To chill or not to chill

[Europhyllia]

Is everybody running a chiller?
My set up doesn't fluctuate much. I have it set for 78 as the low because my high is at 80 degrees.
I figure 2 degrees is acceptable.
But with the horrid experience of the last few weeks I was thinking of making everything as secure as possible.
Maybe I should get a chiller in case the AC on the house goes out in the middle of summer or something crazy.
Does the chiller only come on when the temp gets to high?
Or does it use up electricity no matter what?
Is it noisy?
Should I get one?

[RayAllen]

Ive never ran a chiller my 6yrs in the hobby, and I know of many who do not run them. Actually the majority do not run chillers nation wide. I say this from my years of being on maast and reefcentral looking at countless builds.

I keep my house at 70-73 year round and that helps keep the tank from getting to warm. On the large tanks ive had I run a fan across the top and thats all that ive ever needed. Thats my plan on the 180.

[tebstan]

I was wondering about a chiller as well. The heat will be here soon!

RayAllen, with the house at 73 what does your tank stay at?

My house is at 76-78, and I'd like the tank to be a bit cooler, even now. I'm worried about the summer months.

[Gseclipse02]

i have one plumed in but it doesn't ever turn on .... i have it set for 83 degree if it gets that hot something is wrong ...

once it gets a little hotter ill put my fan back on in my sump that should keep it cool for the most part

it should only be using power if its on (i hope ) i had a teco chiller and it only allowed for a one degree swing really annoying IMO

i think maast members have used my chiller more than i have to be honest lol

[Mr Cob]

I also have never ran a chiller. I also keep my house cool year round 70-74.

I do add a single fan to my MH timer and blow it in the canopy or over the sump during the summer.

That's about it. I have about a 3 degree temp swing in the winter (78-81) and about 4 degrees (78-82) in the summer. Which is fine for a mixed reef....if I was SPS only I would probably run a chiller just to eliminate the temp swing.

I also run my MH lights 7 hours, actinic blue led's 15 hrs and sump on reverse light cycle.

[tebstan]

So at what temperature do I start freaking out?
Mine is 80-82 in the winter, without the canopy fans on. The fans drop it 2-3 degrees.

[Mr Cob]

I freak at 82.8....gives me enough time to counter the problem before going over 83. I personally do not like my tank to go over 83....but considering the wild, most corals can handle it.

I'm assuming like anything, every tank has it's own limits based on our different habits our livestock has grown accustomed to.

[Europhyllia]

i have one plumed in but it doesn't ever turn on .... i have it set for 83 degree if it gets that hot something is wrong ...

it should only be using power if its on (i hope )
See that sounds good to me. Like an insurance policy...

Anybody have experience with buying a used chiller? Do chillers usually hold up pretty well? Or is it one of those things that shouldn't be bought used?

[Gseclipse02]

See that sounds good to me. Like an insurance policy...
?


exatcly lol

ever since i switched to t5;s i have not had a temp problem

[Mr Cob]

See that sounds good to me. Like an insurance policy...



I totally agree, and if I had an extra $300 or more laying around I would also run one. Kind of like having a power generator too....or a Back-UPS on your computer.

These are all very useful items that can save your tank in time of a crisis....well, actually the chiller can be very useful for more than just a crisis...like getting rid of temp swings.....some of us just keep buying coral though. LOL!

[Bill S]

I have a 2/3 hp chiller sitting in the garage... If someone needs one, let me know. It's right next to the 1200w generator, still in the box!

[Europhyllia]

Yeah for a tank my size I'd probably spend $500 or more on a new chiller. That's why I was wondering how well chillers hold up used. They seem to drop in price pretty well but I am worried I'd just waste a couple of hundret dollars on one and it ended up not working when I needed it to...

[Europhyllia]

Wow. Bill you are prepared! If my AC breaks I'll be sure to call you. lol

A chiller would be a good purchase for the MAAST library ... ;)

[Bill S]

Karin, I just posted mine for sale. It's a killer unit - not one of the cheapo Chinese units. IF they ever break, they can be taken to an A/C shop and they can easily & inexpensively repair them.

[Europhyllia]

I saw that! It's a monster. lol

[Europhyllia]

What about settings? I think JT just mentioned the small range didn't work well for him. I was looking at a JBJ Arcitica (trying to keep it in the 1/5 to 1/4 HP range) and it says it has a +/- 1 degree setting. Does that mean it will constantly tango with the heater.
I only want to to come on as an emergency measure. I don't need to to be on constant to keep it without any swings.

[Bill S]

If you've decided to buy a chiller, use it. My wife says the chiller was the single best thing we bought for the tank. No more fans, no more hot humid air. No more A/C running all the time. Our electric bill actually went down. It didn't run often, but it also meant we could keep the top doors closed all the time.

When you choose a chiller, always oversize it. You don't want it to run all the time. Also remember that when you pull heat out of your tank with chiller, if your chiller is in your room, you then have to remove that transferred heat out of the room.

[RayAllen]

I was wondering about a chiller as well. The heat will be here soon!

RayAllen, with the house at 73 what does your tank stay at?

My house is at 76-78, and I'd like the tank to be a bit cooler, even now. I'm worried about the summer months.

Warmest I remember any of my tanks getting was 80. My current tank a BioCube 29- the hottest it got over winter was 79 when the home heat was on.

I do not keep my thermestat at 71-73 because of the tank though. Thats all me, Im a hot natured person so the cooler the better during the hot seasons. 76 in my house and im sweating, lol.

[Europhyllia]

See I don't want to cool the whole house down that low. It just seems like such a waste of electricity. How ironic it would be for me to contribute to CO2 emissions (and with it heating of the earth's oceans) in attempt to cool my little reef at home.
I'd like to keep the house AC between 76-78 in the summer if possible.
Intersting about your electric bill, Bill! I like that. A chiller might be in my future... have to think about it some more.
Thanks!

[txav8r]

I keep my house at 78 in the summer and don't have a chiller. Fans on the surface is the only thing that keeps my tank cool. Just be prepared to top off frequently.

[Europhyllia]

Yeah I haven't had any problems keeping it cool with just a fan and I am used to topping off 2.5 gallons a day.
But I was thinking chiller could be good in case AC goes out on a hot day or even to cut back on top off (less wear on RO/DI filters,etc., less water wasted)

[CoryDude]

Good advice so far! I've used chiller for the last 15 years. +1 on oversizing the unit.

It's the best insurance you can buy especially if you stock sensitive animals. I've always read that temps under 80 promote a more stable metabolism for corals and fish.

My soft corals thrived when temps where 76-78F. But whatever you set you temp at, a 2 degree swing seems to be really beneficial for you tank in multiple ways.

The JBJ actica chillers are nice, and they have a decent warranty service. My only advice is to oversize the unit, and get a chiller with a built in probe. That will keep it from running, if the feed pump shuts off.

[CoryDude]

The chiller will help your house ac a little, but only if you vent the heat from the evaporator coils outside the house. I've got my chiller plumbed outside the house. But that only works if you're tank's located next to an exterior wall.

[Europhyllia]

If I could pick 77/78 would be my preference too.
My tank is in the dining room against the wall to the garage. Would be able to put it out there but it would heat up the garage in the summer...

[Meslo]

My tank wall also is the one to the garage. One thing to keep in mind if the air in the garage is over 85-90 ish its gona make your cooler work hard to chill the water.I put all my pumps and sump outside but the chiller is inside under the tank.

[Europhyllia]

too bad they don't have those crinkle foil hoses like dryers...

[reddrum]

I personally think it is worth the money not having to keep your house exceptionally cold or having to top off with multiple gallons of water a day due to fans.

[alienspacepirate]

I had to store my aquarium at my mothers house last year while I was in between apartments. I had no choice, it would have been either sell the whole setup or store it there. She only has window AC units and she would only turn them on when the house got to about 80. A few times when I came in the water was so hot that it was 'off the scale' of the temp probe in the tank and the water was 'hot' to the touch. I lost a black and white domino but my damsel survived. All of my coral survived too. This went through basically a whole corpus summer.

I put the lights on a 4 hour max cycle... the algae went totally nuts in the tank however. I am just now getting it cleared up from that mess and that was like 8 months ago.

Just from my 'stress-test' experience your tank can 'survive' short bursts of intensive heat but obviously will be bad on many things. I'm still glad I kept the tank because although I had zero growth through the period I still have most of the items and they are making a comeback.


ps. The blue and yellow damsel I named 'survivor man' because he is hardy as heck