When do you know if you need a chiller?

I just stumbled upon what a chiller actually is not more than fifteen minutes ago and after reading for a little I came across the question.

Who needs a chiller? How will I know if I need one. Do I have to have my sump setup and running for awhile and then see if your temp. rises?

 

Generally the rule of thumb is to try and keep the temp under 80 but 82 is as far as you would ever want to go. There are always going to be exceptions and I've read them all but when you see your fish start to die then that could be the cause. Try fans first but they will cause some evaporation but the electric bill isn't as much.

 

Claic - I totally agree with Powerman above regarding temp

I would go on to say , if you live in a temperate climate with a few weeks of high temp each year, then alternative cooling methods would be sensible
such as ice packs in the sump
reversing your light period so its on when its dark outside and thus cooler
running fans or your home AC

but if you live in a warm climate and really hot days are the rule and not the exception
then getting a chiller is a smart investment IMO

Steve

 

I am in Phoenix AZ with a 100G reef with 2x250w MH and 2x140w VHO in a completely enclosed canopy. Our home has a digital thermostat on the AC unit which raises the temp several degrees while we are away at work on weekdays. The normal house temp is kept at 76-77 so its not chilly even at its lowest and goes up to 80 when we are away. To top it off we use a swamp cooler for all our cooling needs until late June when the monsoons kick in with high humidity then we make the switch until late September.

The point is, I sold my 1/4 HP chiller a few months ago as it had not ran since April 2008 and was not needed. Two 120mm computer fans in the canopy and a 7" Wal Mart clip on fan over the sump maintain temperatures of 79-81 all summer long. Properly placed fans are amazing in what they can do, so much so I had to shut the sump fan off as my heater was kicking on too often in the past few weeks, the two computer fans are doing it all by themeslves and they only run with the MH lights.
The computer fans both blow in across the waters surface and there are equal sized exit holes in the roof of my canopy above the reflectors for the hot air to escape. Pulling in cooler dry air is much more efficient than trying to pull out moist hot air so have your fans low and blowing in with the exits up high so it also takes advantage of convection.

The biggest thing that made this possible was an autotopoff system. With the chiller I was adding about 1.5 gallons a day to the sump. In the hottest part of summer it may now be 3 gallons a day with all fans running but is back to the 1,5 or less now that winter is here. Adding water by hand was a real PITA so the ATO was a must for me.

The other thing I have done as a safety is add a Reefkeeper Lite controller so it controls the fans and lights. if the tank gets too hot the fans come on to cool it back down. If they can't keep up I get an alarm and the lights shut down until it cools off. It has never happened yet but the program is there as a back up.