mr_X
Aquarium Advice Addict
I run the AC all day here in the summer!
Dary's tank!
- Thread starter Dary421
- Start date
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acolotto
Aquarium Advice Freak
- Joined
- Jan 28, 2011
- Messages
- 388
Yea the chiller was more cost effective for me...I used to live in Tucson and tried a summer there without a cooler in my year of my tank and lost pretty much all coral so had to get a chiller
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Dary421
Aquarium Advice Addict
So i assume you do not run a chiller on your tank and rely on your ac / heater to keep the temp stable ?
mr_X
Aquarium Advice Addict
Yes. Mainly because I like a cool house when I get home and I also don't want to cook my dog while I'm at work.
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Dary421
Aquarium Advice Addict
So out of curiosity ,what do you normally have the ac set for and whats the normal tank temp you try to maintain?
Gregcoyote
Aquarium Advice Addict
How did you handle temp swings using MH lighting in the past? I had to buy a chiller almost day one years ago because the MH lights would cook the tank. I'm on my third one on this reef.
Keithhjs
Aquarium Advice Addict
Hope your Gf recovers quick. We too are having the heat up north of you Dary and I haven't purchased a chiller for the frag room yet. Was waiting for my wholesale account to become active and it just so happened to be today. Found out though they only have Aqua Euro (anyone use those got feedback?) chillers up to 1/4 hp. I was hoping to get a 1/3 hp but oh well. Now I just need time off work to go there and get it lol. Hope the beer stays cold for ya and the weather gets more comfortable!
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Dary421
Aquarium Advice Addict
re.gf...thanks keith,...she's moving very slowly,..poor thing it's tough watching her in pain ,...but i think the worst is behind her.
i know that the chillers can be a costly little investment upfront but as everyones weather heats up as stated itll pay for itself in no time,...kind of nice to know its working even when you're not around to watch it. it's all about piece of mind.
Keithhjs
Aquarium Advice Addict
Yeah keeping the corals at a steady temp really helps. I installed one on my DT last year and I really like that brand and style. Was hoping to get another but probably will go with the AE for now. What brand do you use?
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Dary421
Aquarium Advice Addict
Keith,..I've got the jbj artica,..I had it for a while now and it runs extremely quiet and works like a charm,.....I really don't know if it's really any better or worse than others but for about $600 I would imagine its pretty decent.
mr_X
Aquarium Advice Addict
I keep the AC on 70 in the summer and the heat on 69 in the winter. My tank stays around 79.
Gregcoyote
Aquarium Advice Addict
What was it before LEDs? Didn't you use MH?
Keithhjs
Aquarium Advice Addict
Alas I got no ac except a portable unit on casters. A chillin I will go.
mr_X
Aquarium Advice Addict
I always did this and there was a time I used halides, but for a couple years before the LEDs I used T5s. The T5 kept the water every bit as warm ad the halides did.
Gregcoyote
Aquarium Advice Addict
When I started my reef years ago, there were no T5's, so I went with MH. We keep our house at 72 in the summer and this tank was always topping out in the low 80's. I like to be in the high 70's. I don't know how you all can light with MH to the intensity hard corals need without a chiller. I even am happy to have the chiller even with LEDs as my air conditioning broke down last week on hot day. Didn't have to worry about the reef.
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Dary421
Aquarium Advice Addict
Now I'm curious as to what size and make of heaters you guys are running vs tank size
Gregcoyote
Aquarium Advice Addict
I've got one of those old external heaters that looks like a little fire hydrant. Guess its about 500 watts and only comes on in the winter. It is way too small for my system (500 gallons) but keeps the system from getting super cold. Need a bigger one.
mr_X
Aquarium Advice Addict
I use a series of 200 watters all over the place. 4 of them- 2 in the bottom sump, and one in each upper sump. Probably not enough as well, but it's holding on for now.
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Dary421
Aquarium Advice Addict
So ,.. I would imagine that where you Doug and others live, heating must really be an interesting dilemma come winter time,...out here we do have our " cold" months where our nights and mornings may dip into the twenties but usually by mid day the temperatures will rise up to a balmy sub tropical 50., but the summer months is where it gets ugly and that's where the chillers earn their keep out here.
You said that your fire hydrant heater keeps it from getting " super cold"...,,knowing how you keep all your parameters in check and prob " spot on" ,I'm surprised that you have any temp dips in your system at all...my guess would have been a system developed by you that would maintain your temp from fluctuating year round.
On my little system I'm running a 500 watt heater combined with my cooler which between the two have been holding my system very constant,,( knock on wood )..HOWEVER,...we DO NOT have the constant icy ,bone chilling cold that you guys have to deal with on a daily basis,..... Gotta be really tough maintaining a tropical reef amongst such interesting conditions.
Sniperhank
Giant Clam Addict
The cold isn't really that bad, as long as the power doesn't go out. My tank hasn't been running through a snowstorm or blizzard though yet. The heat is the issue. In the winter it hits -10 in western pa frequently if it feels like it, but with the train in the basement keeping the house warm it isn't an issue. Then when it gets into 100~ in the summer... No central air, only a window ac unit that I bought last year to, like Doug, keep from having roast dog when I get home. My big issue with that bit is my living room has no insulation, and can't as they built ceiling and roofed it back before my father was alive out of the foundation of an old barn they leveled while my grandfather was strip mining the area for coal. So it gets extremely hot in this room. The window ac maintains it around 80, I wish it could go lower but a larger unit would be needed and that simply won't fit in the windows.
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