are chillers worth it?

[scuba connor]

ok i have a 65 gal reef tank with lots of SPS and i am looking into buying a chiller, are they worth it? would i be beter of just puting a fan on the back of my sump?
the tank is in my bedroom so is the chiller going to be loud and somone else said the jenerate alot of heat and electricity them selves!!

here is the one i am looking to buy , tell me what you think

thank you,
connor

 

[scuba connor]

srry heres the link

http://www.petmountain.com/product/...prime-in-line-mini-chiller-1-10-hp-2635-.html

 

[HBtank]

I think they are not.

Use a fan, less money upfront, less work setting up and less electricity.

What is your temp and what seems to be adding heat?

 

[pledosophy]

Depends on many many things. If your tank gets to hot and all your corals bleach, ya I think it was worth it.

IME fans can do quite a bit. I used one of the those 6" personal fans from Target on my sump and was able to drop my tank temp on the 65g by 5 degrees F. JME

If you add some good exhaust fans then you can minimize the effects from the lights as well.

During hotter months running the lights for a shorter period and at night whent he house is cooler will help.

Worst case freezing bottles of tank water and putting them in our sump for the years hottest heat wave can work but is a PITA.

JME HTH

 

[HBtank]

Well yah, it might be a must if it comes to that.

I guess I should have said they should not be in a well set up system of that size. JMO

 

[rickh]

At some point you just have to bite the bullet and get a chiller. When I am gone for a weekend or even two weeks it's not difficult to find someone who will feed the fish, but if they have to mess with more than that you need to get a tank sitter. Two weeks of a LFS tank service can cost as much as a chiller.
You also have to consider the cost of increase AC usage without a chiller. I have seen beautiful fish rooms do thousands of dollars of structural damage to the house from high humidity. You can pay me now, or pay me later. R

 

[greenbean36191]

Chillers are definitely overused in the hobby, but some people truly need them. If your tank is chronically hot (above 86 or so) then you might really need one. If you just have an occasional overheating problem or just want the tank to stay a few degrees cooler then a fan should be all you need.I tend to see a lot of people using chillers to regulate their temp to within a degree or two or trying to keep their temps from occasionally hitting some completely normal temperature like 82-84. In those cases it's a lot of unjustified waste.

 

[Shnabbles]

Ya it really all depends on what your tank runs at. I would by all means try a fan on the sump first... I have my sump and fuge in the basement which naturally stays cooler so i shouldnt need to use a chiller... I also use T5 bulbs so they arent so damn hot.

 

[scuba connor]

well i run 2 175 watt 14k bulbs that sit about 6 to 7 inches off the tank and i have a fan that runs on them but during the summer the tank sometimes gose to 86 or 87 so i am constently shuting my lights off to lower the temp slowly , THATS WHY IM THINKING IF I GET THE CHILLER I WILL HAVE TOTALL CONTROL OVER MY sps TANK SO THEY HAVE TOTAL stability ( sorry i hit the caps lock on axcident )

 

[Snook65]

Down here in South Florida and running metal halide lights I just don't think you can cool your tank with just fans even with a central air conditioned house. At least not down in the 79-81 degree range.

 

[scuba connor]

yea today in NJ it was 100 dagrees i think im just ganna cringe my teath and get the chiller to get better stability,
by the way how are they on electricity if im running one for a 75 gal with a 1/10 HP. is the electric bill ganna go really high just cause of this or will it not be that bad?

 

[Roy G. Biv]

I have a 210 with 3 250w halides. I never needed anything more than a couple of fans on the sump. Vornado fans are awsome!!!

 

[Whisperer]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=10227501#post10227501 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by Snook65
Down here in South Florida and running metal halide lights I just don't think you can cool your tank with just fans even with a central air conditioned house. At least not down in the 79-81 degree range.

Yup, been there, done that.
I had to get a chiller because my electric bill from running the central AC all day long is getting too painful. Even then, my tank hits the upper 80's even with fans and my top off everyday is 1 gallon!!!:eek2: I had to freeze Ro/DI water instead. Still not enough. Too much work. Since I had the chiller installed, my tank is always cool to touch (80 F) even when I get home and the whole house is like an oven. It's only been in operation for 2 weeks so I do not know the drop in my electric bill (I am anticipating a drop since I do not cool the whole house all day long). Now I don't worry about overheating when I'm at work all day. I have peace of mind that my pets are not suffering/dying. So, is it worth it for me? Duh!

 

[peregrine3751]

My place gets hot inside and I run MHs. I tryed to go without a chiller. Didn't work. Tank ran at 86 + allmost all the time. If your running 86 + a lot then in the long run you will need a chiller to have a really nice tank. Just my $.02.

Dave

 

[pony_killer]

question, if you buy a chiller do you have to hook it up to your sump or can you hook it up directly to your display? reason im asking is because i don't have a sump yet

 

[peregrine3751]

Directly to your display. That's how I have mine. Just use a really big power head to pump water to it. Or you can spend a lot more money and get a real nice external pump and do it that way. Both ways work, I've done both. Right now I've got a big power head. Works great.

Dave

 

[bureau13]

The problem with fans is it can drastically increase your evaporation, which means all that humidity is going into the air in your house, and probably walls, etc too. Of course, if your chiller is inside, its pumping its heated air into your house too. If you could keep things regulated with a moderate to small fan on a thermistat, that would probably be the best solution, but if you had to go crazy with the fans then I'd say just get the chiller.

jds

 

[DaveG99]

I have had tanks when I lived in Florida and now I live in Texas. Both places are VERY hot. I have never needed a chiller. I have always had open top tanks though. And I also keep my place at about 75-77 degrees. I have never used a fan.

 

[wrassie86]

I've just moved from MI to Central Florida.Always needed my chiller and alway had a canopy.Before i had reset up the tank i bought a aqualight fixture with 2x 250's now the chiller is not needed,my tank pretty much stays at room temp @ 79-80. with no fans altho there there just incase
But a chiller will add alot of heat to whatever room its in.if possible best to put it outside.

 

[Henry Bowman]

JBJ Artica chillers are pretty quiet and worth the $$ in the long run. The key to a great tank is consistency. Temp dKh and Alk are all paramount to keeping a great set up.