Chill or Not Chill that is the question

[lefkonj]

I started my 180 gallon tank about 3 weeks ago. The room has a ceiling fan and AC in it. My temp gets up to about 82.4 every day, and I am debating as to whether or not I need a chiller. I have 4 AI Sol Blues above the tank, going to be raising them up to about 10" over the weekend.

Do people recommend a chiller for a situation like this or is there a simpler solution.

If people believe in the chiller route, which brands do they prefer?

Thanks again.

 

[NewJerseyReefer]

There are simpler solutions. This is one of them. Does your tank have a canopy by any chance? If so you can install pc cooling fans or air vents that they sale in home depot or lowes you can put them on the sides of the canopy. IMO I would go with 2 5inch fans on the sides one that sucks the air and one that releases the air. It will help you save a lot of money too.

 

[downbeach]

I guess my first thought would be, "where is the heat coming from in the first place"? What kind of a thermometer are you using? What's the ambient temperature in the room? I have a 180, and even when I had MH's on the tank, with all my pumps being submerged, it would only get up to 82 in the summer.

 

[thirty5]

I have to agree that you are making heat somewhere. I had a 170 with 3 250w halides and my temp would only max out at like 81-82. And you are running AI's which say that they only raise the temp of the water 1 degree over 12 hours. I don't think that it is your light. What kind of pumps are you using in your sump, which is probably creating your heat.

I agree to check your thermometer to make sure that it is working correctly. IMO I would do what I needed to do to NOT have to run a chiller, that includes re-doing the sump and only running external pumps. My new 75 gal that I am building will have an external pump. Only thing that will create head will be the ambient temp, skimmer pump and AI's

 

[JRWOHLER]

I agree with the last two callers. Make sure your thermometer are you using...I keep two in the tank one on my controller and an old fashion liquid type. I had an electric one go bad and I cooked my tank thinking the temp was too low, caused some serious problems.

 

[lefkonj]

Tank Build Info

I have the following:
4 AI Sol Blue (intensity set to 50%, I think)
2 Mag Drive 1200 return pumps
1 Trigger System Bursa Protein skimmer
2 EcoTech Marine MP40s
My heaters are not turning on so i don't believe that it is.

I am working to mount the lights higher up as the rails and legs are just too short. Will try the fan route as well.

I don't have a thermometer to measure air temp but I will grab one as that is a good point.

 

[thirty5]

I have the following:
4 AI Sol Blue (intensity set to 50%, I think)
2 Mag Drive 1200 return pumps
1 Trigger System Bursa Protein skimmer
2 EcoTech Marine MP40s
My heaters are not turning on so i don't believe that it is.

I am working to mount the lights higher up as the rails and legs are just too short. Will try the fan route as well.

I don't have a thermometer to measure air temp but I will grab one as that is a good point.

Well the AI's are not really your prob. How high are they now???

The mags are prob kicking off some heat....

I am not familiar with your skimmer so I cant comment.

MP40's have really no heat at all..

I would unplug your heaters for now, just to make sure that they are not malfunctioning...

You don't have a thermostat for your heating system>???

 

[lefkonj]

They are the Ehiem heaters and the indicator lights are off, but I have unplugged them and saw not change at all. They were freaked out at first but I calibrated them and its all good now. The lights are about 3 inches above the water now, but I am moving them to about 7 inches over the weekend.

 

[Joejoe]

Fans blowing across the top of the water surface. This will cause evaporation. The more evaporation the cooler the water. You can also put a fan blowing across the top of your sump.

 

[lefkonj]

Funny I was thinking of covering the SUMP openings to prevent evaporation. Good idea though.

 

[thirty5]

They are the Ehiem heaters and the indicator lights are off, but I have unplugged them and saw not change at all. They were freaked out at first but I calibrated them and its all good now. The lights are about 3 inches above the water now, but I am moving them to about 7 inches over the weekend.

3 inches?? I don't think that they are supposed to be that close.... You want them a little higher either way so the light spreads out a bit to give you more coverage...

Fans blowing across the top of the water surface. This will cause evaporation. The more evaporation the cooler the water. You can also put a fan blowing across the top of your sump.

This is a great idea. It was spoken about above about a canopy? Do you have a canopy on the tank? Is the back open? When I had my 170 the entire back was open to let hot air out. If you do have a canopy you can put a couple fans, one blowing into the canopy and one blowing out, this will cause a draft through the canopy.

Funny I was thinking of covering the SUMP openings to prevent evaporation. Good idea though.

Do not cover the sump, let the water evaporate, then make sure that you have an ATO, that will then put cooler room temp water into the system, this will help regulate the temp.

 

[downbeach]

The only thing I see that could be creating heat is the Mag 12's. Can you put you hand near them in the sump and feel how hot they are?
How close are your return pumps/sump to the DT.

 

[spotter]

I definitely think its coming from the mags. I use a mag 9.5 in a 32 gallon brute can to mix salt and that pump alone keeps the water at 80 during the summer and 78 during the winter.

 

[NewJerseyReefer]

I definitely think its coming from the mags. I use a mag 9.5 in a 32 gallon brute can to mix salt and that pump alone keeps the water at 80 during the summer and 78 during the winter.

Wow mags really give out heat that much? Here I was thinking on upgrading to a mag 9.5 pump.

 

[downbeach]

Wow mags really give out heat that much? Here I was thinking on upgrading to a mag 9.5 pump.

I figure as long as you don't have to do anything to 'chill' the water, it's all fine. You'd have to heat it one way or another anyway. So, if the mag 9 is a good fit for you, I'd use it.

 

[asonitez]

I have a similiar water volume as the OP and I get stupid temperature swings as well. The house generally has fans running 24/7 and I'm using halides. My tem got up to 85 a few times over the summer and that caused me some problems. I am using a MAG 18 as my return and it is also running a manifold.

 

[lefkonj]

I really hope its not the MAGs as that would SUCK.

I am moving the lights up a few inches, as stated earlier so we will see what that does.

The canopy is open at the back and has a vent along the entire top section. The fans within the canopy is another thing I have been thinking about.

 

[downbeach]

I have a 180 and am using mag 9's, I couldn't use anything larger as a return, without having to throttle it back with a ball valve. Is it a RR tank, with Megaflow overflow chambers? How are your return pumps set up?

 

[lefkonj]

I have 2 overflow boxes on each side, each pump is driving an individual return using 3/4" tubing. They sit in the sump completely submerged in water.

 

[curt]

Did you check you thermometer? What are you using to check you temp? My temp is reading 90 on the acjr but the temp is 79. It's time for a new temp probe. Good timing with the GB.