Chiller?

[SaltyTemple]

Hey All,

Very excited,

Tomorrow is LR day!!! Tanks runnin', skimmer is set up, PH's pumping, lights on.... lights on. Hum, temp is 83.9 after only three hours running... HUM. I never thought we'd need a chiller in the basement, well seems I was wrong. So now I ask the group, how much should I be spending on a chiller, and what type do you suggest.

Sigh, getting set up is a lot of work, thanks to all of you for the help!

 

[Kensn]

Hey Shauna, what is the ambient temperature of the room your tank is in?

 

[SaltyTemple]

Before the tank it was low 60's to low 70's. Now it's 75.

 

[Kensn]

A chiller is a great item, but they are a few pennies, consume a good amount of electricity and add heat to a room. You mighttry a couple of fans blowing on the water inthe tank or sump. This will add to the evaporation rate, but can cool the tank qiute a bit.

What lights are you running?

 

[WaterDogs]

What kind of lights are you running? If MH there is a very good chance you will need a chiller especially if you are trying to keep the temp in the 70's.

 

[NaH2O]

I'd give the fans a try, if you haven't done so, and see where they bring your temp.

 

[SaltyTemple]

I'm running two Power Compacts and two Halides. 450 and 150. I picked up two more fans this afternoon. We'll see how that goes down... I'll keep ya'll posted. Personally I'd rather not spend the extra few hundred.

 

[clayswim]

Besides the fans (which usually works great) you can also try picking up a cheap room air conditioner and bringing the temperature of the room down. The cost in electricity wouldn't necessarily be cheaper, but the initial cost certainly would be.

Clayton

 

[Katchupoy]

If you can fit two fans on your hood. One directly towards the bulbs so you will cool down the source of the heat.... and one directly shooting on the surface of the tank. I assure you, this can lower your tank temp at least 2 to 5 degrees Farenheit.

 

[SaltyTemple]

Thanks for the advice guys. When the tank got to 87.3 I caved and ordered a chiller. My live rock will thank me. Speaking of which, went to Shark Reef this weekend and cleaned them out. Don't bother - I got 110 of their best stuff Looks awesome! Already have some snails and feather dusters creeping out!

 

[Kensn]

Shauna, that seems pretty hot, might want to try to cool down, even if it is to keep the chiller from working so hard. You shouldt blow air directly on the halides, and if you do it will just heat up the air your circulating. Instead try to position a couple of small fans that blow away from the halides, in other words have the fan intake close to the bulbs. This way the heat from the bulbs is directed away from the tank. The less you have to run your chiller the longer it will last also.

 

[cwrenge]

Definately...! the chiller is so valuable.....i ordered mine after i came home and the tank was at 85 ... three days in a row...! i lost my few pieces of coral and i'm sure more on the live-rock.... i have a 55 reef and i hate to lose any thing thats in my tank.... so Salty Temple IMO ya made a valuable choice, cw.

 

[SaltyTemple]

We were able to cool it down overnight to 76 (talk about drastic changes ) We did this by removing the acrylic lids, leaving the hood's doors open, leaving the sump doors open, installing four fans in the sump area (for the lighting ballasts) and one in the hood. Not mentioning the fan blowing cool air into the room. Sigh. Oh, and the lights were all off too.

The lights were set to come on at 10am, so we'll see how bad it gets when I get home...

One off topic question - once the live rock enters the water, how fast will the water conditions change? I waited 24 hours before doing my first run of tests yet everything is still normal...

 

[WaterDogs]

Set your temp to 78*F and you are set.

Does the rock and the room it's in stink? Ammonia will be the first thing to test for, after that zero's out next will be Nitrite with a maxed out reading; wait till both are at zero before changing any water or adding livestock.

 

[SaltyTemple]

It smells like the ocean, not really stinky though, I did an Ammonia test last night and it's still showing 0ppm...

 

[WaterDogs]

The rock may already be cured but keep testing in the coming days just to make sure. If the rock is cured that will save a lot of time, mess and stink.

 

[SaltyTemple]

That was the plan - it's just gorgeous! It has purple and green algae with some orange sponge too. SO exciting - I think since it has remaining live feather dusters and snails that it's already cured. It's from indonesia, really great stuff. I'd recomend it in a heartbeat. Once I get my battery back for my DC I'll take some pictures of it.

 

[WaterDogs]

You are a MicroSlave like me, what are you doing home so early? Me, I try and sneak in a little RF from work.

 

[SaltyTemple]

I'm not home! I'm sneakin RF at work :O!! I'm turning into a junkie - it's in my favorites at work and if I'm feeling naughty I go read the general forum for fun... don't tell my boss!

 

[Scooterman]

Make sure to leave your lids off the top, your better off without, even though some fish may be jumpers, your tank temperature will be more consistent.