Thinking about a chiller (1 Viewer)

[Carrie17]

Just set up my upgraded tank and temps are 79.6, with cabinet doors open and fans going. And I still have equipment to add. My tank is 6ft, 18" deep, and about 22.5" high, 50g sump, and 20" long frag tank. What size chiller do y'all think I need? And does anyone have one they might sell?

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[alex6528]

Just set up my upgraded tank and temps are 79.6, with cabinet doors open and fans going. And I still have equipment to add. My tank is 6ft, 18" deep, and about 22.5" high, 50g sump, and 20" long frag tank. What size chiller do y'all think I need? And does anyone have one they might sell?

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Just curious what’s wrong with 79.6? My tank stays at 81.5 with no issues. Yea all the sites say 72-78 but imo up to 82 is fine.


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[gregg]

How do you know it's 79.6? Dont trust one temp probe, I usually use 3 different ones and then average. Maybe try putting a clip fan in the sump area? I've considered a chiller myself but then you have to deal with the heat it discharges.

 

[reeftopia]

Adding a chiller opens up a whole new can of worms. Be surprised how much a little fan will do when place right.

 

[Carrie17]

I've got a brand new clip fan in the canopy blowing across the lights. Plus I'm still going to add some LED's and a carbon reactor pump. And it's May.

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[alex6528]

I've got a brand new clip fan in the canopy blowing across the lights. Plus I'm still going to add some LED's and a carbon reactor pump. And it's May.

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I use a heater controller, and it displays my temp, last summer it would display 83 in the afternoons and had me a bit freaked out. Checked with 2 separate thermometers and find out my heater controller is displaying the temp about 1.5 degrees higher than the actual temp. Realizing my tank naturally heated to 81.5 during the day in the summer, and I was trying to maintain 79, it was fluctuating more than I liked. I increased my heaters to 81.5, now my tank sits there and doesn’t move. Been like that for a year with no issues. Have sps, nems, and softies. There is nothing wrong with 79.6 or even 80. Find out what the tank naturally heats to and set heaters there, it’s much easier.


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[TooSalty]

Just turn down your house AC. It would probably be cheaper than buying a chiller for the aquarium. My two heaters still turn on in the summer to keep my aquarium at 78. My AC is set to 76.

 

[FarmerTy]

Just turn down your house AC. It would probably be cheaper than buying a chiller for the aquarium. My two heaters still turn on in the summer to keep my aquarium at 78. My AC is set to 76.

I would think long-term, cooling just your tank is cheaper then cooling the whole house... But to be honest, I've never done that math.

The mindset is to get the biggest chiller you can afford and fit, because the bigger it is, the more efficient it is at cooling and the less it'll have to cycle on and off to keep your tank cool. That being said, most manufacturers have sizing for appropriate gallons of water. I used a 1/3 HP for 250 gallons before and I found it a bit lacking... It would cycle on/off often. I think a 1/2 HP would hace suited that system better.

FWIW, my average temperature in my tank is 81 degrees and high is 82.5. Running that warm can increase metabolic growth rates of fish and corals but the downside also is algae/bacteria also grow at an increased rate so if you don't keep those populations in control, you could have a disaster. [emoji16]

 

[RR-MAN]

Just turn down your house AC. It would probably be cheaper than buying a chiller for the aquarium. My two heaters still turn on in the summer to keep my aquarium at 78. My AC is set to 76.

That's what I have been doing - my AC is set on 75 (house is one story/about ~2,950 sq ft.) plus have a nice strong fan for air circulation in the fish room. I hate dealing with an extra piece of equipment plus all the heat the chiller releases in the room/house plus you need an additional feed pump to push water to the chiller.

my electric bill is very reasonable so not breaking the bank so far.

I would think long-term, cooling just your tank is cheaper then cooling the whole house... But to be honest, I've never done that math.

The mindset is to get the biggest chiller you can afford and fit, because the bigger it is, the more efficient it is at cooling and the less it'll have to cycle on and off to keep your tank cool. That being said, most manufacturers have sizing for appropriate gallons of water. I used a 1/3 HP for 250 gallons before and I found it a bit lacking... It would cycle on/off often. I think a 1/2 HP would hace suited that system better.

FWIW, my average temperature in my tank is 81 degrees and high is 82.5. Running that warm can increase metabolic growth rates of fish and corals but the downside also is algae/bacteria also grow at an increased rate so if you don't keep those populations in control, you could have a disaster. [emoji16]

ATX, you have a very good point about the algae issue - you know it never crossed my mind, high temp = more algae.

 

[Cody]

I would think long-term, cooling just your tank is cheaper then cooling the whole house... But to be honest, I've never done that math.

The mindset is to get the biggest chiller you can afford and fit, because the bigger it is, the more efficient it is at cooling and the less it'll have to cycle on and off to keep your tank cool. That being said, most manufacturers have sizing for appropriate gallons of water. I used a 1/3 HP for 250 gallons before and I found it a bit lacking... It would cycle on/off often. I think a 1/2 HP would hace suited that system better.

FWIW, my average temperature in my tank is 81 degrees and high is 82.5. Running that warm can increase metabolic growth rates of fish and corals but the downside also is algae/bacteria also grow at an increased rate so if you don't keep those populations in control, you could have a disaster. [emoji16]

So if I bump my tank to 100 degrees my corals will grow even faster?!!

As far as temperature testing, you can pick up laboratory grade thermometers for cheap. My digital thermometers are calibrated against the laboratory thermometers. I trust nothing more than what the labs use.

 

[FarmerTy]

So if I bump my tank to 100 degrees my corals will grow even faster?!!

As far as temperature testing, you can pick up laboratory grade thermometers for cheap. My digital thermometers are calibrated against the laboratory thermometers. I trust nothing more than what the labs use.

Maybe, just give me your AquaSD Mille colony before you try for safe keeping.

I calibrate my temperature annually to a NIST approved thermometer.

 

[RR-MAN]

So if I bump my tank to 100 degrees my corals will grow even faster?!!

As far as temperature testing, you can pick up laboratory grade thermometers for cheap. My digital thermometers are calibrated against the laboratory thermometers. I trust nothing more than what the labs use.

The highest I have seen is 86 and his corals looked immaculate and grew like mad...our good friend Quoc's tank used to be in the garage with a 1/2 HP chiller. RIP Quoc.


Tank of the Month - August 2007 - Reefkeeping.com

 

[Bigfishy]

Just turn down your house AC. It would probably be cheaper than buying a chiller for the aquarium. My two heaters still turn on in the summer to keep my aquarium at 78. My AC is set to 76.

We keep our house at 76. I keep my tank at 78. If I done run my chiller the tank gets up to 84 during the summer. I have a 1/2 running on a 340 gallon system. The chiller runs for a few minutes and cuts off.


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[reeftopia]

what kind of lights are you running

 

[Bigfishy]

what kind of lights are you running

Running 4 g4 Radion pro and 4 36” 2 bulb T5. About to put add 2 g3 Radion pro (1 on each end). I have a canopy over the tank so holds in a little heat.


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[Carrie17]

So if I bump my tank to 100 degrees my corals will grow even faster?!!

As far as temperature testing, you can pick up laboratory grade thermometers for cheap. My digital thermometers are calibrated against the laboratory thermometers. I trust nothing more than what the labs use.

Can you suggest a good lab grade thermometer please?

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[TooSalty]

BigFishy, you must have a lot of equipment generating heat. I have a 230g system with 4 hydra 26hd, return pump, skimmer, and 3 powerheads. My tank will dip down to 75 without heaters in the summer.

 

[FarmerTy]

BigFishy, you must have a lot of equipment generating heat. I have a 230g system with 4 hydra 26hd, return pump, skimmer, and 3 powerheads. My tank will dip down to 75 without heaters in the summer.

Not sure if your canopy is closed like Bigfishy but that's a huge deal regarding temperature. Plus, he's running some T5s as well which get waaaayyyy hotter than LED fixtures alone. Not metal halide hot but still pretty hot.

 

[Bigfishy]

Not sure if your canopy is closed like Bigfishy but that's a huge deal regarding temperature. Plus, he's running some T5s as well which get waaaayyyy hotter than LED fixtures alone. Not metal halide hot but still pretty hot.

Yes, the canopy holds in the heat from the lights. I am running a bubble magus curve 29 skimmer that has two pumps and two in sump return pumps. The majority of my heat comes from my combination of lights.


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[reeftopia]

Seems I have a problem myself. My 2500 gal system was running 79.9 today and my 300 gal system
was running 83.2 Had this problem a few months back and added a large fan that cut the temp
difference to 1 degree. Now the 3 plus degree temp is back. At this point not sure what to do yet but
the added amps of a chiller is not something I need at this point