how effective is home a/c

gamer · 07/27/2006, 01:53 PM

Lately northern calfornia has had high temperatures in the 100s. i've recently installed air conditioning in my home and would like to know how effective it will be at reducing tank temperatures?

i have no tank at the moment. but am leaning between a 20L - 75g.

should i just opt for the drop in coil cooler?

sir_dudeguy · 07/27/2006, 02:00 PM

it will be pretty good. I have a wall unit in my room (i'm in az) and i forgot to turn the a/c back on when i turned it off so i could hear myself on the phone lol.. the tank got up to 85 shortly..prolly a few hours...anyways, i turned it back on and it was back to normal in a couple hours...i just ran it at 70 for a while, then once it got normal i turned it back to 78.

fans over the tank help a ton too...just have one blowing across the water...any kinda fan usualy works..i hvae a 10 inch one on my 55

doox00 · 07/27/2006, 02:29 PM

its been 90 here in michigan alot, we have central air and my tank has been 78-81, I have even see the heaters kick on a couple times at night.

outy · 07/27/2006, 02:30 PM

i have a swamp cooler in a 100 year old house and it worked allthough for 2 days i did shut off my MH lighting temps got to 85 one day. tanks been up 10 years this way

newreefbishop · 07/27/2006, 02:38 PM

Im not making a joke out of this but its almost amusing when I see people complainging about heat....we get 100 degree weather every year here in florida.....as long as temp in house is roughly 77-80 degrees tank temp will be similar without lights

sir_dudeguy · 07/27/2006, 02:50 PM

i find it amusing when people in fl complain when they only have 100 degre lol. jk.

but no really. I'm in az and its been 115 for the last...oh...2 weeks? its freakin hot! but my tanks stay at 78 all the time, due to:

1) my wall unit..i just run that at 79-80...that brings the temp in the tank down about 5 degrees

2) i put fans over the tank..best thing for cooling imo...forget chillers...
i say that if most of us arizonians can get by w/out a chiller, then people in michigan/carolina surely dont need one lol.

JGoslee · 07/27/2006, 03:21 PM

I agree with sir_dudeguy on fans. They are a life saver in summer months.

mg426 · 07/27/2006, 04:40 PM

I agree with the fan idea. They do work.

fsn77 · 07/27/2006, 07:21 PM

It's been 95+ here in SC, house A/C is set on 77, and with a fan blowing on the sump, our 90g tank stays 81-82.

PatMayo · 07/27/2006, 08:47 PM

I am here in cool Seattle. We have hot temps once in a while. We recently went through a warm spell and my tank never goes above 80 with the lights on. However I keep my house at 72 with central air.

The tank will always be the ambient air temp without lights so there you go.

Regards,

Pat

sir_dudeguy · 07/27/2006, 09:08 PM

how do people in such cooler places than arizona still have heat problems? i'm not saying all arizona people have perfect temps, becuase ya, theres a lot of people that have tanks get up to 90 every once in a while im sure lol..but i'm just curious, how do people who dont even live where its 115 for 3 weeks straight still have tanks that get so warm?

also, the temp in my room is always no lower than 78 or 9..costs too much to go much lower..

smcnally · 07/27/2006, 09:16 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by sir_dudeguy
how do people in such cooler places than arizona still have heat problems? i'm not saying all arizona people have perfect temps, becuase ya, theres a lot of people that have tanks get up to 90 every once in a while im sure lol..but i'm just curious, how do people who dont even live where its 115 for 3 weeks straight still have tanks that get so warm?

also, the temp in my room is always no lower than 78 or 9..costs too much to go much lower..

Much to learn young "sir_dudeguy"...I've been to AZ, and 115 deg in AZ doesn't even come close to 95 deg in MA. Why do you ask??? Because AZ has very low humidity, while MA has very high humidity (92% last week). Humidty causes bodies of water to evaporate at a slower rate. So, fish tanks get a slower evap rate which causes them to hold more heat. Fans w/AC work great out here, but people without either suffer the consequences (sp?). I hope that answers your question.

jezzeaepi · 07/27/2006, 09:26 PM

Yah the humidity is killer. After running my AC all day the humidity got so high in the room that the fan over the tank was no longer evaporating anything and the tank quite quickly went up in temp. The room didnt smell so great either. The only solution I found to this was to leave all the windows open at night so the humidity could re-stabilize. Its probably not as big of a problem in a house, but it was a huge one in the apartment.

jay24k · 07/27/2006, 09:59 PM

I've yet to find a place as hot as FLorida with the high humidity either. It is rather sickening. I've been to Arizona and the heat, while hot, is a dry heat and no where as bad. I keep my house at 78 and my tank runs 81 consistently and maybe up to 82.

sir_dudeguy · 07/27/2006, 10:02 PM

lol the humidity in my room is always around 80+ tho...i like it humid (it actually helps my breathing/alergies) my room is completely seeled except for the wall unit...i know that evaporation stops/slows down w/more humidity...but i mean, its still working for me lol..whenever i turn the fan off, it gets up to like 84 in the tank, and then when i turn the ac off it gets another 5 degrees in the tank...i'm sure that if i left the ac off always, that it would be 100 + in my room..woudnt dare do that lol. but like i say..the whole room temp is only down to about 80...oh wel

maybe i just break the rule for evap. and cooling and stuff lol

i was down in nicaragua a month ago and they had 92 percent humidity on a daily basis, along w/95 degree heat. i LOVED it down there lol. but now THATS some serious humidity lol. wish i could keep it like that in my room.

i agree that az is way dryer than wa..theres no comparison even lol. complete opposites

sir_dudeguy · 07/27/2006, 10:03 PM

Quote:

I've yet to find a place as hot as FLorida with the high humidity either

lol..nicaragua

07/27/2006, 01:53 PM	#1
gamer Registered Member Join Date: Aug 2005 Location: nor cal Posts: 37	how effective is home a/c Lately northern calfornia has had high temperatures in the 100s. i've recently installed air conditioning in my home and would like to know how effective it will be at reducing tank temperatures? i have no tank at the moment. but am leaning between a 20L - 75g. should i just opt for the drop in coil cooler?

07/27/2006, 02:00 PM	#2
sir_dudeguy Registered Member Join Date: Mar 2006 Location: Portland, OR Posts: 10,841	it will be pretty good. I have a wall unit in my room (i'm in az) and i forgot to turn the a/c back on when i turned it off so i could hear myself on the phone lol.. the tank got up to 85 shortly..prolly a few hours...anyways, i turned it back on and it was back to normal in a couple hours...i just ran it at 70 for a while, then once it got normal i turned it back to 78. fans over the tank help a ton too...just have one blowing across the water...any kinda fan usualy works..i hvae a 10 inch one on my 55 __________________ TAKE...LUCK!!!

07/27/2006, 02:38 PM	#5
newreefbishop Premium Member Join Date: Jun 2006 Location: Fort Lauderdale Posts: 1,787	Im not making a joke out of this but its almost amusing when I see people complainging about heat....we get 100 degree weather every year here in florida.....as long as temp in house is roughly 77-80 degrees tank temp will be similar without lights __________________ Its not just a hobby, it's a lifestyle!!!! The 65 is gone the 110 is in, click the red house for the 110. *Updated Current Tank Info: 110 gal R/R AGA with 40 gallon DIY fuge/sump, 2 AI Sol Blue LED modules, RKL system, Vortech Powerheads, Softies, LPS and SPS. Fox Face, Coral Beauty, Goby, a mated pair of Midnight Black Photon Clowns, BTA, Sebae and small critters everywhere

07/27/2006, 02:50 PM	#6
sir_dudeguy Registered Member Join Date: Mar 2006 Location: Portland, OR Posts: 10,841	i find it amusing when people in fl complain when they only have 100 degre lol. jk. but no really. I'm in az and its been 115 for the last...oh...2 weeks? its freakin hot! but my tanks stay at 78 all the time, due to: 1) my wall unit..i just run that at 79-80...that brings the temp in the tank down about 5 degrees 2) i put fans over the tank..best thing for cooling imo...forget chillers... i say that if most of us arizonians can get by w/out a chiller, then people in michigan/carolina surely dont need one lol. __________________ TAKE...LUCK!!!

07/27/2006, 03:21 PM	#7
JGoslee Premium Member Join Date: Apr 2002 Posts: 1,216	I agree with sir_dudeguy on fans. They are a life saver in summer months. __________________ Click on my red house to see my Zoanthid dominated tank.

07/27/2006, 02:29 PM	#3
doox00 Premium Member Join Date: Feb 2006 Location: West Michigan Posts: 928	its been 90 here in michigan alot, we have central air and my tank has been 78-81, I have even see the heaters kick on a couple times at night.

07/27/2006, 02:30 PM	#4
outy Moved On Join Date: Oct 2004 Location: auburn CA Posts: 4,021	i have a swamp cooler in a 100 year old house and it worked allthough for 2 days i did shut off my MH lighting temps got to 85 one day. tanks been up 10 years this way

07/27/2006, 04:40 PM	#8
mg426 Registered Member Join Date: Jan 2006 Location: maryland Posts: 6,923	I agree with the fan idea. They do work. __________________ I found a way to make a small fortune running a reef tank. Start with a large fortune. Unofficial President of the SEACLONE haters club Current Tank Info: 125 mixed reef 110 lbs LR, 1x250watt XM 20K MH 2x175watt XM 20K MH on Magetics 2X96 watt actinic PC, 220 watt VHO actinic, 30 gallon refugium, closed loop system powered by Sequence Dart MSX 200 skimmer 38 gallon sump, Oceansmotions squirt

07/27/2006, 07:21 PM	#9
fsn77 Registered Member Join Date: Mar 2006 Location: SC Posts: 777	It's been 95+ here in SC, house A/C is set on 77, and with a fan blowing on the sump, our 90g tank stays 81-82.

07/27/2006, 08:47 PM	#10
PatMayo Registered Member Join Date: Sep 2005 Location: Seattle Posts: 2,843	I am here in cool Seattle. We have hot temps once in a while. We recently went through a warm spell and my tank never goes above 80 with the lights on. However I keep my house at 72 with central air. The tank will always be the ambient air temp without lights so there you go. Regards, Pat __________________ 90 AGA Megaflow (Setup 1-24-06) 120 Lbs. Liverock EuroReef RS 100 Skimmer 2 X 150 MH 2 X 96 watt PC Actinic 2 Clarki Clowns (31 months old) 1 Niger Trigger (Owned 6 months) 2 Tunze 6055 PH Current Tank Info: 90 AGA Megaflow To Be Mixed Reef

07/27/2006, 09:08 PM	#11
sir_dudeguy Registered Member Join Date: Mar 2006 Location: Portland, OR Posts: 10,841	how do people in such cooler places than arizona still have heat problems? i'm not saying all arizona people have perfect temps, becuase ya, theres a lot of people that have tanks get up to 90 every once in a while im sure lol..but i'm just curious, how do people who dont even live where its 115 for 3 weeks straight still have tanks that get so warm? also, the temp in my room is always no lower than 78 or 9..costs too much to go much lower.. __________________ TAKE...LUCK!!!

07/27/2006, 09:26 PM	#13
jezzeaepi Registered Member Join Date: Oct 2005 Location: Seattle, Wa Posts: 385	Yah the humidity is killer. After running my AC all day the humidity got so high in the room that the fan over the tank was no longer evaporating anything and the tank quite quickly went up in temp. The room didnt smell so great either. The only solution I found to this was to leave all the windows open at night so the humidity could re-stabilize. Its probably not as big of a problem in a house, but it was a huge one in the apartment.

07/27/2006, 09:59 PM	#14
jay24k Registered Member Join Date: Sep 2003 Location: Leesburg, Florida Posts: 6,546	I've yet to find a place as hot as FLorida with the high humidity either. It is rather sickening. I've been to Arizona and the heat, while hot, is a dry heat and no where as bad. I keep my house at 78 and my tank runs 81 consistently and maybe up to 82.

07/27/2006, 10:02 PM	#15
sir_dudeguy Registered Member Join Date: Mar 2006 Location: Portland, OR Posts: 10,841	lol the humidity in my room is always around 80+ tho...i like it humid (it actually helps my breathing/alergies) my room is completely seeled except for the wall unit...i know that evaporation stops/slows down w/more humidity...but i mean, its still working for me lol..whenever i turn the fan off, it gets up to like 84 in the tank, and then when i turn the ac off it gets another 5 degrees in the tank...i'm sure that if i left the ac off always, that it would be 100 + in my room..woudnt dare do that lol. but like i say..the whole room temp is only down to about 80...oh wel maybe i just break the rule for evap. and cooling and stuff lol i was down in nicaragua a month ago and they had 92 percent humidity on a daily basis, along w/95 degree heat. i LOVED it down there lol. but now THATS some serious humidity lol. wish i could keep it like that in my room. i agree that az is way dryer than wa..theres no comparison even lol. complete opposites __________________ TAKE...LUCK!!!