Fan Placement?

[Becca]

Thanks Sarah! I was thinking of ordering three of the 4", one for my Exo-Terra just about the same size as yours, and replacing the 3 1/8" fan, or I was thinking of just adding an additional 3 1/8" fan at the bottom below the flooring where I would have plenty of room. Then I was thinking of adding two of the 4" fans to my larger orchidarium....jeesh...so that is like 4 fans I would need to get just to be on the safe side!

One other question, where and how did you mount yours in your Exo-Terra? I have mine mounted at the top hanging down from a piece of acrylic glass I added.

[caseydoll]

Becca, I think those fans will do great for you! Yeah, it's a lot of fans to get but it's better to be safe. I was just thinking of getting another one just in case! You never know when an emergency will arise. In my Exo Terra I just have the fan sitting on the bottom grating (I have prima agra at the very bottom and egg crate on pvc above it). I have never fully decided how I was going to mount it somewhere so I just plopped it there. But it seems to work fine but I'm sure it blows some of the humidity out. Maybe someday I will figure out something better.

[Becca]

You have prime agra at the bottom? How well does that work as far as needing to clean it from water getting yucky? You will have to let me know, because the second you tell me you don't have to clean it, I have a ton of extra prime aga left over (imagine that) and you know what I will be doing with it...lol. My exo-terra humidity is around 60-70% during the day and gets in the 90%'s at night so I end of having to crack the doors open because I don't want mold or bacterial problems and the one small fan isn't enough to cut it at night I guess....opening the doors at night brings down the humidity to around 40% at night, a little lower then I would like, so this is why I would like to try additional fans or a different fan. Off to go fan shopping!

[caseydoll]

Becca, I don't really keep water in the bottom except when the humidity drops too low. Usually during the day it's at about 60-65% and at night it's at 70-80%. I mist my mount's every morning and I have a Swampstick in there and that actually seems to boost the humidity too. When it dips too low I pour some water over the prime agra but not so much that's it's always sitting in water. It kind of sucks it up. So far no yuckiness but probably because I don't always have it wet. I also soaked the prime agra in physan for the final soak to hopefully prevent any algae. And sometimes the water i pour in bottom has some physan in it to freshen things up. I would really like the humidity to be higher but so far it's ok I guess.

[CoolPhrog]

Originally Posted by Ross

Yeah, that looks a bit small. I wouldn't worry about a fan running directly against the pots, but some orchids are sensitive. Others not. I have a 3.25 DC fan running 24/7 onto brassias and paphs and they seem to like it. I have had to move a lot of Angraecoids around to get them out of the breeze when in spike. Rest of time the direct breeze is ok. Try this fan if you want a cheap, larger DC fan Coralife Aqualight 3 1/8 Cooling Fan Kit It's $15 for everything, including power supply.

Thanx Ross! I bought one for my viv this morning! I'm sure just the one 3.25 will be plenty for my setup...we'll see!

[Ross]

Originally Posted by irphrog

Thanx Ross! I bought one for my viv this morning! I'm sure just the one 3.25 will be plenty for my setup...we'll see!

I totally agree. That's what I use and my tank is 36" long, 20" wide and 32" high. I took off the filter on the back and the wire grid on front and installed it bare. Seems to work just fine and can't hear it running.

[RaN]

Here is another good source for fans. Basically all computer fans wired up to power sources. Best thing with this site is the shipping prices:

BUYEXTRAS.COM

I just bought bare fans and wired one of them up to an old phone charger. Works fine, but could use a little more power for a bigger set up.