Chiller?

[reef keeper]

im struggling to keep my temp below 82. I have a fan blowing across the tank but I think I'm going to be beat unless I cut a bunch of holes in my canopy. I even have the canopy open. My MH are only a few inches off the water and I can't get them any higher with the canopy.

I found a current USA 1/3 hp chiller on kijiji for 500.00. It's never used and will do the job for my new build as well. What are your thoughts on chillers?

 

[pulpfiction1]

ive never owned one but have thought on a diy project for a long time,a bar fridge,with 2 holes drilled in it for tank water in and out.a salt bucket with coiled ro plastic tubing inside then fill the bucket with water after coiling tubing inside the bucket.using a MJ1200 pump the water from a sump through the line inside the bucket,cooling from the fridge that is cooling the water filled bucket,would need lots of tubing inside the bucket,maybe 75-100 turns of ro tubing and a valve to control the speed of the water.im thinking this might be efficient on cost to build and run.if done and run right it should cool almost any home tank
just a thought

 

[Skim]

I would not worry about it IMO you are at the perfect temp right now. I would start to worry if you hit 90 or more. You may want to put a heater on if you are getting more then 8 to 10 degree shift when lights go off. It s funny I just read a study on temp variations with corals and they found that 5 to vary max 10 degree shift in temp the corals where stronger and more robust the coals that where kept at the same temp and in fact when they put the corals from the stable temp tank into the that varied they became stressed and should signs from polyp retraction to death. I think you short of lucky I have a 300 watt and 500 watt heaters to keep me at 82 degrees.

 

[averhoog]

A bar fridge and temp controller is the cheaper route I heard a guy did this to cool his trout farm water but used a regular sized fridge

 

[kapelan]

http://www.canadiantire.ca/en/pdp/salton-tabletop-ice-maker-0431830p.html#.VQ9-ueG6Vpk

 

[monizb]

If any one is looking I have a friend with chiller for sale and I have a mini bar fridge as well I would sell I don't use

 

[reef keeper]

I'd be interested in looking at his chiller. I checked my graph and it tops out at 84 degrees.

The chiller would be just to knock it down from the high mark at 84. That usually happens at night right before lights off.

The chiller would have to be super cheap lol. I'm doing this upgrade now, so I think the extra water volumes and higher hang height of the bulbs, as well as the elimination of the hood will solve the problem. I didn't know about the temp swings being good for coral. Mine sure have grown since I switched to MH

 

[Jewel]

High temps can be a big problem, If you're experiencing high temps now. What will you do when it gets hot outside? Chillers are great. I've had a few but only on smaller systems like 30 Gallons. You'd need a big ass chiller for your new tank Reef Keeper. I'd try and raise your Canopy so you can raise the MH. I know Canopies look great but never been a fan of them. I like the Rimless look but with MH you'll have a lot of light spill.

 

[barebottomcouple]

ok temperature after living in florida and scuba diving most of my life and a stint at the UofF for marine biology i can tell you for certain.. temp is ok to swing.. i have been in the Caribbean diving on reefs that get up to 88 during the summer days and when the tide comes in they cool to mid to low 70's i see fish swimming in and out of the tidal rush where there is a 10 degree or more difference... most of the shallow water sps's and most upper reef fish can tolerate and thrive in temp swings...salinity swings also... lagoon bays at low tide salinity goes way up due to heat and evaporation and when tide comes in salinity drops back to sea levels...

 

[heath]

ok, I know nothing about this topic but, it makes sense. high temperatures during the day and cool down at night.and the corals seem to do great in the wild. We all try so hard to duplicate nature..

 

[EricTMah]

Imo, if you're going to run MH's. I'd plan for a chiller. Especially because your new build will obviously be running more light, higher power return pump and maybe more equipment in general. All that extra stuff will add to the temp rise in your tank.
If it's in the budget, I'd say source out a chiller.
Better to have it planned and plumbed in from the start rather than scramble later when the tank is near 90 °

Just my opinion since you're already having some issues with temp and it's only March! Just wait till July Aug

Sent from my Z30 using Tapatalk

 

[Jewel]

That's true but Our little Eco Systems don't have the water volume of the Ocean to compensate for the swings. I'll agree that on the Reef where the water is shallow and ever changing that it would be easier but the water is still in excess of 10 ft deep. So duplicating that in a small confined area of a 180 gallon tank, just 2 ft deep would add more stress to it's fish and coral.

 

[barebottomcouple]

That's true but Our little Eco Systems don't have the water volume of the Ocean to compensate for the swings. I'll agree that on the Reef where the water is shallow and ever changing that it would be easier but the water is still in excess of 10 ft deep. So duplicating that in a small confined area of a 180 gallon tank, just 2 ft deep would add more stress to it's fish and coral.

i never said duplicate but i meant that its not that bad for some temp swings.... i totally agree that if it is a constant close to 90's it needs to come down (like Eric already said it's only march) i said cooling at nite and heating during day is absolutely normal my tank swings between 74's and high 80's i hve no heaters. fish/corals thriving
basically constant high temps bad temp swings good

 

[Jewel]

No Problem BareBottom, It's just that an SPS Dominant tank wouldn't benefit or even thrive under those conditions.

 

[Jewel]

Now I know I've been wrong before, It's happened a couple of times LOL but Constant Perameters are very important in our tanks, And heat issues can be deadly for a Reef tank. Reef Keeper? are you putting your new Sump system in the basement? If so you may not need the chiller at all.

 

[barebottomcouple]

No Problem BareBottom, It's just that an SPS Dominant tank wouldn't benefit or even thrive under those conditions.

just for reference check this out goes to prove that sps corals are very shallow and often exposed on reefs. ive personally seen in the virgin islands great amounts of corals out of the water high and dry exposed to upper 90s temps and tide rolls in hours later and no affect on corals at all.
http://www.advancedaquarist.com/2009/9/short

 

[barebottomcouple]

No Problem BareBottom, It's just that an SPS Dominant tank wouldn't benefit or even thrive under those conditions.

 

[Jewel]

Interesting read, Thanks for sharing

 

[Jewel]

I wonder if any one just grabbed what they could?

 

[barebottomcouple]

not trying to argue just pointing out that temp is not as important to keep consistent as other parameters like ph. ammonia, phosphates, nitrates and the organics that cause algae blooms..... that's all my point was