Since I'm getting into SPS, Is it Chiller Time?

[E.intheC]

How much of a difference in temperature can SPS typically handle?

Over the past few days it's been pretty warm here. I'm not complaining of course, but it does make me wonder about my tank.

In the morning the temp reading on my RKL is about 78.9-79.5 depending. After the MH's shut off at night, the temp is usually about 81. I'm fine with that daily swing, but lately the evening temp has reached anywhere from 83.6-83.9.

I have fans in my canopy and decent evaporation (it evaps about 3-4 gallons per week)

This question is really geared toward SPS because my fish, LPS, and Zoas all seem to be fine (almost unaffected really).

Thanks in advance.

 

[buy_baff]

I don't know how much they can take but like everything else to do with sps stability is always better. I like to keep mine between 79 and 80.

 

[JAustin]

If you can swing a chiller go for it. If your trying to save some cash add another fan over the sump if you haven't already. That's a decent amount of temp swing and i would try to keep it a bit lower than that. 79 to 80 would be fine. I've got a 60g cube and I evap a gallon every day. Oh and have the fans turn on when the lights do and leave the sump fan on all the time.

 

[E.intheC]

Right. Stability is key with SPS, that's for sure. I have to admit though; I'm hesitant about adding a chiller as it's costly, but also because it's another piece of equipment that can go bad.

 

[E.intheC]

If you can swing a chiller go for it. If your trying to save some cash add another fan over the sump if you haven't already. That's a decent amount of temp swing and i would try to keep it a bit lower than that. 79 to 80 would be fine. I've got a 60g cube and I evap a gallon every day. Oh and have the fans turn on when the lights do and leave the sump fan on all the time.

I might add another fan. Right now the fans are programmed to turn on when the MH goes on, and they stay on for about 1/2 hour afterward. I might put a fan in the sump, but I figure.. what good is blowing air that's already warm over the tank water?

It's only May and I'm already having temp issues.. D'oh! :sad2:

 

[Znut Reefer]

I think you are going to need a chiller soon. 83.9 is pushing it. I keep mine between 78-79. If the extra fan does not keep it down. You may need to consider the chiller soon.

 

[cham]

I use the azoo fans that blow across the surface of my DT. I have a 40g sump and 20g frag tank in my garage that regulary reaches 110*F in there during the day. Until recently I've always had MH fixtures and my tank stays at 79* rock solid all day.

I use a reef keeper to control the fans. A controller and fans is far cheaper than a chiller and more reliable IMO.

 

[E.intheC]

Thanks for the replies Znut Reefer and cham. I have two fans already, but need to look into adding a clip on fan for my sump. Hopefully that will help.

 

[plyle02]

E.
I have disabled my mini-chiller, as I believe that it is not able to keep up. So, I just set a fan to blow over the surface of the tank during lit hours. Lights out, fan off. I have noticed that I generally run a 1 degree below the set air temp inside the house. So, I just set my theromstat during the day to about 78 degrees, even during all lights on which is 6 t5's and 250 watt halide, I still don't exceed 78 degrees. HTH's...BTW, looked over your thread, things are looking sweet with the tank. Have you thought of removing the canopy and just running open tank and suspending the light? This will also keep things a bit cooler.
Thanks,
Perry

 

[reefWW96]

you will NOT regret adding a chiller.

 

[E.intheC]

Perry, thanks for the tips and kind words about my setup! That means a lot. Hopefully I'll be joining the Zeovit folks sooner rather than later. I want to get my system stable first though.

That's a good idea regarding the canopy. It's definitely restrictive heat wise. It's nice in the winter when the apartment is much cooler, but during the summer it has the opposite effect... The MH spills a lot of light into the room though and that's distracting. I also have a few fish that are notorious jumpers so I'd have to fix that.

I've considered switching to LED's but even when the lights are off the temp stays pretty warm due to the warmer ambient temp.

It'd be great if my AC unit could be temp controlled (IE set to one temp) but it doesn't work accurately/if at all. There is a simple timer built in, so I'll have to investigate that further as well.

 

[chadfarmer]

dont keep it to stable (if you do than if you ever have a problem than your sps will not make it) i would keep it between 3-4 degrees--- 1-2 in the past has cost me when a heater failesd

 

[ChicagoReefOne]

E,

I checked out your build thread too, nice work! I would second the removing the canopy or moding it so it vents air more easily, that will allow your fan to circulate air across the water more easily, judging from the pictures you have in the profile it looks like the heat all gets trapped in the setup. If you have problems with jumpers, investigate a plastic mesh that they sell at home depot for gardening or something.

 

[THE JOEY]

I might put a fan in the sump, but I figure.. what good is blowing air that's already warm over the tank water?


Don't underestimate this technique. I think it would work for you. 1 fan up top blowing across the top of the tank and one down in the sump.

 

[Peter Eichler]

Right. Stability is key with SPS, that's for sure.

Perhaps with certain things, but with temperature it's not very important. In fact there's reason to believe that keeping temperatures too stable could be detrimental. Add another fan or two blowing across the surface of your tank or sump and you should be fine. If you tank starts regularly getting into the high 80's then there's some cause for concern.

 

[E.intheC]

dont keep it to stable (if you do than if you ever have a problem than your sps will not make it) i would keep it between 3-4 degrees--- 1-2 in the past has cost me when a heater failesd

I remember reading about this before.. in that too stable can be problematic, in that when something small goes wrong, the corals don't react to it as well.

 

[E.intheC]

E,

I checked out your build thread too, nice work! I would second the removing the canopy or moding it so it vents air more easily, that will allow your fan to circulate air across the water more easily, judging from the pictures you have in the profile it looks like the heat all gets trapped in the setup. If you have problems with jumpers, investigate a plastic mesh that they sell at home depot for gardening or something.

You're right. I think I have to look into modding the canopy so more air gets in. It's good in the winter, but not helpful in the summer.

I just went out and bought a fan for the sump. I should have it installed shortly.

..still considering removing the canopy, but I really am not a fan of how the tank would look with all the wires and everything.. not to mention the light spillage. That last detail is one thing the future mrs. did NOT like about my 72 build. :lmao: She likes the look of the new tank much better (as do I)

The wood is pretty thick as well.. IIRC, it's 1/2 thick plywood (or maybe even 3/4) left over from the stand build. Niiice and insulating. :fun5:

 

[sfsuphysics]

you will NOT regret adding a chiller.

Except when you see your power bill! But then that regret might be towards the tank as a whole.

Evaporation is a POWERFUL method to pull energy out of the tank, and really cheap by comparison too, each gallon is taking 2.3kWh worth of juice out of your tank, or the equivalent of running a 1000W chiller for 2.3 hours. Now with a tank as smaller as the OPs I'd go with more fans and an ATO to deal with evaporation, granted that happens throughout the day but still as the temp rises its easier to evaporate.

but lately the evening temp has reached anywhere from 83.6-83.9.

My first attempt would be to simply have my controller turn off the halides when your tank hit 82. Deal with the lack of viewing (or have some LED strip lights or something on there to view with).

Since it seems that your overly hot tank is halide related, I might even suggest going the LED route for main lighting as it is. Or if that's too much ,lower your temperature controlling such that heaters don't turn on unless it drops below 76-77, as you're already pushing a bit on the warm side doubly so if you get the swing that takes you up that high.

 

[ChicagoReefOne]

You could mod the canopy by using a router to create vents in the wood on each side. With a fan you would get nice flow through and the light spill would be less. Good luck. Let us know what you decide to do and post some pics so we can see the mods.

..still considering removing the canopy, but I really am not a fan of how the tank would look with all the wires and everything.. not to mention the light spillage. That last detail is one thing the future mrs. did NOT like about my 72 build. :lmao: She likes the look of the new tank much better (as do I)

The wood is pretty thick as well.. IIRC, it's 1/2 thick plywood (or maybe even 3/4) left over from the stand build. Niiice and insulating. :fun5:

 

[E.intheC]

I have considered the LED route, but really the money isn't there right now. I can't/dont want to experiment with less expensive LED's, and the quality fixtures are still in the $400-500 range right now.

The halides are only raising the tank temp about 1 degree with the canopy doors open and fans on, so I'm currently focusing on keeping the room temp cool via room air conditioning