A few months back we shared that the Tunze Aquawind fan is infact the same as the Spire Pacific Breeze (SP300-NEB) PC fan. This is no surprise given the USB power input to the Aquawind! Tunze (“toon-zah”) has openly admitted that the fan structure itself is the same and they don’t try to hide the Aquawind’s [...]
A few months back we shared that the Tunze Aquawind fan is infact the same as the Spire Pacific Breeze (SP300-NEB) PC fan. This is no surprise given the USB power input to the Aquawind! Tunze (“toon-zah”) has openly admitted that the fan structure itself is the same and they don’t try to hide the Aquawind’s heritage. Nor should they. The Spire Pacific Breeze is not a plug and play aquarium product. In contrast the Aquawind comes ready to use with an added aquarium mount, AC to USB power adapter and customer service.
That said, for the DIY savvy the Pacific Breeze is a logical choice for aquarium cooling. Their low profile design takes up less vertical height which can be valuable in canopies, under stands or in fish rooms. It is also easier on the eyes than a raw PC fan (we just suggest disabling the LEDs first…).
Richard, a long time GBD reader, put these two fans side by side and has shared with us the comparison photos. In operation the two fans are indistinguishable.
Out of the box the Spire fan lacks an AC adapter and bracket.
Look, twins. Spire fan on top, Tunze Aquawind on bottom.
The above and below photo show the Tunze mounting bracket used to attach the fan to the edge of the aquarium.
Not to be out done, the next two photos below show Richard’s bracket.
Hats off to Richard for his clean design.
An important missing link not shown here is the AC to USB adapter. These can be purchased from numerous electronics stores and e-tailers ($5-10). Tunze uses one from Lindy. Richard was able to purchase the same adapter straight from Lindy.
It is also worth noting that Spire has come out with a Spire Pacific Breeze II and large online shops like NewEgg no long cary the original version (SP300-NEB). We were able to find it at a few shops for as low as $13, making the Spire Breeze fan a cost effective solution for cooling your reef.
