Chiller

agame2021 · Aug 7, 2021

So I am really new to this whole thing and live in AZ. I put a heater in each of my tanks and just got an extra thermometer to double check the temp. I have a 20 gal QT tank and a 140 gallon DT. The temp has not been below 83 Degrees F. Am I going to need a chiller?
Will my fish even survive this temp?

I know it’s hot outside but inside we keep it around 75. I just don’t get why the water is staying so warm.
Is this normal for arizona?
What is your experience with chillers?
Any particular brands to get stay away from?
How much would I need for this big tank?
Is it even worth it for my small tank since it’s just a QT?

Shirak · Aug 7, 2021

pumps and lights add heat to the water. If you have an open top you can point a small fan at the surface. You should get a decent drop from evaporative cooling and may not need a chiller. Increasing surface agitation could help if there isn't a whole lot going on there. You will need more top up water though. 83 is too hot IMO

Gedxin · Aug 7, 2021

Your regular room ambient temp is 75...and your DT is reading 83? Do you have the AC on all the time? That's really concerning and odd if so. I'd double check your heater and what it's set to. I'd also double check any other equipment you have in your system as it appears to be generating a TON of heat.

As a personal example, I live in SoCal where days are >90F, but I have the AC on 24/7 and keep my tank room ~75-76. I have no chiller and my heater keeps my tank 77-78. I do not own a chiller and have no plans to. If my AC dies I'll add a fan blowing over the top.

agame2021 · Aug 8, 2021

Gedxin said:
Your regular room ambient temp is 75...and your DT is reading 83? Do you have the AC on all the time? That's really concerning and odd if so. I'd double check your heater and what it's set to. I'd also double check any other equipment you have in your system as it appears to be generating a TON of heat.

As a personal example, I live in SoCal where days are >90F, but I have the AC on 24/7 and keep my tank room ~75-76. I have no chiller and my heater keeps my tank 77-78. I do not own a chiller and have no plans to. If my AC dies I'll add a fan blowing over the top.

Well rn we have to turn off the ac from 3-8 pm because that is when it costs the most. We are renting a room and our land lord doesn’t want to spend that much on the electric bill. House rarely gets above 78 (80+ maybe when we spend the day cooking a ton of meal preps, but that is like once every 2+ months). I had the heater cranked up in the tank to test it out but I dropped it down to 78 and now it won’t drop below 83 in my display tank. It’s been 4 days. (I don’t have fish in there yet, but they are going into the QT tank once I do)
My land lord said this is the hotter side of the house but idk… I do have the option to move it down to an extra room but there is no ac and it’s more at the will of the heat of the day…

Shirak · Aug 8, 2021

Try the fan if you can. You should be able to get a several degree drop if the room air is dry. If you can keep it 78-80 will be fine.

Coolers are fine but they also generate a fair amount of heat which will just heat up your room more! Unless you can exhaust the heat with open windows etc or counter with AC...

Gedxin · Aug 8, 2021

Hate to say it, but if you can't consistently keep your ambient room temp <78, your tank will never get lower than that at its best (and considering you've got equipment in there heating it up, it likely never will.)

You're gonna want a chiller. JBJ is having a sale on their site right now: http://www.jbjchillers.com/

Edit: You can try evaporative cooling. I can't see it getting you lower than 80F, but it might if it's on 24/7?

agame2021 · Aug 9, 2021

Would there be any problems buying one that is used? I found one this guy doesn’t know how long it was running but he said he hardly used it and when he moved he disconnected it.

He said it’s a jbj arctic chiller DBM 250 1/3.