Heater & Chillers

[thompson2224]

I'm currently getting my tank setup and buying all my equipment. I had a tank up in illinois previously and moved here in January. I plan on adding livestock in january. The tank is currently just live rock and water now with the pumps, powerheads, and skimmer running.

Anyways in Illinois I needed to use heaters to hit the 79 degree mark.
Do you use heaters in Florida? I bought several for in case.

Do you need chillers for an open top tank? My LED's sit about 8 inches above and have fans within them and they don't seem to give off heat

 

[mlivvy]

In the cooler months your heater will be needed on a few occasions. As far as chillers i've never used one with led's. Maintain the temp in the house between 76-78 and the tank should be able to stay at 80.

 

[thompson2224]

Awesome. Thank you. Well I got the heaters. Do you keep the heaters on and in the tank at all times? The heaters I ordered have auto turn on/turn off which I think most do or do you take them out and use as needed? Do you use fans on the top of the tank to help keep it cool?

 

[bobbravo2]

I'd recommend investing in an AquaController - that'll control heaters, plus ensure you don't lose everything in a failure. Heaters can fail on, and you definitely need one for a reef tank - stability is key.

 

[mlivvy]

Awesome. Thank you. Well I got the heaters. Do you keep the heaters on and in the tank at all times? The heaters I ordered have auto turn on/turn off which I think most do or do you take them out and use as needed? Do you use fans on the top of the tank to help keep it cool?

I take them off until I need them. I don't trust them. If I had some sort of controller then i'd keep it in the tank. The auto on can fail, it happened to me once and nearly cooked everything in my tank. I've never had heat issues with any of my tanks but again i've kept the temp inside the house under 78 and run led's and DC pumps. If you do have issues, look into fans before buying a chiller.

 

[thompson2224]

I agree that's on my list of things to buy

 

[thompson2224]

I take them off until I need them. I don't trust them. If I had some sort of controller then i'd keep it in the tank. The auto on can fail, it happened to me once and nearly cooked everything in my tank. I've never had heat issues with any of my tanks but again i've kept the temp inside the house under 78 and run led's and DC pumps. If you do have issues, look into fans before buying a chiller.

Makes sense. Did you keep the heaters in the sump or in DT? I think i'll get fans as a back up and probably a controller as well just to be safe

 

[eg8r210]

I have never run LEDs so I can't respond to needing a chiller as my system heats the water all on its own. As far as a chiller, I can't imagine you would need one if you keep the temp in your house pretty cool. Talking with a tank maintenance guy here locally he had mentioned once that the tanks generally run around 3-4 degrees warmer than the temp in the house.

 

[mlivvy]

Makes sense. Did you keep the heaters in the sump or in DT? I think i'll get fans as a back up and probably a controller as well just to be safe

In the sump is best. A controller would be a good idea.