To Chiller........or Not to Chiller.........

ScubaRW4 · 08/21/2007, 10:16 PM

I have a 75-gallon reef tank that I just purchased from a young fellow that had it running for 5 years.
I have the tank lit with a Coralife fixture (that houses two Coralife 65-watt actinic and two 65-watt 10,000K compact fluorescents) and a JBJ Transworldaqua fixture (housing two 55-watt blue actinic compact fluorescents).
The tank temperature never seems to get lower than 81-degrees Farhenheit and rises to nearly 83-degrees. Should I get a chiller to lower the temp a few degrees? I want to replace the JBJ light fixture with another 4-tube fixture in the near future, so it is bound to get even warmer.

Sk8r · 08/21/2007, 10:29 PM

Have you got a lid? Remove it, ditto in the sump.
Get a fan: that's good for 3 degrees in a tank that size. If you have AC in the house, that and a fan should do it.

If you don't, consider getting a room rollabout AC for your own comfort and then let the tank and a fan handle it: they're about the same price as a chiller. But if you have a couple of fans on those lights, that should cool them down, and if you have fans blowing over the sump, that should knock the temp quite a few degrees.

08/21/2007, 10:16 PM	#1
ScubaRW4 Registered Member Join Date: Aug 2007 Location: Indiana Posts: 52	To Chiller........or Not to Chiller......... I have a 75-gallon reef tank that I just purchased from a young fellow that had it running for 5 years. I have the tank lit with a Coralife fixture (that houses two Coralife 65-watt actinic and two 65-watt 10,000K compact fluorescents) and a JBJ Transworldaqua fixture (housing two 55-watt blue actinic compact fluorescents). The tank temperature never seems to get lower than 81-degrees Farhenheit and rises to nearly 83-degrees. Should I get a chiller to lower the temp a few degrees? I want to replace the JBJ light fixture with another 4-tube fixture in the near future, so it is bound to get even warmer.

08/21/2007, 10:29 PM	#2
Sk8r RC Mod Join Date: Feb 2006 Location: Spokane WA Posts: 34,628 Blog Entries: 55	Have you got a lid? Remove it, ditto in the sump. Get a fan: that's good for 3 degrees in a tank that size. If you have AC in the house, that and a fan should do it. If you don't, consider getting a room rollabout AC for your own comfort and then let the tank and a fan handle it: they're about the same price as a chiller. But if you have a couple of fans on those lights, that should cool them down, and if you have fans blowing over the sump, that should knock the temp quite a few degrees. __________________ Sk8r Salinity 1.024-6; alkalinity 8.3-9.3 on KH scale; calcium 420; magnesium 1300, temp 78-80, nitrate .2. Ammonia 0. No filters: lps tank. Alk and cal won't rise if mg is low. Current Tank Info: 105g AquaVim wedge, yellow tang, sailfin blenny,royal gramma, ocellaris clown pair, yellow watchman, 100 microceriths, 25 tiny hermits, a 4" conch, 1" nassarius, recovering from 2 year hiatus with daily water change of 10%.