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another fan question, reducing condensation (long)

mbmcewen Nov 28, 2003 09:56 AM

The front of my tank stays fogged up pretty much all of the time. I have 2, 2 inch fans mounted to either side, along the front, and 1 1/8" holes drilled in a row along the front between the fans. The holes help a little, but the fans on full speed dry the tank out quickly, as well as lower the temp drastically. like I said, the fans are 80mm and the power supply is a steady 12v. The fans are blowing in....what can I do to help the condensation? Should I get 4 40mm fans and run them at reduced speed, maybe blowing out? Can I just add more ventilation holes, or even cut a strip out of the hood along the front. I want the humidity to remain high but I would like to see the frogs also.

Thanks,
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Matt

Replies (8)

kyle1745 Nov 28, 2003 12:56 PM

First, what size tank? If it is a smaller tanke no matter how much you slow the 80mm down they might dry it out. I use 40mm, and only 1, is needed for my 29gal, and it is running at about 1/3 power. It is blowing in by the way.
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Kyle
www.kylesphotos.com
Dart Links - still a work in progress
1.2.0 D. leucomelas
1.1.0 D. azureus
1.0.1 D. imitators

snmreptiles Nov 28, 2003 12:58 PM

n/p
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MIKE
4.14 Leopards (SHTCT, and Jungle Albino Trempers)
2.13 Fat Tails (Amels, Hets, and Normals)
1.1 Teratolepis Fasciata
1.3 Crested geckos
0.0.3 Dendrobates Tinctorius (Pallids)
1.0 Diamond Back Terrapin
14 Snakes (Tri colored hogs, subocs, alterna, rosy boas, and black milks)

kyle1745 Nov 28, 2003 01:10 PM

Yup
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Kyle
www.kylesphotos.com
Dart Links - still a work in progress
1.2.0 D. leucomelas
1.1.0 D. azureus
1.0.1 D. imitators

snmreptiles Nov 28, 2003 12:57 PM

I'm curious how big your tank is...I have one 40 mm fan going at 4.5V (Thanks KYLE), and it seems to be working great, the humidity stays at about 82%. I am still messing around with my glass lid. It has 3-3" holes in it. What I did was go to home depot and get "3 inch TEST CAPS" The middle one has six 1/8" holes in it, and the fan is attached to that cap. The other 2 holes I cut out using my dremel tool, and then siliconed fiberglass screen on them. The test caps are meant to fit inside 3" pipe, so as long as your holes are 3" they'll fit right in. The test caps are white, I just spray painted them black!
-----
MIKE
4.14 Leopards (SHTCT, and Jungle Albino Trempers)
2.13 Fat Tails (Amels, Hets, and Normals)
1.1 Teratolepis Fasciata
1.3 Crested geckos
0.0.3 Dendrobates Tinctorius (Pallids)
1.0 Diamond Back Terrapin
14 Snakes (Tri colored hogs, subocs, alterna, rosy boas, and black milks)

sascha Nov 28, 2003 01:42 PM

the room temp the tank is in has everything to do with condensation. condensation forms inside because the temp outside the glass is less than the temp inside the tank. if you raise your room temps a few degrees or put a small electric radiator next to your tank you can elevate the temperature immediately around the tank. I only have problems in the winter because the rooms get to 60-65 degrees when the heat in the apartment is not on. so it will fog up. As soon as the room temp is within 5 degrees of the tank temp everything starts to clear up. I have no ventilation fans in my tank and the top is almost totally sealed to prevent insect escapees and I never have many fogging problems. But i do use the algae magnets to just clear the glass up a bit when it does get foggy and it's great to clean the inside glass as well.
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Sascha

kyle1745 Nov 28, 2003 03:03 PM

I think this all depends on where you are, and your setup. My tanks fog up as soon as I turn my fans off. But I do not allow my fans that much air into the tank either. Just enough to remove the fog.
-----
Kyle
www.kylesphotos.com
Dart Links - still a work in progress
1.2.0 D. leucomelas
1.1.0 D. azureus
1.0.1 D. imitators

kyle1745 Nov 28, 2003 03:01 PM

I would try to get the humidty up to about 93%, but if you are uising a analog humidistat, it might not go much over 80%. Digital is the way to go.
-----
Kyle
www.kylesphotos.com
Dart Links - still a work in progress
1.2.0 D. leucomelas
1.1.0 D. azureus
1.0.1 D. imitators

mbmcewen Nov 30, 2003 01:59 PM

The tank is about 40 gallons and made of acrylic. I don't think the magnetic algae remover will work on acrylic. And yes, I do have a big temp difference because of the winter temps. I read one post about 1 40mm fan run at reduced speed full time that sounded heartening. I may try that, coupled with Kyle's method of using small holes to reduce air flow. Thanks ya'll
-----
Matt

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