DIY Canopy fans (final pics)

[RLG2182]

Hey guys! This time I didn't do a full write up merely because of the thousands of canopy types and configurations. However, hopefully these few pics will show how mine are situated and the end result on how they look.









I used (4) 80mm fans purchased from www.compusa.com for $2.80 each. The power supply I had from an old router that no longer works. The screen is just regular fiberglass window screen, and the fan guards go for about $.99 each. Whole project took a saturday morning, and cost about $20 total. I used a drill, jigsaw, and electrical equipment (soldering iron, solder, wire, heat shrink). Each fan is 0.14A, and my power supply is 1A. This means that I'm only using half (0.56A) of the 12V [acronym:0cf2dfc1fb="Activated Carbon"]AC[/acronym:0cf2dfc1fb]/[acronym:0cf2dfc1fb="Direct current"]DC[/acronym:0cf2dfc1fb] adaptor's power... which is what you want. Don't trust an adaptor to push 100% of the mA it's rated for. (1000mA = 1A).

Just wire all of the (+) wires to the (+) and the (-) to the (-) and you're done! The red is usually the positve, and black negative. On most power supplies, the wire that has ridges is usually positive, although some may be different. Just make sure that if you staple the wires to the wood with a staple gun, don't let the staples go so deep that they break the sheathing of the wires. Since [acronym:0cf2dfc1fb="Power compact fluorescent"]PC[/acronym:0cf2dfc1fb] fan wires are so thin, this is very easy to do. What will happen is that the staple will bridge both the positive and negative wire together, creating a short. So if you do decide to staple them into the canopy, do so lightly.

Lastly, test the fans out before you screw them in to see which direction they flow. Have one side blow in, the other side blow out. If you take a look at this pic:



This is how my final wiring config. is setup as. There are 4 outlets plugged together that are perm on. The other 3 are controlled by the digital wall timer. My canopy fans are programmed to come on along with the [acronym:0cf2dfc1fb="Power compact fluorescent"]PC[/acronym:0cf2dfc1fb] lights, and so is the 10" fan that blows across my sump. The [acronym:0cf2dfc1fb="Do it yourself"]DIY[/acronym:0cf2dfc1fb] moonlights stay on 24/7, along with my two PHs and pumps. I'll be happy to answer any questions you may have to wiring this all up, or installing into your specific canopy.

[mentallylost]

Thanks for the write up. I have been considering how to do the wiring for my tanks. The power strips are just not cutting it anymore. This helps quite a bit.

[madchild24]

were do u get tejh little white cells at the bottom of the hood?

[RLG2182]

Those were purchased in Home Depot's lighting center. Ask to see "eggcrate" for around $5-6. About 4x2 feet pieces. They're AWESOME to put on top instead of glass... better gas exchange, cooler, and keeps critters from jumping out.

I cut mine with wire snips... for some reason, scissors break the pieces off. I tried a jigsaw, but that's too time consuming. Lo and behold... wire snips.

[oscarbreeder]

Very nice canopy and you did a great job.

[krap101]

well when i went to menards they didnt know what eggcrate was. i tried explaining what it was to them but they didnt know. finally we went to the lighting section and i saw it on one of the displays lol. it took pretty long though