Chiller???

[looneytunes]

Hello,
I have a 150 that is already getting a little warm with my t5 lights. It is 77.9 at the moment with a household fan blowing on the sump. I cut the main light and have put on the 2 blues to try to cut down on heat. What chiller do you guys recommend? I was not planning on getting one since i am switching to led's but i don't think that is going to help me as much as necessary to keep the water at a better temp.
Thank you,
Christine

 

[spotter]

I don't think you have anything to worry about with your temp until you start hitting the 80 mark. I am doing the same thing with the house fan on the sump right now.

 

[taz_12777]

I think temp swings are more of an issue then just a higher temp. as long as you don't go to high you should be fine.

 

[looneytunes]

thank you both. What temp does everybody normally keep their tank at?

 

[jgraz]

I was gonna start a thread with the same question. In the nano yesterday 80*. I direct sun. For about 3hrs.

 

[mnat]

The standard thinking in the hobby is that the "correct" temp for a tank is 78-80 degrees. Some people run 80-82 and have great success and some people run 70-72 with great success. From what I have seen and heard if you go around 85 degrees or higher that is when you will start losing things.

The other thing you have to look at is your reef inhabitants. Some fish and corals like cooler temp and some like warmer temps. It is always good to stock accordingly if you tank is going to run around 80.

Now to get technical. There was a study in Coral magazine talking about the calcification rates of SPS corals at certain temps and they found the ideal rate of calcification was at 78 degrees. However, if you went 2-3 degrees either way you still got 80-100% of the same calcification rates as you did at 78 degrees. So again there is a range but not a correct one.

Now on to personal experience. If I could pick a temp and keep it there it would be 75 degrees. Why? It gives you room for error if things do get to hot or too cold. If you run your tank at 80-82 and have a power outage, you have a very small margin of error for the tank to get too hot and crash. Also, the metabolic rate of fish is higher when you increase the temperature which can shorten lifespans. 75 degrees also gives us plenty of room on the downside for the tank to get colder and still not have a problem. I know someone who ran an amazing SPS system at 70-72 degrees and had no problem with it. So at 75 we have almost 10 degrees on the upside and 5-10 on the downside if there is a temp event.

 

[Hawkeye]

in my opinion the items that cause the most heat in the tank are pumps. So list what powerheads/return pump etc you have. Also double check the heater (or disable it for the summer)

 

[looneytunes]

Thank you everyone for your help.
The house itself is currently at 80. I have an atb flowstar 1500 in the sump as well as the bubble blaster for my sro 2000 int. In the display I have 2 vortech mp40's. That is it for pumps. I run t5's 6-80 watts but I never have all 6 on. I just turned off the 4 and turned on the 2 blues to try to keep it cooler. Right now the temp is holding at 78.8 with the old fashioned house fan blowing on the sump. The heater is being controlled by the reefkeeper and is not on. I will slowly readjust it to 76 and see if that helps at all. I can't wait for my new lights, I know these t5's are heating up the water since the stand only takes them up about 8".

 

[Hawkeye]

Thank you everyone for your help.
The house itself is currently at 80. I have an atb flowstar 1500 in the sump as well as the bubble blaster for my sro 2000 int. In the display I have 2 vortech mp40's. That is it for pumps. I run t5's 6-80 watts but I never have all 6 on. I just turned off the 4 and turned on the 2 blues to try to keep it cooler. Right now the temp is holding at 78.8 with the old fashioned house fan blowing on the sump. The heater is being controlled by the reefkeeper and is not on. I will slowly readjust it to 76 and see if that helps at all. I can't wait for my new lights, I know these t5's are heating up the water since the stand only takes them up about 8".

my money is on the atb flowstar and bubble blaster....

Of course the house at 80 does cause warmth issues too...Maybe try keeping the house at 79? 78?

of course 78.8 is fine for most tanks...so once you get your new lights - then all maybe fine if you are concerned about the major heat to come in the summer...but then when that comes perhaps just adjust the ac to 79?

 

[looneytunes]

I will definitely have the ac on for the summer but at the moment i would like to enjoy a little more time with low electric bills. The flowstar seems to run pretty cool. They are both low wattage pumps for the most part.

 

[jgraz]

Christine,
How did you make out with the heat today. I came home to two tanks at 84*. House closed up and a/c off.

 

[looneytunes]

Sorry i missed this trouble at work. that day was the worst but i was able to keep it around 81. I had the windows open all day and the small breeze did help. I also had the lights off which while not the best thing was the only way i could be sure that they wouldn't die while i was at work. If i had the main lights on all day my tank would have surpassed your number easily. It took all night to start getting the temp lower. I also now have 2 small bottles of water still sealed that i have frozen solid. While it really doesn't seem to do anything for the tank, it makes me feel better throwing them in my sump when the temp is high. I luckily have not lost anything but my puffer was not happy and like a true female is still giving me the cold shoulder.
Thank you for asking and I hope you made it through OK.
Christine

 

[Sunny]

How big is your tank and the sump? Just trying to gauge the water volume.

Sunny

 

[looneytunes]

the tank is a 150 and the sump has between 25-30 gallons