Jay Posted August 3, 2009 Share Posted August 3, 2009 I guess I need a chiller. I can keep the temp down to 80 running the ac 24/7 and keeping all the doors to the tank open but who wants to keep the hood and stand doors open 24-7. I dont know what one to get. Its 120 gallons plus the sump. Anyone have a really cheap one sitting around? I cant afford 200 bucks anytime soon. Jay Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dsoz Posted August 3, 2009 Share Posted August 3, 2009 Have you tried putting frozen 2-liter bottles of water in your sump? I freeze a few of them just in case every summer. If you have enough, you can rotate them through when the tank gets hot. It is cheap, but it does work. Another ghetto way that I used to cool a tank in my classroom when I was raising trout/salmon eggs was to get about 100 feet of 1/2 inch hose coiled up in a small refrigerator. A powerhead pumps water out of the tank, through the coil, and it drains back into the tank. It was able to get the temperature in my trout tank down to 50 degrees (tank was insulated with styrofoam). That is warmest that trout/salmon eggs can handle and not die. dsoz Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Algae Posted August 3, 2009 Share Posted August 3, 2009 Do you have a fan for your sump? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
siskiou Posted August 3, 2009 Share Posted August 3, 2009 I'd try a fan first, too, if you don't have one (or two) already. We are keeping our house at 73 F with a/c, and one cheapo 6" fan on each tank keeps the temps at 79F all day long. I run mine on a controller and the fans aren't even on all that long. At night the a/c is off and we pull in the cooler air with window fans. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rick Posted August 3, 2009 Share Posted August 3, 2009 If you can find a way to isolate the lights from the tank and get the heat outside it then it will make a huge difference. I switched from the 175w lights inside the hood to the 400w pendants where the vents are outside the hood (They each have a fan in them) and it stays a lot cooler now. One 4" fan in the hood and then another 6" fan on the sump keeps it down to 80 or 81 degrees. Ac is set to about 77 degrees but it loses ground late in the day. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
steelhead77 Posted August 3, 2009 Share Posted August 3, 2009 Another neat trick I just read was to take your air intake on your venturi skimmer and place it in a cooler loaded with ice. It will suck in cold air and cool your tank. Not sure if it will work, but it certainly can't hurt. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gradth Posted August 4, 2009 Share Posted August 4, 2009 Clip on fan at Fred Meyers. Holy cow, I swapped out my 4 PC fans I was running for 2 clip ons, 1 on my sump and one on the top. Got up the next morning and the tank was 72DOH! Took the one off my sump and now have the other set up to come on with the halides and it stays right around 78. Think there were like 12 bucks or something. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
R-3 Posted August 4, 2009 Share Posted August 4, 2009 Clip on fan at Fred Meyers. Holy cow, I swapped out my 4 PC fans I was running for 2 clip ons, 1 on my sump and one on the top. Got up the next morning and the tank was 72DOH! Took the one off my sump and now have the other set up to come on with the halides and it stays right around 78. Think there were like 12 bucks or something. $12.99 for the 6" ! I just bought one Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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