Just Chill

[NedFlounders]

Do I need one? (a chiller)

My 110 gallon tank seems to stay at the 81.5 mark even though the heater is set to 78 and my home A/C is set to 77 during the day. In the sump, I have the main Sicce pump, a Finnex heater, and a Reef Octopus skimmer. In the canopy is a Kessil A360 LED. I'm about to add a tiny maxi jet for the carbon reactor. Are all these dang necessities just heating up the water??

Think just cranking the ceiling fan during the day will do the trick?

 

[CuzzA]

81.5 is fine. Approaching 85 is when you should start to get concerned. Put a couple of these fans in your canopy and a couple more in your sump. Have the fan blow air in and the hot air will escape through cracks from the doors. It should lower your temp by 2-5 degrees. I'd do it now because we haven't hit full blown summer in Florida yet and your tank will likely get hotter, plus you're adding another pump. If that still doesn't solve a heat issue then drop your AC down a degree or two. The cost of a couple degrees on your home AC and running a chiller 24/7 are probably the same or close to it.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835226042

I like these fans because they move a decent amount of air, yet they are dead silent. They've been on my system for a year and a half and haven't failed me yet. Don't forget to get an AC/DC adapter. At .11 amps each, a 1 amp or more adapter will work fine. Old cell phone charger or similar.

 

[NedFlounders]

Dude that's genius. I've got several old case fans laying around here at work. Thanks!

 

[CuzzA]

You're welcome. Be prepared for an increase in evaporation.

 

[NedFlounders]

You're welcome. Be prepared for an increase in evaporation.

No worries, my ATO does a great job. Remembering to fill it is easy. It's interesting how quickly all the "husbandry" becomes second nature in this hobby.

 

[Diverjohn]

I would agree. I did the same thing on one of my tanks that seems to run on the high side of the temp gauge. It did bring the temp down.

 

[homer1475]

Have a couple of those same exact fans. Drops my temps by 5 degrees easy.

 

[Heatherabel3]

That's what we did. My tank is smaller so we just put a cheap WalMart clip on fan on it but is working beautifully. I am having to replace about a gallon of water a day but totally worth it to have such an easy fix to not have to worry about the temp.

 

[strikerhawk01]

keep in mind that adding a chiller will raise the temp of the room the chiller is in as they run hot

 

[NedFlounders]

Update!

I cut 4 ventilation holes in the canopy, removed the aquarium lid and replaced it with that lighting grid/egg crate thing, and hung this little triple fan cooler I found online. It dropped the temp by 2 degrees so far!

 

[CuzzA]

Great. If you intend on adding corals you are going to want to remove that eggcrate lid and instead use 1/4 inch clear netting. The eggcrate will substantially reduce the amount of light. It is after all, "light diffusing panels."

 

[NedFlounders]

Good to know because I intend to do that in the next week or so. Thanks Cuzza!

 

[CuzzA]

You're welcome.

 

[ericarenee]

wow . 81 deg.. To me that seems a bit high.. I keep my tank about 76-77 and it can drop back to 75 at night.. My SUMP is in basement where its cooler .. I do have a chiller but it almost Never runs. Its kinda a just in-case the ac goes down

 

[m0nkie]

i have ran my tank for 2 years now w/o one.. in summer it got up to 84... everything was fine. however, margin of error was a lot smaller. anything "Wrong" could wipe out my tank. this year i finally got my chillers installed.

 

[CuzzA]

Check out Aprils TOTM, Peter Eichler. No temp control whatsoever. He lets his tank go from 75-85 at will. The average temp on the shallow Great Barrier Reef is 85 degrees. With thermoclines, currents, tides, waves and weather, temperatures can fluctuate drastically from day to day.