should i get a chiller
- Thread starter zadok
- Start date
Tell us a lot more about your equipment, lights, pumps, tank size....there is a lot you can do with fans to reduce your tank's heat and avoid needing a chiller but it depends a lot on the equipment on your tank. How hot do you let the house get during the summer? Do you run your AC when you are not at home?
Reefstarter2
New member
buy a generator , save yourself a lot of stress
"Tell us a lot more about your equipment, lights, pumps, tank size....there is a lot you can do with fans to reduce your tank's heat and avoid needing a chiller but it depends a lot on the equipment on your tank. How hot do you let the house get during the summer? Do you run your AC when you are not at home?"
its not set up yet, got tanks, sump, and some marinepure bits and dry rock which il later supplement with pukani. as for equipment im looking at some voyager 3 stream powerheads to run on a wave maker, and an eheim 600 compact pump. for heaters im trying to pick between a couple cobalt easy-therms, or a hydor ETH external heater. im probably gona get a reef octopus skimmer, but only for emergencies, as i will be using a cryptic zone in my sump's refugium, and a stand alone planted refugium for removing excess nutrients. not sure about lights, i could just go with metal halides, but i love the idea of LEDs lighting my tank.
i usually let the house get around 70 to 80 degrees if im home. dont usually run the ac when not at home, it wastes alot of power. im thinking that a chiller will be easier on the electric bill. also with the threat of power outages, the temperature at home is irrelevant, it'll be death valley in there and i need something to hook up to car battery.
its not set up yet, got tanks, sump, and some marinepure bits and dry rock which il later supplement with pukani. as for equipment im looking at some voyager 3 stream powerheads to run on a wave maker, and an eheim 600 compact pump. for heaters im trying to pick between a couple cobalt easy-therms, or a hydor ETH external heater. im probably gona get a reef octopus skimmer, but only for emergencies, as i will be using a cryptic zone in my sump's refugium, and a stand alone planted refugium for removing excess nutrients. not sure about lights, i could just go with metal halides, but i love the idea of LEDs lighting my tank.
i usually let the house get around 70 to 80 degrees if im home. dont usually run the ac when not at home, it wastes alot of power. im thinking that a chiller will be easier on the electric bill. also with the threat of power outages, the temperature at home is irrelevant, it'll be death valley in there and i need something to hook up to car battery.
billdogg
Well-known member
If heat is an issue, halides will make it that much worse. LED's may be a very good solution to that part of the equation. You may very well find that fans blowing across the surface will provide adequate cooling so I would go that route first.
If your power outages are frequent/long lasting, a generator is really the best option
If your power outages are frequent/long lasting, a generator is really the best option
Ron Reefman
Active member
If it's that hot where you live and if you ever experience power failures, you'll want a chiller and at least a small generator. A car battery and an inverter are not likely enough to power a chiller and a pump for very long.
I'm in SW Florida and it's 95 every day for about 6 months. I need to fire up the generator once a year at least. We have hurricanes, tornados, and serious thunder storms that can take out power from a few minutes (no big deal) to days and longer.
I'm in SW Florida and it's 95 every day for about 6 months. I need to fire up the generator once a year at least. We have hurricanes, tornados, and serious thunder storms that can take out power from a few minutes (no big deal) to days and longer.
Agree... with this.. however what I have seen is that evaporation may become an issue.
I have this on my 75G
FAN
Reef Frog
New member
A 1/4 horsepower chiller can drop 100 gallons about 30F. It would consume about 3.0 amps. I believe a 500 watt inverter would handle that. It's a workable option IME. Of course you would need to be home, your car needs to be in the driveway close enough to your house/apartment for an extension cord to reach the tank and you need gasoline on hand. And the car may be running for hours in that heat. But it would work. It's not ideal (an automatic generator is) but would work in the right scenario.
What size tank are we talking about? That will dictate the size chiller you need. I'd go to Marine Depot or BRS web sites and see what size you need and the power draw of each.
What size tank are we talking about? That will dictate the size chiller you need. I'd go to Marine Depot or BRS web sites and see what size you need and the power draw of each.
"What size tank are we talking about? That will dictate the size chiller you need. I'd go to Marine Depot or BRS web sites and see what size you need and the power draw of each." got a 29 gallon display tank, 20 gallon stand alone fuge, and a proflex model 3 sump that holds 20.4 gallons.
