another update,
with summer coming our way i decided that i should help out my tiny little chiller and take some load off the thing. So i decided to make a DIY fan using 120mm fans(as they are usually less noisy), i looked around for parts which pushed high CFM (how much flow it pushes) with low dBA values (noise level). I ran across the GELID Silent 12TC fan, it has a temperature probe which allows the fan to either crank up in RPM or down, depending on the heat level. 750RPM at 22C and 1500RPM at 42C, these things have a 58CFM rating with a 12-25.5dBA noise level! So away i went and bought 2 of them.
I have mine running on 9V AC-> DC power supply and i cant hear anything, and it STILL pushes alot of air, i cant imagine how much air it would push if i had it running on a 12V PS.
After i got my hands on these fans i decided to make a casing for it so that it doesnt fall into my tank and kill everything, i came up with something simple which works for me to help move some air across my tank, having the heated air move away before hitting the surface of the tank it helps in cooling but not via evaportaion although there is still some as the fan gets pretty wide angles. None the less after i attached the fan i havent hear my chiller turn on yet, and it usually turns on 2-3x within an hour or so and its held my temperture at 79.5F for 3 hours now.
Heres a video showing how much air im getting across the 3ft tank, as you can tell im using toilet paper as the way of showing air movement (i couldnt think of anything else
) but i think you guys can see how much air is being moved by this fan driven at 3/4 of the spec voltage. The video seemed to have picked up my tunze 6055 ramping up and down in speed, but in real life you barely hear it!, weird haha
total cost:
GELID Silent 12TC fan: $8.99
im using an old powersupply, but a new one would probably be $10-20
acrylic total cost would be roughly: $5
==================
cost: $24-34