T-5 with fan

[thefishy]

I have 4x54W light on my tank. It has a fan you know that blows out hot air.. Now I cannot for the life of me get the timer to turn on the fan same time as lights. If the fan for the lights does not turn on till 10-25 mins after the lights is that ok? Seems it is time to convince the wife I NEED a acjr or reefkeeper2 lol=)

 

[nordy]

My T-5 light fixture (nova extreme pro) has two circuits on it, one for the actinics and one for the 10K, and in each of them the fan and the lights come on at the same time (I have a separate external timer for each circuit). Did the fan previously come on at the same time as the lights? if this is a change then something is messed up. If it always has operated like this, then there may be a thermal limiter that has to warm up before it closes and energizes the fan. Even 10 minutes sounds like a long time for something like this to happen as the lights do put out a fair amount of heat.
John

 

[thefishy]

I have the nova extreme if I remember correctly. The fan is just a plug. My ghetto timer is messing up. So is that ok or no way fix it right away type thing.

 

[wangotango]

If the fan is part of the fixture (built-in) then it should come on when the bulbs do. If you have multiple ballasts then the fan might come on with a certain set.
Goofy wiring?
-Justin

 

[thefishy]

The way it is set up is the fan is built in the fixture. The fan does not turn on and off. It will come on when you plug it in the wall and turn off when you unplug it. So I have my lights and my moonlights on a coralife digital timer. But have no room for the fan to plug in. So had to use a ghetto timer like the kind at home depot for the fan. But cannot set them both up to turn on at the same time and turn off at the same time. lol Anybody that has a nova extreme can you tell me the easy way to hook up the lights moonlights and the fan to a single timer? Is there any danger with the fan being off for 10-20mins when the lights are on?

 

[sickboy]

Since it is T5's I don't think it would matter that much if the fans are delayed. My T5 fixture doesn't put off that much heat, definitely not enough to adversely effect the water temp in 20 mins, and I would think the fixture could handle it.

 

[thefishy]

Thanks for the replys.. Yea im not too worried on temp but the fixture itself I was worried.. Nothing has happened yet but only been 2 days. Gonna go to lowes and see what I can find or just have to break down and buy a reefkeeper or something =))

 

[mr_x]

i don't think those fans are to help with water temperature. they are to help keep the fixture and bulbs cool. it lengthens the life of the bulbs when they run cooler.
as far as "ghetto" timers..what ones aren't the ghetto ones? the ones that are sold by coralife or some other aquatic retail company? they are the same product with their names on it.
i've used those household timers on my tanks for years without incident. the ones from home depot. i actually have a more expensive, digital, dual plug, heavy duty timer i bought for 40 bucks from home depot that i can't trust. a reefkeeper is going to turn on that fan the same way a home depot timer is. save your money.

 

[dsrich69]

Use a pig tail and plug your lights and fan into it then into your timer

 

[nordy]

If you feel comfortable doing this, the best thing might be to wire the lights and the fan together (soldering would be best, but twist connectors will also work) before the plug. The timer can handle the electrical load of both the light and the timer at the same time. I would be best to have the fan on at the same time as the light as Mr X said and will help keep the ballast and the lamps cool, resulting in a longer life for the lamps and the ballast.