Need help with a cooling fan...

finestbeast

finestbeast

Reefing newb
My house gets hot over the summer...and I plan on going on vacation during it and doing want boiled fish when i return...I have already got a timer for the lighting and my neighbors kid to feed the fish. The problem Im having is that all the cooling fans I see dont fix on the hexagon tank. My only option is to remove the front of the hood and place it there. MY question is...will most fish want to take a leap out and visit the rest of my house? Or is there another way without spending 300 bucks on a cooling system....?
 
Timers for the lights, ambient temp in the upper 70's will be good. The weak spot will be feeding, make sure they know how to feed over feeding is worse than under feeding. And evaporation as the water evaps your salinity will rise if it rises to high fish die, then you come home to a mess. So you need to make sure you have a good tank sitter.
 
Im only gone6 days so Im not overly worried about the salt going up...especially if i do a change the day before. As for feeding im going to get a pillbox and have him do it daily...by the time I go I should only have about 5 fish in the tank...I have a timer for the lights....my worry is the temp...im trying to think aheads as to how to keep it cool without an AC running 24/7. Im gonna rig a fan somehow as of now...thinking about flipping my hood around so it has an open back and just covering the unused areas with something...not sure what yet...
 
What aquarian is getting at is with the top off and a cooling fan the rate of evaporation is going to go up exponentially. If you have an ATO, you're good, if not you'll want to invest in one BEFORE you go away of you're going to come home to one hell of a mess.
 
+1. Evap happens quickly, I go through 4-6+ gallons a week in just top off water and the only thing you can do to help is get an ATO system and automate it.
 
buy some plastic eggcrate. cut to fit top of your tank. leave the canopy top off. use a regular ocilation fan from walmart at the right level to blow across the top. leave 5 or 6 5 gallon buckets of fresh water for the kid, mark the water level in the tank and tell the kid to add to that level every day when he feeds the fish. if you are only going for a wk and the kid is not a complete idiot you should be fine. you guys are trying to make it more complicated then you need to. yes you have to pay for electicity for fan but its a lot cheaper then a/c. if you dont have any coral in there yet you can leave your lites off altogether while you are gone. the fish are happy with ambiant light from the room. that will help also.
 
Last edited:
Im going for 6 days and the kid is a nice and decent kid (not a dope). So youre saying add fresh...not salt water? That threw me for a loop...lol. I was thinking about screening the top but you think an eggcrate would work? Again Im not at this and just spitballing. The vacation isnt until august so I have some time to figure this out. Id like to get it done sooner then later. Thanx again.
 
what you are doing is just adding the water that evaporates. the salt doesnt evaporate just the the water. as the water evaporates the tank gets salter and salter. when you just ad plain fresh water[ i alwas use reverse osmosis water] it dilutes back to proper salinity. if you are not keeping an eye on that you better be testing for salinity regularly or your water is going to get too salty. and yes plastic eggcrating works, the kind that you get for floresent strip lighting covers. you can get it a any building centre. comes in pieces aprox 2 ft by 4 ft for about 8-10 bucks a sheet. you just cut it to fit. doesnt stop evap. but it stops your fish from jumping out and still allows a cooling fan to work. if it gets that warm and the fan is running you can lose as much as 2 or 3 gallons a day. thats a lot of water for a tank that size. i always top my tank up to the proper level with fresh water before i do a water change because i use a premeasured amount of salt for every 5 gal of water i take out. if your water is at the proper salinity before you do your water change then when you add the new water at the proper salinity the tank stays at the proper salinity. dont forget evaporation only gets ride of actual water not salt or additives or any thing else. the liquid in your tank just gets more and more concentrated with salt and waste from fish and whatever else is in there. if you like- try an experiment. take a glass and put a inch of tank water in it and let it sit. in a day or two you will have a glass with some crusty sludge in the bottom. thats what is in the water. it doesnt evaporate. if you add fresh water back to where it was in the glass you have tank water again just as it was when you took it from your tank
 
Last edited:
Very much appreciated...Ill declorinate some water and leave it for him...as for the crate...I was trying to think of viable options to replace my hood...and that seems perfect...I also heard going to home depot and getting an acrylic cut to size...which is better?
 
You should be using RO/DI water only. There's too much crap in tap water that is bad for tanks.

Eggcrate will be best. Any glass or acrylic will trap heat and prevent proper gas exchange, basically slowly cooking and suffocating your fish.
 
finestbeast said:
Very much appreciated...Ill declorinate some water and leave it for him...as for the crate...I was trying to think of viable options to replace my hood...and that seems perfect...I also heard going to home depot and getting an acrylic cut to size...which is better?
Click to expand...
eggcrate is better. acrylic will start to curl up on the edges. i tried it and mine was 1/4 in thick and it curled up on the edges. also if you are using tap water for your tank you are eventually going to have problems. maybe look into a small r/o unit. dont forget, water evaporates but the stuff in it does not, r/o water is the purest you are going to get. lowest concentration of crap in the water. actually for your size you could probably just go buy a 5 gal jug of r/o water once a wk.
 
I looked into egg crates and they seem perfect...i can remove pieces to fit my tanks needs, its cheap...and i can rig it to have an open lid if i need. Thanx...Ill be at home depot this weekend...
 

Similar threads

FishyReef
Tank won't cycle - need help
Replies
1
Views
2K
Wes888
Wes888
R3verb
R3verb's new 60 gal Cube!
Replies
12
Views
4K
Becky
Becky
color_copies
Need help keeping cool
Replies
14
Views
1K
color_copies
color_copies
MikeMartin
(Feedback Needed) My plan for a natural low-tech nano reef.
Replies
4
Views
3K
ErinCahir
ErinCahir
P
when fans are not enough
Replies
8
Views
1K
fastrd400
fastrd400
Back
Top