How do you cool your tank?

Shelby · Jun 20, 2017

I live in south Texas where AC is mandatory and I use the house AC to keep my tank cool enough in the summer. I have about a 60 gallon cube with a 20 gallon refugium. I keep a fan going over the refugium in the summer to aide in the cooling. Normally my tank is around 80 degrees. I came home yesterday to find my AC had died, my house was 90 degrees and my tank was 86! AC people can't come out until tomorrow. What do I do? I can't let my tank get any hotter!!

I started floating some frozen 1 quart water bottles in my refugium in a last ditch effort to cool the water. The frozen water in the bottles melted quickly and I had to change them out regularly, but it seemed to do the trick. The tank is about 82 degrees now and I think it will be fine until the AC is back up and running. I also have a portable AC set up in the living room near the tank and fans going like crazy. I'm managing to keep the room about 82 degrees this way.

I really thought I was going to lose all my fish, coral, etc., but I got lucky and found a way to address it immediately. Just thought I'd share my temporary solution in case anyone ever needed it!

mgoesma · Jun 20, 2017

Chiller or fans

pickupman66 · Jun 20, 2017

ive seen 86 a time or several during a summer back when I had VHO over my 75. to cool the tank now, keep doing what you are doing. rotate them in and out as needed. you can also put a fan over the top to provide evaporative cooling.

Nikkykins · Jun 20, 2017

Some of the controllers will alert you when the temperature is over your what you have put in for the temperature range. I live in SC so I have the same problem as you. I personally don't think that a chiller will drop the temp that fast once you have a problem like that. It's my understanding that they only keep it cooler by a few degrees. And chillers are expensive!! (But not a expensive as a crashed tank!!!)

AdamNC · Jun 20, 2017

I had the same issue last year for about 3 days till the ac guy could get out. Temps were about 85-90. I used a small desktop fan on high and my ceiling fan on high. Kept my temp about 82-83. Now I keep my fan setup on my Apex under chiller, if the temp gets to 79 it turns on and then off when it gets to 77.8.

Ghxst · Jun 20, 2017

You did things right. You can also add a fan to blow directly across the surface to really cool it down. Evan will be up but this can lower temps by 6 degrees. Good luck

wmo168 · Jun 20, 2017

Fan or get a chiller like JBJ, I have it at my tank and JBJ chiller 1/15 or higher last for many years... Keep my tank stable at 1.5 degree difference.

Mark Taber · Jun 20, 2017

Float frozen 2l bottles of RO water. This dropped my temperature a degree. I refreeze it and do it all over again.

Mariners · Jun 20, 2017

A cheap way also is place a large block of ice in a styrofoam cooler and pokes holes into it, then place cooler between fan and tank. I believe they call this "redneck ac."