Chiller, again!

stefanm · Dec 6, 2017

I'll give a quick background, I live in the tropics, less than a mile from a beach as the crow flies, it's humid and hot, pretty much year round, right now my tank is at 26 c (79f) the air temp is 24 c ( 75f) it's night time, the day time is roughly 30 c (86 f) this time of year we're at the start of winter, the lowest in winter at night is approx 16 c ( 61 c) ambient. In the warmer months the lows and highs are as follows 29-35 c (85-95 f).
So as you can see heat is an issue, my tank is on my balcony, in shade though from April to September a little morning Sun can hit the tank, though the rainy season is between June and October.

So my sump is in the garden, I have made an enclosure (see the photo attached) what I'm thinking is instead of a drop in coil, is to use a cheap second hand window A.C. (aka window shaker) In the sump, I'll insulate the sump and the outlay would be minimal, installation would be a breeze.

My thinking (maybe wrong) is the cooler air in the sump would keep the tank cooler for longer, as we experience full day 8-10 hour power cuts 3-4 times during summer.

So what I'm asking is this viable or not, if not why?

I'll add my tank is 320 litres (85 US gallons) the sump will be very an extension, so will be roughly 200 litres (50 US gallons)

glb · Dec 6, 2017

That sounds like a tough situation. Does the tank/sump have to be outside? I live in South Florida and we have the same kind of weather. Do you have AC in the house? I’m thinking it would be a lot less expensive to let your home AC cool your tank rather than get a chiller. During the power outage time of year, you could have a bunch of frozen water bottles on hand to keep the temp under control until the power comes back on. I did this during Hurricane Irma for 7 days and was able to keep the temp below 82 degrees. Keep us posted!!

stefanm · Dec 6, 2017

Thanks for the reply, the tank itself is on the balcony, I'll running a battery back up for the return pump and wavemakers.

In my mind , I feel if I turn the sump area into a kind of fridge it would be better than a drop in, as per my vague testing the temperature rise and fall is slower than ambient temperatures, but then again I'm not a scientist!