Is a chiller a nessecity?

[gobywonkenobi]

I am looking at getting a 338 acrylic. But I am still debating on wether to get LEDs or MH. I would like to keep mostly sps but some LPS too. Is a chiller a nessecity or is it more of a set the tank up and see if you need it type of thing?

 

[Dr. Reef]

if ur setup is inside the house and u keep ur house temp regulated then a chiller is just something u will have to setup the tank first to see if u need it or not. but if the setup is in-wall in garage like mine i have to have a chiller.

 

[gobywonkenobi]

I am putting it in the wall. I will lok into getting one before it gets setup then.

 

[ace_92101]

There're lots of factors to consider. What's the ambient temperature of your house? What's the temperature in your current tank? Where do you live? Will you be running MH's? When I lived in Virginia, with their hot and humid summers, I used MH'S and with sump fans I kept my tank at 80.

 

[bkvreef]

Before you spend more money on a chiller, I would recommend several things:
1. figure out what lights you are going with. If l.e.d my assumption is no. I had 6 x 80watt t-5's with a small fan over my 220 and the most I ever did was put a 2 liter pop bottle of ice in the sump, periodically just to cool it a little more. If you are doing mh then I'm sure a chiller would be needed
2. Set up your tank, get it cycling and see where the temperature lands. At least that way you can determine how much of an issue cooling will be.

Just my 2 cents