Keeping your aquarium cool WITHOUT a chiller?
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laverda
2500 Club Member
I had a chiller in the past. It would heat up most of a 1900 sq ft house and run up the electric bill like crazy. Once the house got hot it did not even cool the tang that well. I got rid of it and went with just some inexpensive fans. The tank stayed cool and my electric bill was lower and the house would net be miserable to home home to.
My current house the afternoon sun comes in 4 large windows and heats up the house. Our AC is to small to keep it cool. It would run all day and the temp would still get to 84-86 inside. The house would stay hot till well into the night. Of course that would cause the tank temps to slowly increase over a few days into the 80s.
I installed 4 roll up shades outside the windows for the summer. And it made a huge difference! Now the AC hardly ever comes on. The tank stays cool, so do we and the electric bill is much lower. My 300 gallon just has a few inexpensive fans for cooling, which have not come on at as far as I know this year.
My current house the afternoon sun comes in 4 large windows and heats up the house. Our AC is to small to keep it cool. It would run all day and the temp would still get to 84-86 inside. The house would stay hot till well into the night. Of course that would cause the tank temps to slowly increase over a few days into the 80s.
I installed 4 roll up shades outside the windows for the summer. And it made a huge difference! Now the AC hardly ever comes on. The tank stays cool, so do we and the electric bill is much lower. My 300 gallon just has a few inexpensive fans for cooling, which have not come on at as far as I know this year.
laverda
2500 Club Member
I can not imagine the electric bill of those in hot climates that keep your houses at 72 and heat your tanks. Our AC is set to 78 most of the time. Actually it is Turned off so far this year.
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CaseyWagner
Active Member
Waterproof Noctua fans??? Ooooh. I love the Noctua fans in my PC. Dead silent.
Where do you get those mounts too? (Edit: Wow, printed? They look really smooth for print quality)
Noctua makes an industrial grade waterproof fan model, I linked it in a previous post. A little expensive but come with a ridiculous warranty and are totally sealed internally.
Thanks re: the print quality comment. I use really nice printers and am meticulous about the plastics I use, climate control, maintenance, and calibration! Many people still think of 3D prints as “rough” or for prototyping, but properly done you can get a high quality end product.
CaseyWagner
Active Member
When I had my little MP-Mini I'd print as fine and as slow as possible for the cleanest results. Never in a hurry if it turned out well. But it still wasn't the most powerful little printer. I've got NEMA 17s, a RAMPS board, etc. but getting the rest of the parts to build from scratch in Canada is as expensive as just ordering a new printer from China...
ultraArcite
Active Member
I should probably invest in some sort of 3d-printed device that holds computer fans or something similar to use evaporative cooling in case of a power outage... Florida is hot and I don't think I can run the AC off a generator.
I have one of the AC vents pointed directly at the tank.
When we first got the tank, I did; but after some tweaking with the AC settings and moving some vents, we were able to get the tank temp dialed in.
I live on the top floor of a building with terrible insulation and no AC. It gets up to 90 indoors, and somewhat humid, for a few weeks during the summer so I can't really get enough evaporative cooling. Fortunately it's so dang hot the chiller doesn't even seem to warm things up!
ReefRxSWFL
Active Member
DC return pumps and central air
ThRoewer
Valuable Member
I use the same kind to chill my tanks, not because I like them but because that's pretty much my only option.Well we're already in the 90's here in the northern part of Georgia and the reef tank is warming up! I'm thankful that mine is currently in the basement where it is naturally cooler but it's still getting warm enough to warrant something to help keep it cooled. But I have no chiller and have no plans to add a chiller! So what do I do? Well for me and my situation a fan directed on the top of the sump water keeps me 3 degrees or so cooler so it works just fine. But what about you? Today let's talk about!
1. How do you keep your tank cool WITHOUT a chiller?
2. Do struggle to keep the tank temps down during the warmer months?
This is the baby that helps keep my thousands of dollars worth of livestock alive during the hottest months! PS. Plus it's great for spills! HA!
I would prefer expansion chillers but they use too much power and I would need too many. They would overload my electric circuit and trip the breaker.
Ideally I would need an AC unit in my garage to keep anything in the ideal temperature range.
Lionfish hunter
Valuable Member
Thinking ov doing this, what is your evaporation rate?Ive made a surprisingly effective system for my tanks. A SINGLE fan, powered by the apex 24v accessory port, gets me well over 4 degrees of cooling on a Reefer 350 (~75g). My tank used to spike to 82+ but now it stays within .2 degrees of 78. Waterproof 140mm Noctua fan. You can also daisy chain a bunch for larger tanks, because these fans draw so little power.
chemisfun11
Active Member
Before I had central air I used a chiller. Once I got central air installed I sold the chiller since it was never kicking on. Made the mistake of updating the windows in my basement (where I keep my sump). Now I use a fan controlled by my apex to hit the sumps water surface. 
DH78
Active Member
I just run my central air. Whenever the house gets above 70, the ac gets turned on. I set both the ac and heat during the winter at 65 degrees.
i have found that if the room temp gets to 75 for too long I would need to chill the tank.
i have found that if the room temp gets to 75 for too long I would need to chill the tank.
captain_jimmy
Active Member
Dark_Knightt
Valuable Member
I close my bedroom door, plug in the fan and turn it on full blast. If that doesn't work, I grab a bag, fill it with icecubes and let it float in the tank. I've actually heard of some people who freeze saltwater, so that they can place the cubes directly into the tank.
anemoneanatomy
Active Member
One of the only benefits of living on a rocky peninsula that rarely goes over 70 F / 21 C is not needing air conditioning or really any cooling system beyond an occasional fan for the people in the house. The fish are fine.
Frozen 2 litre bottle of water stuck in the sump if needed.
Absolutely agree with everyone's comments about room temperature. I keep ambient temperature in my house at 78-80 degrees year round and tank stays stable within that range. Only worry is prolonged power outages ;Dead.
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