J-Dog Posted July 6, 2011 Share Posted July 6, 2011 How important is it to run a chiller? I've never had one on my 65 gallon, but I wasn't sure if I needed one. The summers get pretty hot here and I usually have to cut my light cycle short in order to keep my tank from getting too hot. They've always seemed super expensive and I couldn't justify spending the money to get one. What are your opinions on them? Does everyone run one and do most of u not? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NoobtoSalt Posted July 6, 2011 Share Posted July 6, 2011 I don't run one at my house but I also have a really big AC unit on my house. It's rated around 3500 sq ft and my house is just shy of 2k... Even on the hottest days last year my tank didn't get over 80. If you don't have AC and you've got high end corals and fish it's worth every penny. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nhowe Posted July 6, 2011 Share Posted July 6, 2011 I think if the tank gets much over 86-90 degrees. You're going to start seeing some fish really stressed out. Agreed with noob. High end corals and fish are not worth risking to heat. You can always freeze rodi water and put it in to top it off. There was a thread about that somewhere on here. But that's not a long term solution and it takes some labor you can't do if your gone at work. Get a used chiller if your really worried. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mr. Reef Posted July 6, 2011 Share Posted July 6, 2011 In my experience a constant temperature that is anything over 83% is pushing it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
J-Dog Posted July 6, 2011 Author Share Posted July 6, 2011 I'm not super worried, the hottest temp my tank has reached is 82 degrees. But this is just the start of summer and if u have to start shutting my lights off after 3-4 hours due to heat, then my corals will suffer. To be honest, I don't even know how a chiller works, or what I need in order to run one. Are they labor intense or really easy to setup and maintain? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nhowe Posted July 6, 2011 Share Posted July 6, 2011 Usually they require another pump to run them. I don't think they are real hard to set up. If you can plumb a tank, you can set up a chiller. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
markdadof2 Posted July 6, 2011 Share Posted July 6, 2011 Have had one on mine since the first hot week without one! No AC in my house and I find my chiller runs a LOT once temps are over 80 or so. Lifesaver for my setup. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
titus'reef Posted July 6, 2011 Share Posted July 6, 2011 I will make it through the summer again without a chiller. I have a small AC in the window. i run one 120mm computer fan in the sump which is controlled by the reefkeeper lite and another 2 x 7" fans in the canopy to take the hot air out from the metal halides. The temperature in the house sometimes reaches 79 but the tank temperature stays at 77.7 -78.0 . You saw my tank this morning right? Since you have T5's and not MH I would just get some computer fans with 12VDC transformer and you should be fine. If you don't have a controls than just put them on a timer. They should do the job. If you have an AC in the house and some fans over the tank you should be fine without a chiller. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bicyclebill Posted July 6, 2011 Share Posted July 6, 2011 I learned the hard way a couple summers ago or so when we had a huge heat wave. My tank got way too hot, and the temperature swings did a number on all my corals. Pretty much killed all but a couple mushrooms. Went to Upscales and got a chiller for about what I could buy one for online. It's running right now actually. It's a big investment upfront, but only needs a small recirc pump (300 gpm or less/MJ1200) to do the trick. It paid for itself in two weekends of buying corals for me. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gill Posted July 6, 2011 Share Posted July 6, 2011 I picked up a box fan and put it so that the air is blowing on the surface of the water. This causes evaporation which draws heat out of the tank. It works better than you would think, I lowered my temp by eight degrees and now have to be careful not to leave the fan on full blast. My tank is a 125 so this works on larger tanks. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mr. Reef Posted July 7, 2011 Share Posted July 7, 2011 I'm not super worried' date=' the hottest temp my tank has reached is 82 degrees. But this is just the start of summer and if u have to start shutting my lights off after 3-4 hours due to heat, then my corals will suffer. To be honest, I don't even know how a chiller works, or what I need in order to run one. Are they labor intense or really easy to setup and maintain?[/quote'] They are very easy in my opinion. One pump a little bit of flexible hose and a couple of metal hose clamps is usually all it takes. You can be more extravagant if you like but most of the time it really isn't needed. Make sure the flexible hose is black or take regular flexible hose and wrap electrical tape around it. This is to block out any light that may cause algae to grow inside the hose. Best regards, Ricky Soutas Jr. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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