Here are good *Quiet* fans for RSM tanks
- Thread starter kyley
- Start date
ukoldschool
Member
Its important to remember that fitting these fans will DEFINATELY increase the temperature in the hood, which in turn will DEFINATELY reduce the life of your bulbs and DEFINATELY increase the temperature of the water.....
T5's optimum operating temperature is room temp (around 25c), the hood gets a LOT hotter than that already, and reducing fan airflow will obviously increase the heat...
Ive done very similar tests on the hood fans, and found that cleaning the standard fans reduces noise significantly.... the noise comes from the fans sitting too close to the grills of the hood, if you remove the fan from the housing and plug it in - its silent.
Im not doubting that the PC fans are good quality and probably do run more quietly than the standard fans, but they push significantly less air, and as a consequense you will have expensive bulb replacements much more frequently.
Its also worth pointing out that you can fit 2 extra fans in the hood as there are spaces already there, and these then push cool air over the ballasts.
My outcome was not to use expensive 'quiet' pabst PC fans I bought and stick with the red sea ones, but clean them thoroughly, I did add 2 of the pabst fans into the hood as extras though. I also removed the 2 water cooling fans and installed 2x80mm noctura fans. My tank now runs at 26.5c with no chiller (down from 29.5c!!). Ill probably junk the pabst fans and get 2 more of the standard red sea fans to go in as fans 5&6, or I migth try the water cooling ones in there as they also flow much more air than the pabst ones.....
Heres a cut and paste from my tank thread on another forum (note: I actually ended up using the 2 standard fans and 1 pabst fan in the end)
Here is the right hand side. You can clearly see the extra housing at the top where an extra fan can go quite happily:
theres probably enough room to fit 4 fans if you cut out/remove the housings......
heres one of the (filthy) standard fans:
and one of the new fans:
height comparison:
and heath robinson testing with iphone db meter app.... first up, the 2 old fans:
now 1 new fan, 1 old fan - as you can see 12db drop from changing 1 fan..... if only they pushed more air....
and finally what I went with, 1 old in the centre:
And lastly, heres how to cleanup the standard fans. Firs off peel back the sticker and remove the rubber grommet:
then push the axle in the centre through with a screwdriver, leaving a small circlip and a rubber o ring:
you can then get all the crud and dirt off the fan and housing ready to refit. Just push the fanback through till it stops, the refit the o ring and push on the circlip.
I really think its wise to fit extra fans as there are 3 ballasts in the hood which would benefit from aitr being blown over them:
And heres the water cooling fans:
2 cable ties hold them tightly together, and another 2 hold them roughly in the right place at the back of the tank. Ive unclipped the regular fans, and removed the connector for the 12v outpu, and used this to connect the fans, so they are controlled byt he normal fan switch on the RSM.
Im glad to report that temperature with the tank on as normal amd the fans on all the time is a steady 26.5, which is I suspect is the temp my heater is set to
This may not all be down to the fans though, as Im also trying to maintain the water level at 6 notches down as per the red sea site guidlines.... ther only problem with this is the noise of the water falling from the weir (ie removed all the sponges) - far noiser than the fans ever were... Ill try to add more water and see if I can find an acceptable level
.
Happy to report that they are silent!
Here they are against the standarcd ones, which incidently are RDL6015S
T5's optimum operating temperature is room temp (around 25c), the hood gets a LOT hotter than that already, and reducing fan airflow will obviously increase the heat...
Ive done very similar tests on the hood fans, and found that cleaning the standard fans reduces noise significantly.... the noise comes from the fans sitting too close to the grills of the hood, if you remove the fan from the housing and plug it in - its silent.
Im not doubting that the PC fans are good quality and probably do run more quietly than the standard fans, but they push significantly less air, and as a consequense you will have expensive bulb replacements much more frequently.
Its also worth pointing out that you can fit 2 extra fans in the hood as there are spaces already there, and these then push cool air over the ballasts.
My outcome was not to use expensive 'quiet' pabst PC fans I bought and stick with the red sea ones, but clean them thoroughly, I did add 2 of the pabst fans into the hood as extras though. I also removed the 2 water cooling fans and installed 2x80mm noctura fans. My tank now runs at 26.5c with no chiller (down from 29.5c!!). Ill probably junk the pabst fans and get 2 more of the standard red sea fans to go in as fans 5&6, or I migth try the water cooling ones in there as they also flow much more air than the pabst ones.....
Heres a cut and paste from my tank thread on another forum (note: I actually ended up using the 2 standard fans and 1 pabst fan in the end)
Here is the right hand side. You can clearly see the extra housing at the top where an extra fan can go quite happily:
theres probably enough room to fit 4 fans if you cut out/remove the housings......
heres one of the (filthy) standard fans:
and one of the new fans:
height comparison:
and heath robinson testing with iphone db meter app.... first up, the 2 old fans:
now 1 new fan, 1 old fan - as you can see 12db drop from changing 1 fan..... if only they pushed more air....
and finally what I went with, 1 old in the centre:
And lastly, heres how to cleanup the standard fans. Firs off peel back the sticker and remove the rubber grommet:
then push the axle in the centre through with a screwdriver, leaving a small circlip and a rubber o ring:
you can then get all the crud and dirt off the fan and housing ready to refit. Just push the fanback through till it stops, the refit the o ring and push on the circlip.
I really think its wise to fit extra fans as there are 3 ballasts in the hood which would benefit from aitr being blown over them:
And heres the water cooling fans:
2 cable ties hold them tightly together, and another 2 hold them roughly in the right place at the back of the tank. Ive unclipped the regular fans, and removed the connector for the 12v outpu, and used this to connect the fans, so they are controlled byt he normal fan switch on the RSM.
Im glad to report that temperature with the tank on as normal amd the fans on all the time is a steady 26.5, which is I suspect is the temp my heater is set to
This may not all be down to the fans though, as Im also trying to maintain the water level at 6 notches down as per the red sea site guidlines.... ther only problem with this is the noise of the water falling from the weir (ie removed all the sponges) - far noiser than the fans ever were... Ill try to add more water and see if I can find an acceptable level
.
Happy to report that they are silent!
Here they are against the standarcd ones, which incidently are RDL6015S
sparklesmcgraw
Member
Very nice.
I noticed you have two buttons next to your timer. What is the second one for? Controlling the fans?
I noticed you have two buttons next to your timer. What is the second one for? Controlling the fans?
ukoldschool
Member
on the RSM 250 the second one controls the nightlight LED's (although ive added 2 extra strips seperate so I can control them independantly of the switch on a timer)
kyley
Active Member
Thanks for sharing your fan mod ukoldschool. It would be wise for those more interested in extending bulb life and further reducing heat. I have mentioned in the thread that using reduced airflow fans could could reduce bulb life by increasing temperatures. I think it's a risk some may be willing to take for a more peaceful aquarium experience?
At any rate, good quality fans can actually make less noise while creating more airflow through efficient fan design (unfortunately there are too few good fans to choose from in this odd size!). My fans were still quite clean (it's not a very old tank) and have been excessively noisy since day one. When I ran the two fans side by side at the same time and held them in my hand, the RSM fans had a vibration to them that I could feel in my fingers while the Scythe fans had no such vibration. Higher quality fans will be more balanced for a smoother operation and have better engineered fan blades to move more air at lower rpms. The Scythe fans do move a bit less air as I mentioned, but I'm not sure how you'd say "significantly" less - have you tried them? The Pabst fans I tried were surprisingly disappointing, but they make a lot of different fan models so there are probably better ones (I just bought a set I happened to find cheap on eBay).
What may be a good idea is to use 6 of the Scythe fans (I might go ahead and do that). That should create more airflow than the 4 RSM fans and still have quieter operation. I also wonder if cutting out the plastic grill over the fans and replacing it with a wire mesh or something like that? To a) reduce any noise from the grill and b) make the fans accessible for cleaning / replacement w/o having to remove the hood (not sure if that could be done or not).
To me, the biggest disappointment is that Red Sea didn't plan this hood with larger fan sizes in mind... Larger fans create more airflow - and can do it at lower rpms / less noise. 80mm size (or larger) fans would have opened up a huge selection of quality replacement fans (or just quiet from the beginning)! Take care,
--Kyle
It would be wise for those more interested in extending bulb life and further reducing heat. I have mentioned in the thread that using reduced airflow fans could could reduce bulb life by increasing temperatures. I think it's a risk some may be willing to take for a more peaceful aquarium experience? At any rate, good quality fans can actually make less noise while creating more airflow through efficient fan design (unfortunately there are too few good fans to choose from in this odd size!). My fans were still quite clean (it's not a very old tank) and have been excessively noisy since day one. When I ran the two fans side by side at the same time and held them in my hand, the RSM fans had a vibration to them that I could feel in my fingers while the Scythe fans had no such vibration. Higher quality fans will be more balanced for a smoother operation and have better engineered fan blades to move more air at lower rpms. The Scythe fans do move a bit less air as I mentioned, but I'm not sure how you'd say "significantly" less - have you tried them? The Pabst fans I tried were surprisingly disappointing, but they make a lot of different fan models so there are probably better ones (I just bought a set I happened to find cheap on eBay).
What may be a good idea is to use 6 of the Scythe fans (I might go ahead and do that). That should create more airflow than the 4 RSM fans and still have quieter operation. I also wonder if cutting out the plastic grill over the fans and replacing it with a wire mesh or something like that? To a) reduce any noise from the grill and b) make the fans accessible for cleaning / replacement w/o having to remove the hood (not sure if that could be done or not).
To me, the biggest disappointment is that Red Sea didn't plan this hood with larger fan sizes in mind... Larger fans create more airflow - and can do it at lower rpms / less noise. 80mm size (or larger) fans would have opened up a huge selection of quality replacement fans (or just quiet from the beginning)!
Take care,--Kyle
kyley
Active Member
I just thought of something I should have tested in my upgrade - so if any of you do the upgrade yourselves, maybe one of you could do it? Place a temperature probe inside your light hood before and after the fan upgrade to see how much of a difference there is in temperature! Take care,
--Kyle
Take care,--Kyle
kyley
Active Member
Hi All,
I found these Scythe fans on sale for $5 each Here at Directron.com (I've ordered from them in the past with a good experience). Shipping is a bit pricey at $9.45 for 4 though (you might want to consider getting 6 for better cooling and still low noise levels). Take care,
--Kyle
I found these Scythe fans on sale for $5 each
Here at Directron.com (I've ordered from them in the past with a good experience). Shipping is a bit pricey at $9.45 for 4 though (you might want to consider getting 6 for better cooling and still low noise levels). Take care,--Kyle
shingo43
Member
Sorry about digging the old thread, is this actually on rsm 130D?
I want to replace the stock fans because they are the noisiest part. I am looking at these fans(Scythe 50mm x 10mm Silent Mini Kaze fan #SY501012M) and wonder if they will work on 130D(They are 50*10mm comparing to stock 50*15mm), I just want a simple replacement because I cannot do anything fancy, thanks
Thanks Kyley,
After reading you report Sunday night I ordered 4 of the silenx extrema 60x 25mm fans. I had to cut back the plastic on the rear of the rsm fan holder and slotted them in, easy. I'm please to say I can no longer hear the fans just the skimmer noise to deal with now!lol
Picture 1 shows the plastic mount I cut out
Picture 2 shows the new fans in place
Blissful peace and quite
After reading you report Sunday night I ordered 4 of the silenx extrema 60x 25mm fans. I had to cut back the plastic on the rear of the rsm fan holder and slotted them in, easy. I'm please to say I can no longer hear the fans just the skimmer noise to deal with now!lol
Picture 1 shows the plastic mount I cut out
Picture 2 shows the new fans in place
Blissful peace and quite
Good report back Sy !
I will be doing this soon. Thanks so much for the information.
reefer gladness
Well-Known Member
This should help, good luck!
http://www.redseamax.com/redseamax/250Temp/redseamax/downloads/Replacing%20fans.pdf
http://www.redseamax.com/redseamax/250Temp/redseamax/downloads/Replacing%20fans.pdf
brian70809
Member
I just installed these on a RSM 250.. onSale | Startech 6X2 CM TX3 REPLACEMENT BALL BEARING FAN FAN6X2TX3
With StarTech.com's new Replacement Ball Bearing Fan, you can avoid overheating problems caused by fan failure.
Specifications:
– Fan Dimensions: Inches : 2.36 x 2.36 x 0.78, Millimeters : 60 x 60 x 20
– Fan Type : Dual Ball Bearing
– Fan Enclosure : Plastic
– Fan Airflow (CFM) : 22.1
– Noise Level (dB) : 28
– Fan Speed (RPM) : 4500
– Operating Temperature : (-)10 ~ (+)80 deg C
– Voltage : 12V
– Connector: 3-Lead TX3 Motherboard with RPM sensor
My fans were getting noisy due to bearing failure.. I am not sure if the stock fans are ball bearing or sleeve type..
I soldered the old fittings on to the new fans ..
Is it quieter than stock? Sounds the same, but it's moving a lot more air and my chiller is only coming on a few times a day now.. I may put a variable resistor on them and see how quiet they get at lower rpm.
When these ones die, I'll try the lower db. ones and see how much difference it makes
With StarTech.com's new Replacement Ball Bearing Fan, you can avoid overheating problems caused by fan failure.
Specifications:
– Fan Dimensions: Inches : 2.36 x 2.36 x 0.78, Millimeters : 60 x 60 x 20
– Fan Type : Dual Ball Bearing
– Fan Enclosure : Plastic
– Fan Airflow (CFM) : 22.1
– Noise Level (dB) : 28
– Fan Speed (RPM) : 4500
– Operating Temperature : (-)10 ~ (+)80 deg C
– Voltage : 12V
– Connector: 3-Lead TX3 Motherboard with RPM sensor
My fans were getting noisy due to bearing failure.. I am not sure if the stock fans are ball bearing or sleeve type..
I soldered the old fittings on to the new fans ..
Is it quieter than stock? Sounds the same, but it's moving a lot more air and my chiller is only coming on a few times a day now.. I may put a variable resistor on them and see how quiet they get at lower rpm.
When these ones die, I'll try the lower db. ones and see how much difference it makes