Fans for new DIY hood???

[greenstarfish03]

Hello,

I just built a new hood for my 115 cube. Its going to house between 6-8 T5s and I want to add a fan or two to the back to push the moisture and heat out of the hood. Can anyone reconmend some fans that may work? and where I can get them at? I want something functional but Im not going to spend $60 per fan on an icecap fan. I was think about a PC fan or two, but wasn't sure if there were better options out there.

The b ack of the hood is baout 8 inches high so nohing bigger then about 4 inches high or so.

Thanks

[adalius]

All my old hoods were just PC fans, and my Biocube came stock with PC fans (and the upgrade kit from Nanotuners had new PC fans for it too). I'd imagine just go with whatever size opening you want, get the largest CFM for the lowest dB you can find.

[greenstarfish03]

how would you attach the power?

[adalius]

You'd have to get a wallwart or do some electrical trickery to get them down to 12v. A 12v DC power supply that puts out enough amperage to drive as many fans as you're hooking into it will work fine.

[jimsflies]

I have a variable voltage wallwort...it allows me to run the pc fans I used at different speeds. Although most of the time I leave it at the speed that seems to be the best compromise between air and noise volume. Picked it up at the local radio supply shop.

[AZDesertRat]

I have used Vantec Stealth 120mm (4") computer fans for years with great success. Lately the Silenex fans have been getting good reviews. The Stealths move 53 CFM each at only 28 dBa sound because they run at lower RPM than many others. I think the Silenex may even be rated quieter?

I have two of them in my 100G, 60" long canopy, both blowing in powered by a variable voltage wall wart so I can control fan speed according to the seasons and cooling needs and equal sized exit holes in the roof of the canopy for hot air to escape. The exit holes are above the reflectors so light does not escape but surprisingly I get air flow by natural convection alone even when the fans are off, works really nice.

I have 2x250w MH and 2x140w VHO and used to use a 1/4HP chiller until I got my fans perfected. After two summers of the chiller never once running here in Phoenix, I sold it and use fans alone. The two in the canopy and a 7" Wal Mart clip on over the sump, thats it and the tank stays 79-81 year round with little power usage for cooling. I had them on timers before but now have them on my Reefkeeper Lite so they come on and go off as needed and will alarm andshut the lights off if it gets too hot though it has never done that before.

[ReeferRob]

http://store.nemomarine.com/categories/Fan-Systems/

[AZDesertRat]

Wow, those are expensive and noisy too at 37 dBa. You don't usually need that high of a CFM.
My canopy is a fully enclosed 60"x18"x16" so is about 11 cubic feet of air space. The two Vantec Stealth fans are rated at 53 CFM each so I get 10 complete air changes pre minute at only 28 dBa which is more than sufficient for my MH lights. The Stealths are $14 apiece at Newegg.com and the variable voltage DC power supply which is large enough to power up to 4 fans was $5 at Harbor Freight but anbe found at Wal Mart, Radio Shack, Frys electronics or any electronics vendor for less than $10-$15. So $45 or less including shipping and tax for two variable speed 4" fans complete and much quieter.

[XSiVE]

2 or more of these

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811998109

plus

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16812706011&cm_re=12v-_-12-706-011-_-Product

= easy and cheap cooling.

The molex connector on the power supply means you can just plug those fans right in to it, chain them together you're good to go. No need for cutting wires, soldering, electrical tape, nothing. Everything here should just plug right in together

[greenstarfish03]

http://store.nemomarine.com/categories/Fan-Systems/

Wow! Expensive for fans. I seen some like this and that is what I was trying to avoid:)

[greenstarfish03]

Wow, those are expensive and noisy too at 37 dBa. You don't usually need that high of a CFM.
My canopy is a fully enclosed 60"x18"x16" so is about 11 cubic feet of air space. The two Vantec Stealth fans are rated at 53 CFM each so I get 10 complete air changes pre minute at only 28 dBa which is more than sufficient for my MH lights. The Stealths are $14 apiece at Newegg.com and the variable voltage DC power supply which is large enough to power up to 4 fans was $5 at Harbor Freight but anbe found at Wal Mart, Radio Shack, Frys electronics or any electronics vendor for less than $10-$15. So $45 or less including shipping and tax for two variable speed 4" fans complete and much quieter.



Great post AZDesertRat!!! Everything I needed. Thanks.

[greenstarfish03]

2 or more of these

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811998109

plus

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16812706011&cm_re=12v-_-12-706-011-_-Product

= easy and cheap cooling.

The molex connector on the power supply means you can just plug those fans right in to it, chain them together you're good to go. No need for cutting wires, soldering, electrical tape, nothing. Everything here should just plug right in together

Sweet!! I love easy! These will probably be fine for me since I'm using about 6-8 T5 bulbs. I don't really have a heat issue I just want to make sure to move the moisture out of my hood as much as possible to minimize water damage over time.

[AZDesertRat]

Make sure you get a variable voltage DC power supply so you can fine tune the fan speed and noise, much better than constant speed. You will find in winter months you can slow them down by switching to 10.5 or even 9v and it cust down on evaporation and the heater kicking on to compensate for overcooling. I paid $5 at Harbor Freight but have seen them for less that $10 at Wal Mart and other places, some have molex connectors but its no big deal if they don't, its only two wires to cut and twist, butt splice or solder together.