Keeping cool no chiller

[Apkpswtank]

Hi everyone,
Andrew here, I have 65 gallon tank with a 15 gallon refugium. It's only been in the last two days have we started to get warm weather in New York (70-85 degrees). my tank that usually maintains it own temp between 79-82 degrees with no heater or chiller. Rose to 83.8 this morning and 84.6 by the time I got home from work I put my air conditioner on to lower the room temp. But I do not want to be running my ac 12 hours a day. I know about chillers but they are very expensive and also use a lot of electricity. Any solutions to keeping my tank cool on a budget. By the way I am very much about keeping the fish naturally and don't mind temperature fluctuations between say 78-83.0 degrees I believe it is quite normal and does not bother the fish as long as it's not a rapid fluctuation. So that being said i guess I am really just looking for a solution to keep tank temp under 83.0 degrees as easy and cheap as possible. Thanks

 

[Triggreef]

Central air. Best fish tank investment aside from solar... lol

What are you using for lights? Canopy?

You could toss on a small computer fan. DC power will cost almost nothing and they are only like 12 dollars. Put it on a timer for like 10am to 6pm.

 

[Apkpswtank]

i don't know the light type I bought it used. But they are (2) 48 inch led strips they do not get very hot even after being on for 6 hours I can hold them with my hands

 

[p7willm]

A fan blowing across the top will increase evaporation and cool things down a little. They make fans specifically for this and you can find them in online fish stores.

Open up the sump and put a fan down there too.

 

[Bdog4u2]

I wouldn't leave ac off just turn it up a bit when it really starts getting hot outside and roasting in your house you might find dead fish the warmer the water the less oxygen it holds plus stress on fish can allow parasites to take hold.

 

[Chrisfish]

Check out the thread I posted yesterday.. Not ready for a chiller , lots of great responses.

 

[Apkpswtank]

Check out the thread I posted yesterday.. Not ready for a chiller , lots of great responses.

Great I'm not very tech savvy, how would I search that forum ?

 

[AZDesertRat]

A $10 Walmart clip on fan blowing across the longest surface of the sump or display can easily lower tank temps 3-5 degrees and 5-7 is not unusual. It may cool so well you will need to put the fan on an appliance timer or on the same timer as your lights.