Chiller questions.

[epleeds]

I have a 75 gallon tank with no overflows or sump. My temp gets up to around 80.5 due to the wife shutting off the a/c every now and then. I thought a chiller would solve that problem, but I have no clue as to what I might need, brand wise or size wise. I was wondering if someone out there has some good advice on what chiller would work good for my tank.

 

Thanks.

 

eric

[jamesbuf]

Ever consider just putting a fan on a temperature control? 80.5 isn't all that high and a fan should be more than able to get it down a couple degrees.

[Rascal]

Just set your heater to 79.5 so you don't have more than a 1 deg temp swing during the day and be glad your tank temp only rises to 80.5 without cooling it.

[rottloverr]

I also have a 75 gallon (with 29 gallon refugium) that reaches 80.8 to mid 81 during the day with 2 150 MH on. I have a fan blowing over the top of the water in the display tank but it doesnt do much. Should I get a chiller jsut to make the water more stable?

 

Sorry i dont mean to hijack your thread.

 

Cheers,

 

Sean

[Brian Ward]

80-81 isn't bad. stability is much more important than actual temperature as long as you're within reason. 78-83 is generally OK. Fans help a lot - aim them to blow across the water. If you have good surface turbulence it will help a lot. I have 3 tanks and only 1 of them has a chiller. 2 of them stay below 82 without a problem - no MH lights on those. The other one has 2 400W MH and 4 24" T5 - that one will run the temp up to about 88 without a problem if I didn't have a chiller.

 

After all that, if you'd still like to get a chiller, for a 75 gal tank with minimal cooling requirements a 1/10-1/5 hp should be plenty. I would recommend the brand that I have but I don't know what it is. I believe someone is actually selling a nice 1/10hp chiller right now in the FS section.

 

Chiller FAQ link:

http://www.premiumaquatics.com/Merchant2/m...y_Code=Chillers

 

JBJ is a good and popular brand, as is Pacific Coast

Edited April 25, 2008 by Brian Ward