Keeping your aquarium cool WITHOUT a chiller?

[Bpb]

As of now, even with it reaching the 80’s and 90’s outside, the tank doesn’t seem to need anything. My heater still runs. And my max temp is 78.

150 gallon display
40b sump
Skimz L90 return pump
Eheim 300 watt heater

 

[sealife4life]

I live in FL as well. The wifey likes to keep the house around 72 and still I need a chiller! I keep my 150g at 77-79° or it’ll spike well over 80°. I run the apex 1/4hp chiller in from the sump and the out into the DT.

 

[blasterman]

House fan aimed at tank. Works fine.

If your ambient room temp is too high you will never get your tank temp down without active means.

 

[Llyod276]

Not needed. The basement where the sump is is ALWAYS <60°F . Ergo the basement is the chiller.

 

[Llyod276]

Not needed. The basement where the sump is is ALWAYS <60°F . Ergo the basement is the chiller. Until the AC goes out...

 

[Brian_68]

Run the ac 75 during the day, 72 at night and no issues. Tank never gets about 78. I used to run a chiller but it just pumps a ton of heat into the house your ac has to overcome.

 

[jhj159]

I've been using a window air conditioner.....works great. I've been kicking around the idea of thorwing in a ductless system....they are pretty reasonable.

You can’t go wrong with a ductless system , that I use in my room for my aquariums, have, a/c , heat and They have a dehumidifier built into them so for me it was a win-win situation.

 

[Flameback Pair]

Ive made a surprisingly effective system for my tanks. A SINGLE fan, powered by the apex 24v accessory port, gets me well over 4 degrees of cooling on a Reefer 350 (~75g). My tank used to spike to 82+ but now it stays within .2 degrees of 78. Waterproof 140mm Noctua fan. You can also daisy chain a bunch for larger tanks, because these fans draw so little power.

I bought and just received yesterday one of these fans from @TheHarold from Harry’s Aquatics. I plan to control it with my Apex to draw air out of the electronics space within my cabinet and blow air into the sump area of my cabinet going out into the room. I will be installing the fan in the next two weeks, you can see it here in my build thread on this page starting with post #728.

Build Thread - Red Sea REEFER 250 ALL Pre-Conditioned and most CAPTIVE-BRED Fish, SPS, Zoanthids. Slow Poke Reef. WE HAVE WATER!! start page 61.

I was at HFT today and bought long reach straight and curved pliers and long reaching vise grips to fix a short in my DIY T5 dimmable ballasts. I have to reach way back into a tight spot. Found these on Amazon. Wye adapter for Reefer outlet nozzle. Spreads out the return water. And a...

www.reef2reef.com

 

[GillMeister]

Once I switched from my halides to led I have no need for a chiller.

 

[sealife4life]

So question then.. I have a dehumidifier laying around. Should I set it up in the same room as DT? And if so what percentage to set it to?

 

[fromjuan]

Keep the house temp no higher than 77 and have a Vornado fan to run when the T5's are on. Tank never gets higher than 78.5

 

[Oliver d]

No choice in the middle east in the summer months when the temps get into the 100’F you need a chiller like it or not.

 

[reefsaver]

If you generally run air conditioning in the warmer months I'd say your water temps would be fine as long as you have a in-tank heater.

 

[JustJoan]

1. How do you keep your tank cool WITHOUT a chiller?
I tried using a fan, didn't like how it sprayed salt around. Plus it only brought the temperature down a few points. Last year was so hot, water temp hitting 90. I started freezing water bottles, put 2 or 3 in my fuge every 4 hours or as needed.

2. Do struggle to keep the tank temps down during the warmer months?
Not with the frozen water bottles.

 

[Young@Heart]

When I was first building my current reef tank. I looked at Chillers, but I was told that I should not go out and specifically buy a new Chiller. Instead monitoring and take necessary action if needed was enough - Well it has been almost 3 years (2 Summers) - we are going in to the 3rd. My Tanks stays at between 78.6 and 79.0 degrees. The only time I see variance with this is when I place heaters in the Sump - takes a day to dial them in where I want them. So no Chiller - Oh I live in Phoenix and we have had probably 150+ days of 100 degrees since the tank has been running. A BIG Key is that the Water will "pick up" the room temp (or close there to - I have a 180 Gallon Tank so through that into the mix as well). Worse Case: I might use some frozen water bottles of RO) if I had to.

 

[Harrytzo]

I live in Athens Greece where it 's already really hot. An stc-1000 with a fan does the job, and for the the really HOT days with the room air condition everything' s ok!

 

[WilyGuy]

I run an Inkbird with a small fan.

 

[NowGlazeIT]

Ive made a surprisingly effective system for my tanks. A SINGLE fan, powered by the apex 24v accessory port, gets me well over 4 degrees of cooling on a Reefer 350 (~75g). My tank used to spike to 82+ but now it stays within .2 degrees of 78. Waterproof 140mm Noctua fan. You can also daisy chain a bunch for larger tanks, because these fans draw so little power.

Woah this is pro, looks super clean too

 

[MichaelReefer]

Ive made a surprisingly effective system for my tanks. A SINGLE fan, powered by the apex 24v accessory port, gets me well over 4 degrees of cooling on a Reefer 350 (~75g). My tank used to spike to 82+ but now it stays within .2 degrees of 78. Waterproof 140mm Noctua fan. You can also daisy chain a bunch for larger tanks, because these fans draw so little power.

Dude those are sick. Do you make them or did you buy them?

 

[TheHarold]

Dude those are sick. Do you make them or did you buy them?

Thanks! I made them from scratch. They have 3D printed housings and a custom 4-pin fan to Apex DC24 cable.