Chillers and heaters...help!

[Lostreef]

I am new to this hobby but I would like to place a 70 gallon or greater reef tank to a sunroom. Wondering how reliable chillers and heaters are and how much room temperature can fluctuate tank water. The room does not receive direct sun light. It is heated but can reach a low of 60 degrees a few nights in the year. In the summer there might be an occasional night where the room temp is 80-85. Am I asking for a disaster if I place a reef tank in this room? Not sure how effective heaters and chillers are and how quickly a tank water temp can change based on the room temperature. Any thoughts or suggestions appreciated.

 

[BlennyTime]

Water does a pretty good job of holding heat and being resistant to temperature changes. I’d start with a a few heaters (for redundancy), and add a chiller if you find you need it.

Most fish and coral are at least somewhat tolerant of temperature swings, so don’t worry too much if it changes a degree or two during the day.

Happy reefing

 

[Shirak]

Definitely easier to warm the tank but use several smaller heaters and good controllers. Worst thing to happen is a stuck heater cooking everything. Chillers work well but require some plumbing and can dump a lot of heat into the room if it’s not cooled or vented. A fan blowing at the water surface can help greatly in keeping an aquarium cool on the occasional warm day but will increase the need for more freshwater top off.
Don’t forget pumps, lights, power heads etc all add heat to the water too.
My tank runs at 78-79 without much heat from the heaters in a room that’s around 72. The chiller on my system will start to cycle on and off when the room is in the high 70s. When it’s hot here and in the mid 80s it will run a good portion of the day to keep the tank around 80