Chiller or no chiller? - That is the question

L

larrycivic

Premium Member
[i am in the process of trying to set up my 200 gallon tank. the problem i am having is deciding if i should buy a chiller.

my house stays around mid 70 year round. i will 3X250 and 2X150 halides, with no canopy. right now my 100 reef with 6 t5's is around 80 degrees, but at night it is as low as 78, and day as high as 81.

help me decide please :sosad:]
 
[I have 4 DE 250s and 4 T5s on a 300g with no canopy. If I keep my house at 72-73, the temp stays perfect; between 78 and 80. If my house goes to 75 or higher, the tank jumps up to more than 82.]
 
[Oh yeah...I do have one small computer fan on the sump that runs when the halides are on. I could probably do away with it now that my lights are 10" up. I really needed it when they were closer to 5".

I should also add that there's probably quite a lot of pump heat. I've got 2 Ampmaster 3000s and the two skimmer pumps, which are sedra 9000s.]



Edited By Trackz on 1104880088
 
[If your house doesn't go above about 77 it should be a problem. Get a clip on fan for the sump and a couple small computer fans blowing on your halides and you should be fine. When my house creaps to 78 in the summer I have issues and it will run about 84 but it has never been higher than that and I run DE 250s 11 hours a day.

I usually keep the house around 75-76 in the summer and I'm pretty constant between 80 and 82.]



Edited By kwl1763 on 1104883239
 
[You don't need a chiller Larry. My tanks runs 81 to 83 daily, since I seem to have nuked my Icecap fans. (Of course, humidity is up currently so that might be misleading me.)

With no canopy and an open top, you'll just need a fan at each end blowing across the area beneath the lights.]
 
[I hate chillers.

They are noisy and generate a lot of heat. I didnt have a choice on my tank in the room it is in. The chiller is in the laundry room, plumbed through the wall and I still hate it. If it was in the room with the tank it would be terrible.]
 
[i got my lights today from ups. so cool..hehehe. i will have to figure out away to run fans on the lights. but i think i will run no chiller for now.


i do have a different question, how big should my return pump be compared to the drain per hour? i have 2, 1" returns 600gph each. should i et a pump rated at 1200 at the head i want, or should i go a little bigger and restrict the pump?]
 
[Get what you need. If you get one tha you have to restrict, you put excessive wear on the pump possibly shortening its lifespan, plus you pay to run a pump you don't need every hour.

I have a Ampmaster 4700 on my 280 that I have to cut back. I still plan to replace it with a new pump that uses less power, as this one is costing my $25 a month in electricity.]
 
[In my 200 gal. I use the ViaAqua Water Pump 3600, And I really am impressed with it. 1057GPH And on the other end I have the Seio Super Flow Pump (Power Head) M820 820 GPH, and also Impreesed with it as well. But I need to add another M820 next to the over flow box, because the M820 on the other end is keeping my surface water from skimming.]
 
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