Fan Controller

J

jhnrb

Active Member
I will have two 4" 120 v fans to exhaust the canopy. I am in need of a temperature sensing device that will control the fans and turn them on and off at preset temperatures. anyone have an idea on equipment that will accomplish this and where to find. fans will be installed in top of canopy and sensing probe will be from top also.
 
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Woodstock

Woodstock

The Wand Geek was here. ;)
RS STAFF
The 2 4" fans in my Hamilton plug-n-play fixture are wired to come on/off when the MH turn on/off. I would MUCH prefer the fans to turn on when the PC's came on instead.

For additional cooling, I have my 6" sump fan plugged into the same timer as the MH. This really helps to keep the water temp down!
 
NaH2O

NaH2O

Contributing Member
jhnrb - I'm looking at getting a controller to do the same on the fans in my sump (among other things). Fortunately for me, Premium Aquatics is my LFS, and they sell these affordable controllers. Take a peek at it....here's the description for additional temperature control: (Neptune Aquacontroller Jr)

Additionally, the AquaController Jr has many more features for temperature control. For example, if the temperature of the tank exceeds a preset value, the AquaController Jr can turn on a fan to cool the tank. If the temperature rises higher, an additional fan or chiller can be enabled. If the temperature rises even higher, lights can be shut off. There is really no limit to the number of ways that the AquaController Jr can control the temperature.
Click to expand...

Hope it helps!
 
J

jhnrb

Active Member
Thanks all for your imput. after considering the reefkeeper which is very affordatble, i decided to go with the Neptune aquacontroller jr. and 3 DC4 for direct wire. the cost is considerably more but the additional features made the cost acceptable and the reef keeper limited to 8 outlets where the aquacontroller jr is 12.
 
NaH2O

NaH2O

Contributing Member
Keep us posted on what you think of it. I'll be picking one up for myself very soon.
 
J

jhnrb

Active Member
I recommend to go with the direct wire. you can go with the x10 moduals and do wireless but the possibility exists for interference. i used the standard dc4 since i am using max. 250 w mh but recommend the heavy duty dc4's. about 40 dollars more each than the standards and a must for ice cap ballast or 400 w mh. hope this helps
 
J

jhnrb

Active Member
well Ive had a chance to read the literature on the aquacontroller jr. very impressive. will control lights as a timmer, will control fans based on temp probe, will shut down lights etc at predetermined temp and turn back on. will simulate winter and summer light periods once set up automatically. im just really impressed. will be one of the best purchaces i have made.
 
J

jhnrb

Active Member
I paid appx. 165.00 for the controller and 150.oo each for the three dc4 rated 10 amps total ( not recommended for the ice cap 400 watt balasts) for a total of some 680 dollars or little less. there is also a dc4 rated at 15 amps for about 190.oo each which will handle the start up surge of the bigger halides. i bought mine direct from neptune. since a temperture controller is about 130 dollars for the equipemnt shed exhaust fan, i may purchase another controller for out in the equipenment shed havent decided yet.
 
sandman3467

sandman3467

Member
I just now noticed this thread........jhnrb...if i'd of seen this when you first posted it I could of told you how to diy a computer fan controller for use in your setup for alot less than 680 bucks.Maybe i'll get off my duff and post it in the diy thread.
 
Woodstock

Woodstock

The Wand Geek was here. ;)
RS STAFF
sandman3467 said:
I just now noticed this thread........jhnrb...if i'd of seen this when you first posted it I could of told you how to diy a computer fan controller for use in your setup for alot less than 680 bucks.Maybe i'll get off my duff and post it in the diy thread.
Click to expand...

Please do Sandman! :)
 
J

jhnrb

Active Member
I would very much like to see the diy also, however, the controller i purchased will be running some equipment as a timmer, and some equipemnt based on canopy temperature, and will controll all lighting, fans, and automatically adjust the length of the lighting day throughout the year once needed data is programed in. will also turn off lights as programed based on canopy temperature and keep them off in order of program for amount of time designated. anyway. i want to do multible tasking with this controller and found the aqua jr. gave me the capability to do that. now the controller is only 3" x 5" x 1". not very big and does not take up space to speak of. will post pics when all is connected. since i still need to decide on how to control the equipment in the equipement shed, I would very much like to see the diy as i will have a lot more going on there and have need to activate based on time, temp, and humidity. thanks to all for the comments and feedback.
 
Cougra

Cougra

Well-Known Member
jhnrb said:
I would very much like to see the diy also, however, the controller i purchased will be running some equipment as a timmer, and some equipemnt based on canopy temperature, and will controll all lighting, fans, and automatically adjust the length of the lighting day throughout the year once needed data is programed in.
Click to expand...
Why are you changing the lighting schedule throughout the year?
In the tropical regions the daylight schedule stays pretty much the same at 12 hours day and 12 hours night. In the north we experience a lot of variation in day/night schedules because of the curvature of the earth, and the way the earth moves around the sun but at the equator and tropical regions this doesn't occur anywhere near the degree that we see between summer and winter.
 
J

jhnrb

Active Member
the answer is in your question "PRETTY MUCH". the time differential is based on programed input. so i suspect the shift is very small but enough to affect the corals, the controller also will control a moon light system so with all things connected, total light control is possible for timming and temp control. hope this answers your question. all comments are welcomed. thanks sandman will be looking for the post :)
 
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