(upbeat music)
- Hey, it's Thomas here.
And today we're gonna take a look
at GHL's PropellerBreeze cooling fans.
If your reef is getting a few degrees too warm
and a bulky and costly refrigerant chiller
isn't something you wanna get into,
and you'd rather harness sleek
and affordable evaporative cooling
to keep your reef tank temps from getting too high,
then at checkout GHL's PropellerBreeze cooling fans.
Our reef tanks can get too warm for a number of reasons,
whether it's heat from the lighting,
cumulative heat from pumps and equipment,
summertime temperatures heating up your home
or even someone cranking up the thermostat in the winter.
Having a way to keep the tank cool
when things are getting heated is critical to coral health.
Traditionally reefers have used refrigerant
based aquarium chillers to keep water from getting too warm,
but they are pretty expensive
as far as reefing gear goes, they're bulky,
they require plumbing and a pump
and they're pretty hard on the electric bill.
They definitely have their place, especially
if you need to cool your tank five degrees or more
but for most reefers, they're just overkill.
Many reefers nowadays are taking advantage
of evaporative cooling to drop their tank temp
by a few degrees by moving air across the surface
of the water, you increase the amount of evaporation
and as the water evaporates latent heat is removed along
with it, creating a cooling effect on the aquarium.
I've been doing this for over a decade
and I've even used just some cheapo department store
clip on fans to get the job done.
Thankfully though there are some really slick options
that work and look a heck of a lot better,
and they're safer since they're actually made
to be used over a reef tank.
Hindsight is 2020.
I was working with what I had available at the time
but now there's this.
GHL's PropellerBreeze line of aquarium cooling fans
provide a great amount of air flow
using two, three, four, five, or even six
85 millimeter brushless fans to help reduce the temperature
of your aquarium by a few degrees,
and does it quietly while also looking great.
They have slim, lightweight, coated metal housings
with reef safe plastic mounts that hold firm
with thick nylon screws and pivot
so you can direct the air flow towards the water as needed.
They can even be ramped up and down through 0 to 10 volt
but I'll talk more
about how we can use them to automatically cool
your tank by a few degrees when needed,
right now let's get it out of the box.
In the box you'll find the GHL PropellerBreeze cooling fan
and the power supply with an assortment of prongs.
The PropellerBreeze are ready to go right
out of the box and the clamps mount nicely onto panels
right around three quarters of an inch thick.
Speaking of thick,
the nylon screws used in the mounts are robust
and provide plenty of support.
Once you've clamped it onto your tank,
you can plug it in and hit that inline switch
to get the fan spinning.
There are five models available,
all of which use the 85 millimeter brushless fans
that put out around 35 CFM of air flow each.
You can choose between two, three, four, five
and six fans with the housing ranging
from just over seven inches, all the up to just
under 22 inches in length, making them a suitable option
for tiny nano reefs up to larger reef systems.
I've got to say having used those bulkier clip on fans
in the past these are so much better, not only aesthetically
but also because GHL's build quality is fantastic.
These are clearly designed to last sitting
in close proximity to saltwater.
The 85 millimeter fans also do a much better job
of directing that air flow across the surface of the water
especially when paired with the pivoting clamps.
And not to mention that they are also much quieter.
Fans being quiet is going to be important for most reefers
and GHL did a good job finding the right fans
for this purpose.
With that said, if you have an otherwise silent reef
aquarium you'll likely hear the fans
if you're near the tank and they turn on,
but by comparison to similar PC style fans out there
they are very quiet.
When it comes to control,
there are a few different options
for having these fans come on only when needed,
and one of those options can reduce any fan noise,
even further.
If you're combating heat from your lighting,
you can use a simple timer to turn the fans off
and on with your lighting schedule.
Personally though, I like to use a temperature controller
or aquarium controller like an apex
to turn the fans on and off if my tank begins to exceed
the optimal temperature range,
this way, the fans work as a redundancy for any
of the common reasons your tank temperature
might get too high and turn on automatically
to cool the tank and prevent dangerous temperature spikes.
For example, if I like to keep my tank at 78 degrees,
I can set my heater to 78
and then the fans to come on at 79.5.
And if the tank for any reason starts to get over 79.5
the fans will come on and begin cooling the tank.
You'll wanna have that small one and a half to two degree
gap just to make sure that your heater
and your fans don't end up competing with each other.
GHL also makes a 0 to 10 volt controller
for the PropellerBreeze that will allow them to
be controlled proportionally,
meaning they can turn on at lower speeds and ramp up
and down as necessary to maintain the tank temperature
and help provide a tighter temp range.
So if you have a GHL ProfiLux, that is a great option.
Your tank temperature is one
of the easiest things to get right,
but it's also one of the most common points of failure
on a reef tank, and one of the most common reasons
people end up with tank crushes.
So if you wanna see all of the different things that go
into maintaining your aquarium temperature,
beyond just a heater or a chiller,
you can check out this video right here
where Ryan goes on a deep dive during the 52 weeks
of reefing on how to maintain your tank's temperature
and all of the inner workings of it.
And by the end of that video
you'll see exactly what they used on the BRS 160
and why and how it's helped keep the tank, you know,
safe, because I don't know if you've seen the tank lately,
that's looking pretty gorgeous.
So check it out.
(upbeat music)