Do you NEED a chiller in summer

[JUNI0R]

This will be my first summer with a tank and I am wondering if I can get by without a chiller, I was going to use fans in my hood and a clip on fan on my sump. What are your experiences.

 

[dznuts007]

Well, it all depends. Depends on the tank size, the equipment in there, the heat generated by the equipment, lighting, etc. I couldn't get my chiller up in time for the summer heat a few years back and pretty much lost everything. I'd recommend one, unless you're willing to risk everything in your tank...

 

[Bebo77]

really depends on how you set up your tank... i dont use one for my 300g... but some people depend on them...

 

[robojet]

If your tank description in your signature is accurate, it doesn't look like you have Metal Halides. I have a 34g all-in-one and T-5 Lighting. I have a Azoo with 2 fans which I have already switched on for the summer. I've placed it on the back of the tank pointed so that the air flows on/under the light fixture and across the surface of the water. It comes on when my daylights come on and keeps things cool enough that I don't need a chiller. Last summer I didn't see the tank temperature go above 80 degrees, but evaporation did go up quite a bit.

You might want to just try a fan like mine and see how that works before investing in a chiller.

 

[Onesaltydawg]

Chillers are not used on any of my tanks and I would worry more about brown outs or power loss so I Vote = Generator

 

[xtm]

It depends on your setup. Do you have a centralized A/C? Is your tank right next to a window? How many pumps/powerheads do you have?

You probably won't need one if you have a nano setup (< 29G)

 

[bad santa]

junior since you live in pomona your daytime room temps might get a bit high unless you run a house AC. Fans will help out tremendously but consider getting an ATO if you dont have one allready. I put a chiller(got it at a great deal) on my 6 gal NC just to be on the safe side.

 

[bergzy]

like everyone has said so far...it depends on your set up.

my 180g equipment is located in the garage so it NEEDS a chiller to keep temps down on the hottest days of the year because it gets really warm in there.

but the majority of the cooling is done with fans.

could i keep the tank without a chiller. 'yes'...but i wouldnt.

 

[JUNI0R]

I will see how the temps go on my current tank as we get warmer. I have a feeling I am going to need one in the future as I am upgrading to a 90g, with metal halide bulbs, that is against an exterior wall (just added water yesterday). Onesaltydawg, thats for the tip on generators, I had planned to get one as I am concerned about edison's reliability.

 

[frogiii]

insulation is very important on your house as to your AC. My new home doesn't get hotter then 82 when outside was 96 to 99. I guess newly built house has good insulations with double pane windows and such.

 

[reef_doug]

I don't use a chiller on my 180. I live in the High Desert and have central air. I keep the canopy proped open in Summer and keep the a/c on at 78 for all the pets (dogs, cat, FW tank). My reef tank runs up to 82.

A chiller would be nice, but don't want the expense or to deal with the additional heat it creates.

Every situation is different. You might be able to get away with fans if you have A/C.

 

[hydrahawk]

Today will be a good day to see how high your temp will swing up. It might get up to the 90s where you're at. I don't run a chiller, but I do have a fan mounted inside my stand point down at the sump. And I hooked that up to my AC jr. So far so good.

 

[johndoan1106]

I am using a clip on fan that I bought at Wal Mart and it can cool my tank as low as 68 degrees in a 2-3 hour period. The only part that sucks of not having a chiller is the evaporation from the fan and having to topoff all the time. I have a 100 gallon sized tank and I top off at least 10-12 gallons of fresh RO a week.

I also keep my water at about 72 degrees though and this may be why it is evaporating more than normal.

 

[JUNI0R]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=12307379#post12307379 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by hydrahawk
Today will be a good day to see how high your temp will swing up. It might get up to the 90s where you're at.

I was thinking that on my way home, it is 90 today and will be the 90s all weekend.

 

[JUNI0R]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=12307571#post12307571 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by johndoan1106
I have a 100 gallon sized tank and I top off at least 10-12 gallons of fresh RO a week.

Thats still better than paying the electric bill on a chiller

 

[Steveabg]

My tank runs hot in the summer. I'm going to fill some water bottles and float them in the tank every day, and stick them back in the freezer every night. That should help.

 

[golfish]

I kind of disagree (what else is new) Your ambient room temp has more to do with it then what's running in and on the tank...If the tank temp is ok during the fall, winter and spring then things should be ok during the summer as long as you keep the ambient temp around the same....yeah, good luck with that

Oh yeah, if the tanks on an exterior wall all bets are off...


FWIW, My 150 evaped 5 gals a day, my 120 did about 3-4 gals a day...with a chiller

 

[JUNI0R]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=12308149#post12308149 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by golfish


Oh yeah, if the tanks on an exterior wall all bets are off...

Luckily my current tank is not against an exterior wall and my new tank will be cycling for the next couple months so I can test to see how hot it gets while there is no livestock in it.

 

[ezcompany]

the electricity bill isn't that much worse, i would just run a chiller instead of relying on fans.

 

[bromion]

I don't use a chiller either, and I have strong MH lights, no A/C. I use two clip-on fans on my sump and four computer fans on the canopy. I also have an auto top-off system so I don't have to manually refill the tank from evaporation. Worst case scenario, I have to turn off my MH lights on the hottest days.

YMMV, especially with your location. I'm in West LA, probably on average 10F cooler than Pomona.