How to cool a 76 gal reef about 2 degrees

[buzzeorw1]

Thanks in advance for any feedback. I have a 4 mo old 75 gal reef with a 30 gal sump. I'm in Florida, I run the house at a cool 75 all day long but I can't go much cooler than that. I want to grow corals, inverts and fish. My temp fluctuates from 81.8 during the day down to 79.4 at night. There's no heater hooked up (obviously). The set up is close to a wall of the home that gets a lot of sun outside and hence it not matching my thermostat tempt. There's really no where else to put the tank in my apartment. I would love to satifsfy my OCD here and bring the temp down 1-2 degrees and keep it constant. I'm using just a 36 watt LED reef light and run the a full day night cycle on it. I'm would like to not change the cycle too much more than it is as I'm trying to grow corals. I've messed with building a thermoelectric Peltier chiller but with the high amperage needed it's a little disconcerting having that around so much salt water. I was wondering if anyone had a suggestion on a small effective quiet chiller that could drop that water volume just 2F? Or am I trying to fix something that's not broken here? Will my temp range work as it is? The tanks been really successful so far in terms of cycling, parameters and the success of the inhabitants but it's too soon for me to tell if my corals are going to grow and I'm concerned about the temp. I also worry about algae and ammonia blooms with such a high temp etc... thanks again!

 

[eliaslikesfish]

i’d say JBJ makes some of the best but is definitely more of an investment, VEVOR has good ones for half the price.

Out of curiosity, have you tried just a small desk type fan blowing across the top of the tank? Evap will raise obviously, but evaporation can lower tank temps by as much as 10 degrees depending on how humid the air is. Just grab an ATO and the evaporation won’t matter.

I do in the summer have some issues with heat, MA just had a huge heat wave actually, and a simple clamp on fan blowing across the top of my tank will lower my temps from 83 down to 78 without a problem.

 

[SteveMM62Reef]

A cheap Clip-on Fan from Walmart, blowing on the Sump. Also I’ve used a small fan setting on the Floor behind the Aquarium, blowing up, so some of the air, is blowing into the Cabinet, some across the Back Glass. This setup has dropped the tank a couple degrees, but I’m in the Basement, that’s around 72F. BTW, with a Fan on the Aquarium, you will need an ATO, I use the cheap Prism one.

 

[shutterspeed1000]

I have two 12v fans on my sump and it cools my 56g tank about 3-4 degrees. I have them setup to switch on and off as needed based on water temp. The room gets to about 84 in the day and the tank stays under 81.

 

[Mr. Mojo Rising]

A fan blowing across the water surface will lower the temp about 2-3 degrees IME

 

[SteveMM62Reef]

I have two 12v fans on my sump and it cools my 56g tank about 3-4 degrees. I have them setup to switch on and off as needed based on water temp. The room gets to about 84 in the day and the tank stays under 81.

I took a Spare 12 Vdc Fan, put it over the AIO Back Compartment on my 32 Oceanic. It fits perfectly across the opening, and is big enough it can’t fall in. I have it blowing up in the beginning of Summer, when things start to heat up, flip it so it blows down, at the water.

 

[Floyd-]

Im also in FL and just use a small fan attached to a inkbird controller that does heater and cooler control

 

[PharmrJohn]

Im also in FL and just use a small fan attached to a inkbird controller that does heater and cooler control

That's an interesting idea!! Wouldn't have thought of THAT on my own!!!!