A Reef Tank in the Desert - +/- 1,400 gallon system

danfeig said:
Yes, my Apex did give me a warning when the temperature hit 80 degrees. It also shut off the T-5's above my QT's and Seahorse tank. I do have to change some pumps in my sump. I am running 4-5 mag-drives for my skimmer, UV's, rock tanks, etc. I need to either plumb another dart or switch out to some more economical (less heat producing) pumps.
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I am surprised that someone has not come up with a radiator for a tank yet. Nothing fancy. Just fins on pipe. And if need be make it a closed loop. Yeah A chiller... but without the chiller part.
 
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worm5406 said:
I am surprised that someone has not come up with a radiator for a tank yet. Nothing fancy. Just fins on pipe. And if need be make it a closed loop. Yeah A chiller... but without the chiller part.
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I have seen some large heat exchangers on commercial sized systems. However, they move so much air they are not quiet. And even here in So Cal it produced an incredible amount of humidity inside a warehouse.

Dave B
 
Yeah but even if you ran it through your domestic COLD water, instead of air.

IDK might be too much of a drastic change in temp too.
 
The problem you run into is most of the materials that can handle saltwater do not conduct heat while the materials that do a good job transferring heat (metals) do not tolerate saltwater well. The exceptions like titanium are costly. So you run into a brick wall which doesn't transfer heat and hurts like !@#$$^$%^ when you hit it.

Of course a quick way to deal with it would be a copper coil inside a plastic baggie in the sump. You could run cold water and the plastic bag would allow some heat transfer and protection from the salt.

Joe
 
I hate to state it but some obnoxious reefers here on RC have suggested that it might be time to move "The Reef Tank Out of the Desert"!! I, however, vote to back up your chiller and/or your home AC. Best wishes from Nashville and I hope you have zero losses.
 
danfeig said:
This does kinda **** me off...

Instead of purchasing a new A/C unit for the Fish Room, I could of had a nice Gem Tang....:sad2:
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Is this fish listed under CITES? You could probably fly to South Africa, catch a half dozen of them, and fly back for around the same price as one :D
 
Osteoclast said:
I hate to state it but some obnoxious reefers here on RC have suggested that it might be time to move "The Reef Tank Out of the Desert"!!
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I suppose these 'successful' and 'experienced' reefers live somewhere along the tropical coastline where they pump in NSW and the weather is 78.6 everyday of the year.

This may be a huge hobby, but the number of people who make the investment to insure the safety and longevity of their fish to the degree Dan does/has is a mere handful.

'obnoxious' is not the adjective I would have used.

Dave B
 
worm5406 said:
I am surprised that someone has not come up with a radiator for a tank yet. Nothing fancy. Just fins on pipe. And if need be make it a closed loop. Yeah A chiller... but without the chiller part.
Click to expand...

o2manyfish said:
I have seen some large heat exchangers on commercial sized systems. However, they move so much air they are not quiet. And even here in So Cal it produced an incredible amount of humidity inside a warehouse.

Dave B
Click to expand...


Made2Rock said:
The problem you run into is most of the materials that can handle saltwater do not conduct heat while the materials that do a good job transferring heat (metals) do not tolerate saltwater well. The exceptions like titanium are costly. So you run into a brick wall which doesn't transfer heat and hurts like !@#$$^$%^ when you hit it.

Of course a quick way to deal with it would be a copper coil inside a plastic baggie in the sump. You could run cold water and the plastic bag would allow some heat transfer and protection from the salt.

Joe
Click to expand...

It would be nice to have a different type of backup/radiator/chiller, etc. I screwed up before and have learned from my lesson. I tried to save money by getting a new, albeit cheaper A/C, by purchasing it in Mexico. I should have stuck with a GE or Mitsubishi in the first place. Especially when you consider the cost of my investment.

The damage wasn't bad, I believe I lost just one fish - although one fish too many. A Blonde Naso in my QT.

I am going to look for a used couple horse power chiller that can be hooked up outside as a backup. My new A/C is working well and has cooled down everything. A chiller can be set up to only turn on if the tank hits 79 or 80 degrees. I can also have it set to notify me via my Apex.
 
Osteoclast said:
I hate to state it but some obnoxious reefers here on RC have suggested that it might be time to move "The Reef Tank Out of the Desert"!! I, however, vote to back up your chiller and/or your home AC. Best wishes from Nashville and I hope you have zero losses.
Click to expand...

They are absolutely nuts! I have one little issue with an A/C and some think a Reef Tank doesn't belong in a warm climate? How about all of the areas that have hurricanes, major floods or earthquakes? Accidents happen. You learn from your mistakes. You take precautions. You set up backups to assist you in the event similar crisis occur.

I'd love to have these "obnoxious reefers here on RC" bring the issue up to me themselves. As my 14 year old will say, "I am sure they aren't the sharpest tools in the shed."
 
Well stated Dan, your attention to detail is second to none. I doubt that many of us could have reacted as quickly as you have. Keep up the strong efforts you are TOTM in my view!
 
sfsuphysics said:
Is this fish listed under CITES? You could probably fly to South Africa, catch a half dozen of them, and fly back for around the same price as one :D
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One of my wifes best friends lives in Johannesburg, South Africa and she has been bugging us to come visit for years. The problem is that we hate the cold! Our summers are their winters.

Not a bad thought though.
 
o2manyfish said:
I suppose these 'successful' and 'experienced' reefers live somewhere along the tropical coastline where they pump in NSW and the weather is 78.6 everyday of the year.

This may be a huge hobby, but the number of people who make the investment to insure the safety and longevity of their fish to the degree Dan does/has is a mere handful.

'obnoxious' is not the adjective I would have used.

Dave B
Click to expand...

I love it when you get Nasty Dave! I see you didn't respond to my "Baby Room" post on your build thread. I suppose you didn't even show it to the Chiquita!
 
Fish Room Update

Fish Room Update

I am freezing my butt off in there!

I am trying to get the right temperature set. This morning at 3:20 my phone woke me up as I received a text message from my Apex unit indicating my temperature dropped below 75 degrees. I think it got down to 74.1. So all day today, I have been slowly raising the temperature of the room A/C. The tank temperature as I write this is now 76 degrees.

The new unit is working fantastic!
 
Glad to hear you got that fish room nice and cool, I love reading your thread once a week to catch up on everything. That slice of ocean is looking amazing. Can't wait for some more fish room pics!
 
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