Do i need a Chiller????

And resurrecting another thread...

I'm trying to avoid having a chiller not just for the cost but environmentally it would be better to avoid. anyways, has anyone had luck with this? I keep the house 79 max and I'm hoping that should do it, combined w/ LED lights.

or are there any newer cheaper alternatives for every now and then chilling?

thoughts?

 

You would be amazed at what one 2 speed WalMart clip on fan over the sump is capable of. They will easily lower the temp 3-5 degrees or more on low speed.

I had a 1/4HP chiller on a totally enclosed 100G reef with 2x250w MH and 2x140w VHO in Phoenix and I have a digital set back thermostat on the house AC that raises 2-3 degrees all day while we are at work.
I installed two 120mm DC computer fans in the canopy, both blowing in with equal sized exit holes in the canopy roof above the reflectors powered by a DC variable voltage power supply set at between 9 and 10.5 volts to slow the fans down. I also have a clip on fan over the sump on a Ranco dual stage controller to only come on if the tank reaches 81 degrees.

The 1/4HP chiller did not run for 2 years unless I triggered it manually to test it so I sold it and have never regretted it in the 3+ years it has been gone. The house is cooler (chillers run very hot and are noisy besides being power hogs) and the tank stayed at 78-80 degrees year round. I switched to AI Sol Blue LEDs over a year ago and now the fans never run and the tank is 78-79 with less evaporation and hardly any temperature swing at all.

Fans work wonders but will increase evaporation but in my mind RO/DI top off water is cheaper than electricity any day.

 

Where I live it gets around 90-96 in summer then is cool as f*** at night ...... I never ran a cooler . I know some folks would disagree .

But it's not uncommon to see open ocean around natural reefs temperature fluctuate daily or from morning to night .

I never lost anything to temperature swings ............ Maybe another lesson I've yet to learn.

 

Great advice. I was given some MH but am going to buy LEDs so I think I'm going to give your plan a try rather than a chiller. the whole concept of a chiller bugs me and the cost is just an extra dig every month! thanks!

 

Two years ago I got in a power savings frrame of mind.
By changing from MH and VHO to LED, eliminating my closed loop and pump and moving the Oceans Motions Squirt to my return circuit, more efficient powerheads and changing my lighting schedule to better fit my off peak electrical rate I saved about $50 a month. I had already sold the chiller so it had already dropped about $25 a month previous to that.

The tank is still lit the same number of hours per day, the flow is actually better than before, the temperature is 2 degrees less than before without the use of a chiller or fans and best of all the house AC does not run as often since the chiller no longer heats the dining room and the humidity is lower since less evaporation so I realized another $50-$60 a month savings on the power there.

I did a couple documented write ups on the changes and the savings on AZReefs anda few other forums but the long and short is my average bill for June in past years was between $350 and $400 and this years June bill as $217 with only $148 in May. Thats in Phoenix for a 4 bedroom 2 bath home with an in ground swimming pool and two car climate controlled garage with grandkids and great grandkids in and out all day long. I'm very happy with my results and everything I have bought has already paid for itself several times over in savings.

 

Great information and awesome savings!

what kind of powerheads did you go with? dont have any right now (just starting) but sooner or later will need to

 

I am presently using two of the new Jebao WP-25's with the 1F controller. Before that I used two Hydor Evolutions 1400's for over three years controlled by a RKL switching every 30 seconds. Prior to that was older style Hydro Koralia K-4's, Sicce Voyagers, Seios and Maxijets both stock and modified propeller style. Each change was a big improvement over the previous set up.

 

nice where did you get the jebao? haven't been able to find them myself.

 

I got two 25's and a 40 from a big group buy but you should be able to find them at fish-street.com .