How Hot do MH's and a chiller make the room?

[rmjj21]

I am in the process of piecing together my new 180g tank. I had been planning to go with a t5 actinic because they are so much cheaper and use a lot less electricity. When I came across someone on craigslist selling there tank he offered me the following items for $600:

1/3HP TECO SeaChill Chiller TR20 that is only about a year old.

Coralife Aqualight Pro Metal Halide Aquarium Light Fixture, 3X250 watt, HQI & 4X96 watt, Compact Fluorescents, 72 inch, with 12 moon light leds With HIGH end digital lamp ballasts.
I hate to pass up a great deal and I feel like this is a great deal, not to mention I think this light will blow away any t5 light i was going to buy that would cost more than this.
The tank will be set up in my basement, which I am in the process of remodeling. I can't say what the temp typically stays at because for one the basement was not properly insulated so in the summer it gets warm. I am hoping to avoid that next year when it will be poperly insulated. And 2. I don't have AC down there so I don't have anyway to really cool the room. Will running this light and chiller generate too much hear for this finished room in my basement making it unusable.

That's my entire situation. Any guidance you can provide would be greatly appreciated.

[dustinc]

I really don't think you need to worry about it adding a whole lot of heat to a room. You shouldn't have to big of an issue with that.

[ToddG.]

If you can exhaust the heat from the chiller and lights outside youll be okay otherwise it will raise the temp more than you think chillers put off lots of heat will be defeating some of its pupose in my oppinion

[sirreal63]

You may not even need the chiller and they can put out a lot of heat. The only thing I don't like about that setup is the 4x96 watt pc's. They won't offer much for lighting but consume 400 watts of power which is 400 watts of heat. If I were in your situation I would use 14K Phoenix bulbs and never turn the pc's on. You get the color without the need for the actintics, or if you were handy I would retrofit some T5 actintics in place of the pc's. I would also try and run a duct from the a/c to the basement or install a good window unit.

[dots]

There are too many variables to give an adequate answer. Your location, the room size, ventelation, etc all play a part here.

FWIW, I had the Coralife Aqualight Pros in 150W and 250W MH....and in the end upgraded a third time as the reflectors in those units are not very good. I switched to 250W SE's with some quality reflectors and got some great results, which seemed to help issues that I was always plagued with before.

You could put in some retro T5's with that budget and hold off on a chiller until next summer if you don't have that sensitive livestock to need it or just rely on evaporative cooling.

T5's have come a long way and think I would prefer them over that unit or any other DE lamps. As well, you may be able to get away with not having a chiller at all by going with them and the bulb choices are probably greater now than the DE bulb choices currently....which I personally only found 2 I liked......

[theROYSKIE]

i have a 140 gal system (80 gal display and 65 gal refuge/sump) in my room- 10'x12'(room size)
running two 150 watt 14k vipers and t-5 actinics on the dispay and 54 watt p/c 10k grow bulb on the refuge. an artica 1/5 hp chiller is cooling the system. my room gets hot in the summer. but it is a small room w only half the walls being insulated.

it all depends on how big ur basement is, the quality of ventilation down there, how long u set the photoperiod for, etc. having an exhast set up pulling heat from the chiller/lights out of the basement will def make for a more comfortable setting to enjoy your new reef.

[MMA]

Yeah I wouldn't worry about it if temperature is your issue. Not sure you are getting that good of deal though

[solitude127]

I agree with Dots, there are too many variables. I used to have a 90 gallon with 6 54watt T5s and a 1/5 JBJ chiller in my family room (room size was about 20 x 15). During the summer days when it was 85 or so outside, the temp inside the house would be about 85 - 90. The tank temp was good because of the chiller but all the exhaust from the chiller and the heat from my lights really raised the temp of the house.