Summer Preparation

Jay508

Jay508

STARS Vice President
With summer quickly approaching the issue of overheated tanks is something to be addressed. How is everyone planning to deal with heat this summer? Does anyone use a chiller, and if so what is your experience with the chiller? I personally have not used a chiller but am thinking of purchasing one this summer.

what I have done in the past is put my heaters on a timer to heat the tank at night and during the day the heater clicks off. This has worked for me in the past to stabilize my temperatures. However, the tank I am working with now is the largest I have ever owned (110g) and do not know if this method will work for a larger tank. It may......
 
i use fans. I just installed a fan in my stand that is on 24/7 and that has my temp just under 80. before it was 82. later in the summer, i will prob install another fan to come on with the lights. that and keeping the house as cool as I can with a swamper helps. on a rare occation that it is going to be out of control, i keep frozen water bottles to drop in the sump in case of over heating.

a chiller would be awesome, but the wife frowns on things outside of the stand.
 
I hear ya on the wife complaining about fish tank equipment in sight, although I have no wife I can relate.....

The frozen water bottle idea is good and I know others that have used this technique in the past as well, with positive results.
 
i use that as a last resort. im afraid of the sudden change that it could cause. I have a smaller system so a bottle or two can help. with a 110 maybe you could use a frozen milk jug

Just watch out for water displacement, and when you take the jug out your ATO with will freak out. I can adjust my float switch so that is a non issue.
 
I can appreciate the need to watch for water displacement, dropping a couple of frozen coke bottles will overflow most natural water levels, especially if you have an ATO. I do not (PITA to add water daily!!).

I would not worry about sudden fluctuations in water temps due to adding a frozen bottle. A frozen water bottle will gradually lower temps (unless it is a 2.5g pico or something) rather than make a sudden fluctuation in temp.
 
it was hailing about 7 this morning, little pea size and for only about 5 min.
if you like chile.....now is a bad time for hail. little soft rain like it is now is okay, but no hail
 
Missed the hail, but rain is helping to soak the yard for annual de-weeding. I frickin' hate dandelions!!!!

Tis the season......
 
I have a current-usa chiller for my small aquarium, and honestly.. it's one the single best pieces of equipment I own. It has a secondary controller heater ckt so i can kick the heater on and off as needed. It's 1/15 hp so it's way overkill for my 34 cube.
Two things I like most about the chiller;
First, it's super simple, I walk past the unit so many times a day and glance at the digital read-out display.. and guess what it's 78
late at night..it's 78.. early in the morning.. 78. heat of the summer with the house a/c off in the house while were away.. it's 78.

Second, I suspect keeping a lower temp helps keep disease outbreak in check. I'm not sure but I have read reference before during disease outbreak to raise the temp, speed up the parasictic lifecycle and then post-outbreak lower the temp again.

I've remarked to my wife before how pleased I am with the unit.. even after it's inital purchass expense. When i'm ready in the future to step upto a 150/200 cube part of my cost will have to be a properly sized chiller for the setup.

I don't think good equipment is done on the cheap.
best regards,
-shawn g
 
i have always wanted a chiller, but man are they pricey. there are lots of articles and debates on RC about constant temp, and even the proper temp. I have read threads where some in AZ let it get into the high 80's without worry. i have seen mine get that high and it freaks me out.

some were also saying the need for chillers are the product of retailers and marketing

who knows. i would like consistancy and the easiest way would be a chiller, but $400 is too much right now.
 
The high price is hard pill to swallow.

In the book " The Conscientious Marine Aquarist " the author is very specific to highlight that temperature range is not what's important. Temperature stability is a much more important facet of marine health. So while 80 degrees could be a great temp, ..I belive temp stability is key.


The OCEAN is so big it takes a massive amount of energy to even change it by 1 degree. Many a times it has amazed me when I lived in Seattle and it was snowing on the beach and I'd wander into the ocean to scuba dive and the temp of the ocean was remarkably consistent at a balmy 42 degrees.. Ahhhhh...


To that end my chiller primarly functions as an important insurance policy against temp swings.


I've seen those new LED lights down at SW Reef and they really interest me, very little to no heat into the aquarium, would much reduce the need to run the chiller. ....the cost is high right now, but I'll work on convincing my better half ;)

Best Regards,
-Shawn G
 
i once went scuba diving in elephant butte at midnight in feb.(after a keg party) that was worthless and so cold i think i still have hyperthermia. ah to be 21 again!!

that was my first and last attempt (opportunity) to scuba dive.

one of these days i will, but that is an expensive hobby. i think i will just enjoy the view from outside of the tank.
 
Great point about temperature stability. Its the fluctuations that "shock" corals and cause them to respond negatively. I to have a hard time with the high price of chillers, and quality equipment for that matter. However, I think this hobby has proved itself time and time again, at least to me, that more costly equipment just performs better and lasts longer. Cutting corners with inexpensive items can lead to disaster. Buy the most expensive equipment that you can afford, it saves in the long run.

We all know the price implications of this hobby, yet we still proceed.....
 
psuedopimp, so just last year you tried to scuba dive at the butte?

Temperature stability is the important thing. I don't have a chiller but I have a fan directly below each of my 250W MH pendants, right on top of the tank and they really seem to do the trick. I do have a little more evap but that is easy to make up for. I don't have a problem with the tank being hot in the summer because I don't let the house get hot.
 
Jay508 said:
Great point about temperature stability. Its the fluctuations that "shock" corals and cause them to respond negatively. I to have a hard time with the high price of chillers, and quality equipment for that matter. However, I think this hobby has proved itself time and time again, at least to me, that more costly equipment just performs better and lasts longer. Cutting corners with inexpensive items can lead to disaster. Buy the most expensive equipment that you can afford, it saves in the long run.

We all know the price implications of this hobby, yet we still proceed.....
Click to expand...

Hands down the best advice you can give any one in this hobby! +1 rep for you Jay. :)

Steffen Sparks
 
steffen and Jay are a salesman's dream. I do not subscribe to the theory that the most expensive equipment is the best equipment.

although there is some truth to the saying to good to be true.

this hobby is alot like archery. you can kill an elk with a bow that is 20 years old. but you won't impress your friends when you show up to a shoot. they come out with a new and faster bow every year. that will never make up for your inability to sneak through the woods.

just like the best most expensive equipment will never make up for poor husbandry
 
my tank will peak out at 90 in the summer.... usually hangs around 80-82. Seems fine.

Growing up in Hawaii I recall most days the water was 82-84. Tidepools and small sheltered lagoons, where fish and corals thrive, would commonly get up and over 90 in the summer, with pretty strong swings from a low of maybe 78 at 5am to 90 at 4 pm.

I agree stability is important, but even at 85 degrees most tropical marine species will do fine, fish and inverts alike.

Deepwater and temperate species on the otherhand may not like it.... and a lot of the common corals and fish are actuallt collected below 60 feet, where temps are always a bit cooler... so you have to know your tank I guess.


Also, keep an eye on craigslist, I see chillers for cheap there sometimes. I got a 1/5 JBJ Arctica brand new for $300.
 
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