and its fine i can only hear it if im standing right next to the fan.

 

cool, then it is definately alot quiter than the one I currently have - 12v