Keeping your tank cool

[vetteguy53081]

As many of us are facing record heat, What is Your recipe for keeping your system cool?
I use a chiller unit which keeps up but also elevates the electric bill.
Ice Packs are a great method . Tip: If no A/C, make your own ice packs. One thing you can do is to obtain zip lock bags. You can buy a 30 pack for under $5. Use a size that will fit well and the idea is to rotate them. fill about 5 of them with water and place in freezer. Place one frozen one in sump, allow to melt and lower temp. When it melts, pull a new frozen one from freezer and place melted one back in freezer

WHAT IS YOUR METHOD FOR KEEPING THE WATER COOLER?

 

[CristinaNTimothy]

I usually use the fan method, I open up the cabinet doors, place a fan down towards the surface of the sump and leave it.

 

[StartingATank]

I put a handheld fan just in top of the mesh part of the lid and have it create lots of surface tension, usually cools the tank about 1 degree lower whenever it is really hot.

 

[Ron Reefman]

Since I switched to all led lights and DC pumps some years ago, I haven't had a problem with heat. That's from a guy who lives in SW Florida were it's right around 90F every day. And we keep our house between 78F (mostly at night) and 81F (during the heat of the day). No more chillers and no fans, other than the room fan on the ceiling and it's set on the lowest speed.

I think the lack of heat from the equipment and a fair amount of water movement in the 80F house keep the water right at 80F as well.

BTW, if/when we lose electric power due to a thunderstorm or hurricane, we have a whole house 8000 watt generator that can run everything.

 

[salty joe]

i buried 500' 1/2" pex along the footer of my house for geothermal as well as a fan on the fuge. both controlled by a ranco. if i were to do it again, i'd use at least 3/4 pex. but it works.

 

[Gumbies R Us]

Do people still float bags of ice, or is this more of a temporary fix?

 

[EnterName]

I have fans sitting on the tank and put ice bottles in the sump. Zip bags sound great though and I will give it a try. The fans are working really well and I only need to add ice if the room temperature goes above 28°C/82°F.

The heat has been quite rough in the last few years and I will need to get a proper AC unit soon, even if it only will need to run a few days each year.

 

[helmsreef]

I use a fan in my garage system, the garage will see around 95-100 in the summer and the fans will keep the system at my chosen temperature on the ink bird. Haven't needed anything else. You do go through a lot of top off though

 

[Üter]

Do people still float bags of ice, or is this more of a temporary fix?

I've used 2 liter soda bottles with frozen water inside a few times when I had the octopus. Since then I have a cooler with 20 feet of stainless steel coil in it. fill the cooler with ice and just run a pump from sump to cooler and have it dump back into the sump. Really its a home-brew chiller set-up.

 

[c4haskett]

i buried 500' 1/2" pex along the footer of my house for geothermal as well as a fan on the fuge. both controlled by a ranco. if i were to do it again, i'd use at least 3/4 pex. but it works.

How does this work? I thought they had to go deep?

 

[c4haskett]

I usually run a heater year round. I keep my house at 68; We like it cold!

 

[TokenReefer]

Blackout curtains can have a major affect I've found; alleviating some load on the AC. When it gets really hot I can blackout the "fish room".

 

[BryanM]

If I lived in a climate where I needed to do this I would use a chiller.

If only temp / infrequently bags of ice, or I might use yeti ice packs.

 

[exnisstech]

I keep the house comfortable to me and that keeps the tank temps good. If my tanks are over heating so am I.

 

[TokenReefer]

I keep the house comfortable to me and that keeps the tank temps good. If my tanks are over heating so am I.

I agree. We're sharing the same space!

 

[CrewePD210]

i buried 500' 1/2" pex along the footer of my house for geothermal as well as a fan on the fuge. both controlled by a ranco. if i were to do it again, i'd use at least 3/4 pex. but it works.

That is ambitious and awesome!!

 

[X-37B]

My tanks are in a room that can get to 82° in the summer. The house runs 74. The tanks back up to the garage and slider.
I run a 400 watt halide with leds on a 112, 170 and 50 are all leds.
Winter the tanks run 77, summer is 77-79 in an 80°+ degree room at times.
I use Tunze Aquawind units on the systems they keep it 3° below room temp.

 

[salty joe]

How does this work? I thought they had to go deep?

i have a basement so most of the pex is about 6' deep. you can feel a marked difference in the temp of pex entering and leaving the tank's cooling/heating loop. which is 100' coiled 1/2" pex.

 

[MikeReefs]

Never got that Tunze fan but this will do gets my sump surface moving a decent amount