Via Aqua Chiller? Any good?

[MadManMac]

I am looking at a chiller becasue my tank has about a 5 or 6 degree swing during the day and that bothers me. I would rather drop some money on a chiller then stress my friends with heat. Hell, I run the air in the summer, I might as well get them a water conditioner.

 

[reefrunner69]

What is the "high temp" in the temp swing? If it's not to high, you can use a heater to control how low it drops when the lights are off. FWIW, there was thread about chillers not to long ago.
http://www.aquariumadvice.com/viewtopic.php?t=19811&highlight=chillers

 

[MadManMac]

Temp ranges from 79.5 up to 85.5 today, and it is only March. If having a stable temp is very important, I would put $350 into a chiller to maintain the stable environment. I am going to keep researching and will post back if I get one.

 

[Biggen]

Do you have the option to install a fan over either your sump (if you have one) or tank? Blowing water across the top of the water can typically fix a lot of temperature problems.

 

[reefrunner69]

Have you employed the use of fans to encourage evaporation?

 

[MadManMac]

I have two 80mm fans blowing as we speak, but the heat form the PC's and MH is just too much! I may be able to reposition them for better efficiency, but I do not think it will make a big difference.

 

[reefrunner69]

Ah...well then the next logical step is a chiller, just beware, it may cool the water but will make the room it's in pretty hot. Make sure you have a way to either put it in another room (like a closet) or a way to vent the heat.

 

[Gauge]

Agreed. You definitely need to do something, though. That's a horrible swing in temperature. I'm surprised your fish don't react extremely negatively to that. I used to have a 3-4 degree swing in my tank, and I believe it to have been the cause of many deaths in my tank when I was first starting out in the hobby.

 

[MadManMac]

I am in month 3 of having the tank cycled, so I am trying to take care of the situation early before I have any deaths. Thanks for the input.

 

[MadManMac]

Bought the chiller today, will let you know what happens in a couple weeks.

 

[Aztlan]

My boss bought one of those Aqua Chillers he says it works great, Only complaint is the noise it makes. Also the first one he bought was leaking from the inside, cracked pipe inside, seller replaced it quickly.