Should I vent my stand?
 

I am in the middle of designing and fabricating the skin for the stand. I'm wondering if there is a benefit to placing a 120mm computer fan in the stand to vent the air.
Not running a refugium, so heat from lighting is not an issue.

Will this create excess evaporation?
Will it aid with raising the PH?

All thoughts and comments welcome, as I am sure I have over-looked some things.

I voted Yes

IMHO, fresh air for you skimmer is a must for pH
Plus, you don't really want stale air around your sump, do you ? Mold and such, or whatever, from all that moisture under your stand

It may also help in warmer temps

Just Do It :smile:

Definitely have your stand vented.
You don't necessary have to have a fan, but if you leave one side of the stand open if you can, like the back of it if it is against a wall for instance, it will greatly benefit your tank. :biggrin:

I vote no ! No to the fan, i would vote yes to leave the back opened up if possible.

Fully enclosed stand and canopy vented to outside with a variable speed fan keeps the windows of our house from dripping. Definite yes for me.

Big yes my top is sealed where the lights are with out fan led lights stop working. Not exactly what you asked but big yes to air below also.

Yes venting the stand is a good idea, I use a small fan in the sump area for drawing air into the stand for circulation and a small discharge fan above my AI lights as well.

A fan will keep it dry and reduce salt creep. It'll also bring in frest air for the skimmer to use.

johnny

Reduce salt creep?! I'm all over that like a pig in ....., well you know! Thank you all for the info!

imo a computer fan would only work for a tiny space, a desk fan would be better.

Venting is recommended especially if there's a sump.

My stand for my 45g cube is vented with 2x Cougar 120mm fans from NCIX. I bought a 4 pack of Cougar fans for $20 - 1200RPM 60.4CFM 17.7DB.

Since the cube is in the main part of our open floor plan, I'm running the fans at 9vdc vs 12vdc to run them even quieter.

I hope this helps!

I use two fans in opposite corners of the stand. One blowing air in during the day, one blowing out at night:

http://www.jlaquatics.com/phpstore/s...t_ID=cv-sfan04

It also speeds up depending on temperature. I have very little temperature fluctuation using this method during the summer - and don't use a chiller. It maintains my pH and provides good airflow.

Before it was just a sweat camp in the sump area, this definitely improved everything overall. My sump area is also completely enclosed, with a plastic vinyl backing to prevent excess humidity in the room and evaporation. It keeps the evaporation down, and my windows don't sweat (as much.) if it were an open back.