Keeping your aquarium cool WITHOUT a chiller?

Do you run a chiller on your tank?

  • YES

    Votes: 77 11.6%
  • NO

    Votes: 563 85.0%
  • Other (please explain)

    Votes: 22 3.3%

  • Total voters
    662

Bpb

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As of now, even with it reaching the 80’s and 90’s outside, the tank doesn’t seem to need anything. My heater still runs. And my max temp is 78.

150 gallon display
40b sump
Skimz L90 return pump
Eheim 300 watt heater
 

sealife4life

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I live in FL as well. The wifey likes to keep the house around 72 and still I need a chiller! I keep my 150g at 77-79° or it’ll spike well over 80°. I run the apex 1/4hp chiller in from the sump and the out into the DT.
 

blasterman

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House fan aimed at tank. Works fine.

If your ambient room temp is too high you will never get your tank temp down without active means.
 

Brian_68

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Run the ac 75 during the day, 72 at night and no issues. Tank never gets about 78. I used to run a chiller but it just pumps a ton of heat into the house your ac has to overcome.
 

jhj159

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I've been using a window air conditioner.....works great. I've been kicking around the idea of thorwing in a ductless system....they are pretty reasonable.

Ductless heating cooling.jpeg
You can’t go wrong with a ductless system , that I use in my room for my aquariums, have, a/c , heat and They have a dehumidifier built into them so for me it was a win-win situation.
 

powers2001

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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.

IMG_7678.jpeg
IMG_9539.jpeg
I bought and just received yesterday one of these fans from @TheHarold from Harry’s Aquatics. I plan to control it with my Apex to draw air out of the electronics space within my cabinet and blow air into the sump area of my cabinet going out into the room. I will be installing the fan in the next two weeks, you can see it here in my build thread on this page starting with post #728.
 

sealife4life

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So question then.. I have a dehumidifier laying around. Should I set it up in the same room as DT? And if so what percentage to set it to?
 

fromjuan

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Keep the house temp no higher than 77 and have a Vornado fan to run when the T5's are on. Tank never gets higher than 78.5
20210525_203728.jpg
 

reefsaver

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If you generally run air conditioning in the warmer months I'd say your water temps would be fine as long as you have a in-tank heater.
 

JustJoan

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1. How do you keep your tank cool WITHOUT a chiller?
I tried using a fan, didn't like how it sprayed salt around. Plus it only brought the temperature down a few points. Last year was so hot, water temp hitting 90. I started freezing water bottles, put 2 or 3 in my fuge every 4 hours or as needed.

2. Do struggle to keep the tank temps down during the warmer months?
Not with the frozen water bottles.
 

Young@Heart

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When I was first building my current reef tank. I looked at Chillers, but I was told that I should not go out and specifically buy a new Chiller. Instead monitoring and take necessary action if needed was enough - Well it has been almost 3 years (2 Summers) - we are going in to the 3rd. My Tanks stays at between 78.6 and 79.0 degrees. The only time I see variance with this is when I place heaters in the Sump - takes a day to dial them in where I want them. So no Chiller - Oh I live in Phoenix and we have had probably 150+ days of 100 degrees since the tank has been running. A BIG Key is that the Water will "pick up" the room temp (or close there to - I have a 180 Gallon Tank so through that into the mix as well). Worse Case: I might use some frozen water bottles of RO) if I had to.
 

NowGlazeIT

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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.

IMG_7678.jpeg
IMG_9539.jpeg
Woah this is pro, looks super clean too
 

MichaelReefer

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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.

IMG_7678.jpeg
IMG_9539.jpeg

Dude those are sick. Do you make them or did you buy them?
 

A worm with high fashion and practical utility: Have you ever kept feather dusters in your reef aquarium?

  • I currently have feather dusters in my tank.

    Votes: 73 37.6%
  • Not currently, but I have had feather dusters in my tank in the past.

    Votes: 66 34.0%
  • I have not had feather dusters, but I hope to in the future.

    Votes: 25 12.9%
  • I have no plans to have feather dusters in my tank.

    Votes: 28 14.4%
  • Other.

    Votes: 2 1.0%
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