# pc fan in terrarium?



## rgfx (Jun 10, 2005)

Has anyone used a fan in their terrarium?

I've been having problems with mould and condensation on my avic tank, so today i rigged up a 12v pc case fan to a wall-wart transformerand put it inside my terrarium. it is not attached or shielded as yet, so i'm keeping an eye on the spider! its been goin for about 2 hours now, set to 6v so its quite a gentle breeze , and has cleared all the condensation without dropping the humidity, (in fact its raised it by 1%) also it is cooling the back wall where the heatmat is and raising air temp.
The spider does not seem bothered by it, but does anyone think it might be upset by vibration, wind etc. 
Will this dehydrate the spider to much? I would'nt've thought so if humidity stays around 80% and water is available...
Also this fan is one of those one with blue leds in it, can spiders see blue light?

Please let me know if anyone has tried it, I know its a bit OTT for most people especially those with big collections, but it does look pretty cool, and good air movement must be a good thing? right???

cheers, matt


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## Jmadson13 (Jun 10, 2005)

I wouldn't use one just because of the stress factor. I'd just try to ventilate the cage very well via screen top or drilled holes. Sometimes just doing a little at a time seems to be correct in establishing good air flow and a consistent moisture gradient


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## Darryl Albers (Jun 10, 2005)

I would say , the vibrations would be potentially confusing or annoying , as well as an injury waiting  to happen if not covered correctly . i open a window and allow a breeze to blow through the room every night . get your amount of ventilation correct , more is better in this case as a fail safe !!! 


then when i feed i will often leave the lids off for sa few minutes to allow even more circulation.


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## rgfx (Jun 10, 2005)

I can only drill holes in the lid, and as a previous reply said, I am adding more to get the right balance, but it doesn't seem to allow good airflow.

I was only gonna use the fan this one time to get rid of the condensation, but cos it looked so cool, and worked so well, it got me thinking...
I wasn't going to leave it on all the time, but maybe on a timeswitch to come on for maybe 20 mins at dawn and dusk, to remove stale air in the corners of the tank. Also if i'm away for a few days it could be handy.

Cos the fan is runnin at half or quarter voltage (switchable transformer) it is silent & has hardly any vibration. (I know Ts are a lot more sensitive than us, and yes, obviously it needs to be well screened, to stop investigative limbs getting chopped!)

Actually, playing music in a T room could piss em off too! I'm sure my one has started drummin in response to music before!


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## Nerri1029 (Jun 10, 2005)

Darryl Albers said:
			
		

> I would say , the vibrations would be potentially confusing or annoying , as well as an injury waiting  to happen if not covered correctly . i open a window and allow a breeze to blow through the room every night . get your amount of ventilation correct , more is better in this case as a fail safe !!!
> 
> 
> then when i feed i will often leave the lids off for sa few minutes to allow even more circulation.


Well I suppose that's all fine.. if the air outside is appropriate for T's:
 - temperature ( or change in )
 - humidity
 - other contaminants
 - or simply NO outside windows ( my situation )


Here's MY advice if any of the above are the case.. as with me..

make a super enclosure.. ( boxed in shelving )if you want to use the fan then you can move air by your T enclosure without attaching the fan directly to the T's enclosure just make certain there are PLENTY of ventilation holes 

I use a boxed in enclosure for my T's as heat is an issue where I am.
Cold and super dry in the winter.. 
also too cold in the summer as the central air keeps some rooms at 67*F


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## PINK1081 (Jun 10, 2005)

If moving the air a couple times a day helps the mold problem, I don't see the harm.  I set up one of those fans in my artificial t-mom and they are very quite with no vibration.  I would think the normal home appliances would cause more vibration than those little fans.  JMHO


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## greenfiremajick (Jun 10, 2005)

Is there any poss that the T could jump into the blades?  i'd b paranoid bout that......




			
				rgfx said:
			
		

> Has anyone used a fan in their terrarium?
> 
> I've been having problems with mould and condensation on my avic tank, so today i rigged up a 12v pc case fan to a wall-wart transformerand put it inside my terrarium. it is not attached or shielded as yet, so i'm keeping an eye on the spider! its been goin for about 2 hours now, set to 6v so its quite a gentle breeze , and has cleared all the condensation without dropping the humidity, (in fact its raised it by 1%) also it is cooling the back wall where the heatmat is and raising air temp.
> The spider does not seem bothered by it, but does anyone think it might be upset by vibration, wind etc.
> ...


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## brachymad (Jun 11, 2005)

rgfx said:
			
		

> I can only drill holes in the lid, and as a previous reply said, I am adding more to get the right balance, but it doesn't seem to allow good airflow.
> 
> I was only gonna use the fan this one time to get rid of the condensation, but cos it looked so cool, and worked so well, it got me thinking...
> I wasn't going to leave it on all the time, but maybe on a timeswitch to come on for maybe 20 mins at dawn and dusk, to remove stale air in the corners of the tank. Also if i'm away for a few days it could be handy.
> ...



If you take a look on some of the reptile sites at some of the equipment available you will find timers ,fans and thermostats that turn on over a certain temperature to let a fan keep the heat below a set limit. I have never used one as we dont get that many hot days in the UK or humid ones  . Also the room where all my T,s are has air con so I have to heat the T's all the time even in summer. May be worth checking out though as there may be a switch that could turn on if the humidity in your tank gets too high.


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## rgfx (Jun 11, 2005)

*humidity*

by mounting the fan inside the tank, it doesn't change the humidity, as its just movin the same air around, (to get fresh air in you'd obviously have to mount it on top, blowin in) but it does even out the temp. 
This morning my tank had a lot of condensation, and an hour with the fan cleared it all up. I'm now gonna see how long it takes to get misted up again.
I suspect it will be in the early hours again, if so I'll prob'ly plug the fan into one of those socket timers, set to come on between 3-4 a.m. at 3v (very gentle).  I'll put it at the bottom of the tank, under all the branches where the T never goes and  I don't think it will do any harm. I'm sure the T will appreciate it, and it is probably a lot more healthy, after all, every page on avic care says they need good airflow.
Will let you know what happens.

PS here it brighton its 60% humidity at the mo, thats pretty humid.


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## BlkCat (Jun 11, 2005)

I was always told that a vent blowing on a Ts 's cage will kill it. I found out the hard way when i moved my B. smithi's cage to the top of the dresser in my room. She stopped eating and crawled in the corner and died. i had no idea why at first. She was in premolt, so i paid no attention to why she wasnt eating. When she died, i was up there trying to figure out why. The air conditioning came on and i felt the air blowing near her cage. I felt so stupid. i should have cked the place thouroughly before placing her there. Hind sight is 20/20. 
Here is a thread about the air blowing on thier Ts cage. 
http://www.arachnoboards.com/ab/showthread.php?t=41758&page=1&pp=15


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## brachymad (Jun 11, 2005)

If you think about it logicaly by placing glass walls around your T you are cutting the air flow off . If you were to place a ventilation fan in the lid to draw air gently ( note the word gently) out of the tank . It would be replaced with air from outside thus giving ventilation . This would have the effect of reducing the humidity. A thing you would have to keep an eye on and adjust by adding more moisture. From what I understand avics thrive with good ventilation and high humidity. Of course that wouldnt mean keeping them in a mini wind tunnel. 
What I do find strange is when you see pics of peoples setups with loads of holes and then all lined up on a shelve close together. It is of little use letting air into a container if you are going to block the air flow with another container.


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## rgfx (Jun 11, 2005)

*airCon*

Air con is very dry as well as cold, Ts need extra humidity when moulting.

I'll say it again, if the fan is INSIDE the cage, then it does not lower humidity, or temp, so it is NOT like putting the tank in front of a window or aircon vent.

The fan helps to maintain humidity if you think about it, cos it's stopping the water from condensing on the glass. 
where you need to pay attention is that yer gonna lose more humidity every time you pop the lid, cos all that humid air will go billowing out.
I'm using dry substrate with my avic and just a water dish to keep up the humidity. but as I have a digital hygrometer (my exo-terra dial never worked and led to me over-watering my tank) its easy to keep an eye on it.


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## WNY_Tarantulas (Jun 12, 2005)

Why not just mount it on the outside of the lid?


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## rgfx (Jul 8, 2005)

*Update....*

okay, been using the fan to get rid of condensation, for about an hour, a coupla times a day, for a few weeks now and it has been a real success.
The T does not seem bothered by the fan at all, in fact he comes out for a wander round usually within a few minutes of me switching it on. sometimes he sits where the breeze is strongest. (I only use 3-6v so it is v.slow)

NOTE: the T definitely drinks more when the fan is used, so it must dehydrate them more rapidly.

I have the fan mounted from the lid so it is hanging in space, to minimise vibration. An 80mm pc fan is a bit too big, so when my avic gets a bigger tank  (he's just moulted and seems to have grown about 30mm)  i'm gonna put a 40mm graphics card type fan in it and leave it on all the time at about 6v.
This v.gentle air movement should control mould/condensation and keep mr avic healthy.


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