Fan Mounting

[SulfurAcid]

Should I mount my IceCap fans to blow air into the tank, or to take air out. Is it possible to run my tank without a chiller, if I keep the AC at 76, and the fan temp probe at the halides? I dont care about the noise.

2 175 watt halides
1 250 watt halide
4 T5Hos
2 pumps, no backdraft


All running on a 90g with 45g sump/fuge.

[AZDesertRat]

Blowing in, prefferably on one end so it blows along the length of the waters surface for the best cooling. if your canopy is enclosed provide and equal sized hole on the opposite side or better yet in the top or as high up in the back as possible and as far away as possible so all hot air gets evacuated.
Blowing out sucks hot moist air through the fan causing premature failure.

[SulfurAcid]

Thanks dude, thats how I had it mounted, just wanted to make sure.

Now, what of the fact of not running a chiller... I am probably going to get one just in case, but can it be done?

[AZDesertRat]

I went without a chiller for two years on my 100G with 2x250w MH and 2x140 VHOs. The humidity in the house in the summer months was unbearable and made it hard to sleep at night without breaking into a sweat. My evaporation replacement was 6 gallons every other day. The two 4" fans in the canopy were set so one ran 100% speed 24/7 and the other ran at 100% when the lights were on and for one hour afterward. There was also a clip on fan over the sump on a Ranco controller that would coem on if the water temp rose to 82 degrees from its normal 79-81 degrees. It ran quite a bit.
I added a chiller, the temperature remains 79-81 year round, the two canopy fans now run only when the lights are on and at a reduced speed in winter months and the sup fan never runs at all, its only for backup. The top off went from 6 gallons every other day to 5 gallons every fourth day so is less tha hald what it was before at the same temperature. The chiller runs a maximum of twice a day in the hottest summer months and never in the winter. I'd say it was a good investment myself.