Tank stand and Humidity?

magikof7 · #1 10-13-2013, 07:39 PM

Hi all!

Finally I'm getting back into the game, Summer fun had to take proiority over my upgrade, with how chilly it has been I'd say camping and such is over for the season

I'm in the process of clear coating the stand inside and out now. With it being a solid box with pull off door panels, I am wondering if I need to put in a fan or Vent in the back for the humidity from the sump. I'll have my reefkeeper system inside the stand as well.

Any Opinions on which way to go and what kind of Fan to get if there should be one.

Thanks!

HaZRaTTy · #2 10-13-2013, 08:12 PM

Always great with some venting... Also will help keep the heat down in the summer as chillers are a thing of the past.

Easy solution is to wire ad simple computer fan and a old cell phone 12V charger together!

jostafew · #3 10-15-2013, 04:32 PM

Definitely, if it's at all possible with the design of your stand I would recommend that you ventilate it. Keeping the humidity down in there will be much healthier for your electrical devices (corrosion) and will prevent any mold growth etc.

My suggestion would be to hit the computer store and pick up a nice quiet 120mm or so PC case fan, then rob a 12v DC power brick from one of your old electronic devices that you're no longer using and use that to power the fan. Cheap and quiet airflow. Of course you will need to create a way for the air to escape as well after it's pumped into the cabinet by the fan.

As I'm typing this I see that HaZRaTTy just said pretty much the same thing! Well I'll 2nd what they said then.

magikof7 · #4 10-15-2013, 07:25 PM

Thanks Guys!

I think what I will do then is, have one blowing in on the side and one blowing out in the back. There will be holes in the back for the plumbing but wasn't sure it would be enough.

jostafew · #5 10-15-2013, 08:32 PM

If you want to increase the airflow, one fan pushing and one pulling is going to be largely redundant. Just leave an opening where the 2nd fan (pulling out of the cabinet) would have been, air forced into the cabinet will exit there and through the plumbing holes. If you really want to add a 2nd fan, I would not recommend that you use it to pull air out of the cabinet as it will then be breathing moist salty air and will shorten the lifespan of the fan. Always push dry fresh air if possible. Of course if you add a 2nd fan, be sure to have enough holes in the cabinet to allow for an equal amount of air to exit as you are pushing in through the fans. That being said, a single 120mm fan will move about 30 cubic feet per minute which would completely change the air in a 120gal tank's cabinet aprox. 80 times in an hour, which is a lot.