We now bring this popular product from our lineup to Amazon. This aquarium cooling kit has been very popular with other customers and we are pleased to offer it via Amazon and Amazon Prime.
This product is most appropriate for do-it-yourself installers. There are almost unlimited combinations of aquarium configurations, and this fan kit is flexible to be used with most if not all of them. however, it is not “plug and play” and requires some planning and preparation to install it correctly. Included : 4 fans chosen for a good balance between power and noise, 4 fan grills to protect fingers, wiring, wire ties, screws, a 110vac UL listed wall power supply, and an instruction sheet.
This is a nice little kit. I bought it to put over my aquarium to cool the lights. I am using lighting that is not standard for an aquarium – two 5100K, 32-watt twist compact fluorescents designed for regular household fixtures (medium “Edison” bases), each enclosed in a reflector. Although the reflectors are designed for the bulbs I’m using and are not “fully” enclosed, which the manufacturer recommends against, too much heat is building up anyway, to the point where the plastic is melting a little around where the glass tube meets the ballast/base. I installed three of these little fans above the reflectors. They are keeping the reflectors significantly cooler. I have them plugged into the light timer so they come on when the lights come on. It remains to be seen whether the heat inside the reflectors will be reduced enough to prevent melting. I’ll have to wait and see after my new set of bulbs come in.
These fans are really tiny (about 3-3/8 in. square), which may or may not be a plus, depending on your use. The grills I received were not metal as shown in the product photo, they are plastic, which is okay with me, given that there is potential for them to be exposed to some humidity. The wire coils that drive the fan mechanism are nearly fully enclosed, which is a plus. I found that omitting the foam insert provided for the grills makes a significant difference in the air flow.
One might wish for the option to buy an extra power supply and extra grills. For my installation, I need grills on both sides of each fan. The grills are 2-part, and the instructions seem to indicate that both parts should be used on the same side of the fan. I believe the purpose of this is to facilitate the use of the thin sheets of air-filtering foam that are provided for sandwiching between the grill parts. However, I discovered that one can just screw on the inner part on one side, and rather than snapping the outer part on the same side, snap the outer part directly onto the fan itself on the other side, although the fit will not be terribly secure. Since I’d already screwed four inner grill parts onto two fans, I ended up using two outer parts for grills on a third fan. I have one fan left that I could make use of elsewhere with more grills and another power supply, which is why I say buying two kits may give you more options, but unless you really need all four fans for every installation, you will always end up with spare fans.
Once you get everything hooked up, unless you have the fans installed in an enclosure that fully hides all the wiring, all the plugs, wires and excess AC adapter cord hanging out there is not terribly attractive. So a trip to Radio Shack yielded a solution, in the form of a black project box for under $4 to stuff the plugs and excess wiring into – after a little modification with a dremel.
I recently moved my livestock from a 30 gallon open tank to a 75 gallon tank with a custom built stand and canopy. Having used T-5′s in the past, I was not ready for the massive amount of heat that is generated using metal halides. However, it didn’t take long for me to find out just how much heat IS generated using 500 watts of 20 K light on a closed system. Fortunately, I turned to ebay and found this great product. Within a few days, my kit arrived, and just in time. Easy to assemble, and with enough fans to build an effective breeze to cool my tank, this kit has been a lifesaver. Since I have added it to my canopy, I have kept the temperature of my water at a steady 78 degrees. I used two fans to blow cool air in, and two fans on the opposite side to blow warm out, and was able to do so with few problems. For the price, this is a great kit, giving the owner the ability to do whatever is necessary without a problem, and the bonus of having a few extra pieces that I didn’t need. A great deal delivered in a timely fashion makes this kit a definite hit. I will be sure to look for this merchant in the future. Many thanks.
This is a great little kit, custom designed for aquarium systems. The fans are very quiet, and it’s well thought out. It’s nice that you can use up to four fans, but don’t have to use them all. I am only using one of the fans currently. My only criticism is that the wires connecting the four fans are not long enough, so it isn’t as adaptable as it could be, because you can only space your fans about 9 inches apart from each other.