Chiller or AC for the room

[lorenz0]

K well my apartment sits at about 24C most of the time now and my tank is at 82F and at this point I cant get the temp to go down.

So to make this as simple as possible, shoulc I give up my comfort for the tank and buy a chiller or can I get it down to around 78F with a fans across the sump and display.

Personally I prefer not dishing out the cash for a skimmer and spending that on a ac unit lol. Gets effing hot in there after an hour with the TV on

[Aquattro]

A fan might do it. A chiller is going to add a lot of heat to the room, so that might not be a great idea. If oyu have to chill, I'd look at a room AC unit instead. Then everyone is happy.

[Triggz]

+1 on the AC.

I picked up a small one off kijiji last year for $50. My bulldog likes to hang out in the hottest room of the house and some days it is just too hot for her.

Is your hydro included in your rent?

[FishyFishy!]

Yeah man, get the AC, and maybe some smaller computer fans blowing accross the top. That way both you and the tank are comfortable!

[lastlight]

my condo gets so darn hot during the day it's unreal. with the halides on AND my window AC on the tank still hits 80... kicking my chiller on. The room can be about 21C (70F) and I still need the chiller. My chiller is under the floor in the basement so it doesn't heat my main floor.

I'm not sure exactly how great the room thermostat is or where it is (in the face plate?). I'm assuming central air would do much better.

[lorenz0]

You need to set up an exhaust hose on those portable ac units right?

If so thats where problem one is.... the only windows that i have in my apartment are in my room (its only 590 square feet).

Yes water is included in my condo fee's

[lastlight]

This AC unit installs right in my window. I have that ghetto white box hanging off the side of the house look it's pretty sweet.

[sphelps]

Yes you need to exhaust the heat generated by the ac outside. Do you have a sliding patio door?

[The Grizz]

I would go for a window AC unit that can cool up to 1500 sq". I had one in our old house and the only good window for it was in the master bedroom. It would cool off the whole upstairs of the house to a decent temp as long as no one opened a window.

[lorenz0]

I'm not allowed any of those ones that install in the window. Its part of my buildings bylaws.

I do have a sliding padio door which is right beside my tank. I think I even left enough room to put an AC unit there. But I will probably have to buy some sort of adaptor to fit the full sliding door.

lol greg i'm not that rich. I think I can afford one for 600sq' and just keep my bedroom door closed during the day

[Lampshade]

I picked up a used 13000 BTU portable AC unit off craigslist for $100. I thought it would be great, but it draws 13 amps and blows the breaker all the time since it's the same as the tank is on. I put a window unit in the room that's a dinky little 5000 BTU unit, runs lots, but keeps the room at 78 and my tank stays fine at that.

Depends on the size of room you are in, I had a 10K BTU portable in my townhouse and it couldn't cool my tank because it was an open area design and was trying to cool the whole main floor. My tank now has a small fishroom that i can cool easially with a 5K BTU unit.

[phi delt reefer]

I'm not allowed any of those ones that install in the window. Its part of my buildings bylaws.

I do have a sliding padio door which is right beside my tank. I think I even left enough room to put an AC unit there. But I will probably have to buy some sort of adaptor to fit the full sliding door.

lol greg i'm not that rich. I think I can afford one for 600sq' and just keep my bedroom door closed during the day


"Renzo" - if you get a brand new portable AC unit - they come with a patio door adapter. it pretty much looks like a two by four with a hole in it that you wedge between the door and where the door would be in the closed position. My friend has on in her appt - it does a $hit job of cooling compared to the window units but its better than nothing.

are you able to put in a split/ductless unit? Don't know what your financial position is but they are effecient and work very well. They look like this;
https://panasonic.ca/english/appliance/airconditioner/index.asp

[Triggz]

Yes water is included in my condo fee's

That's good if your running an RODI unit. I was talking about your electricity though lol. Is that included? If so I would go for the most BTU's you can afford. If not I would be carefull which one you choose as AC's suck a lot of juice. Especially the older models.

[lorenz0]

lol my bad. Yes it os included. I pay $300/month and it covers everything. I am looking at a 10k BTU unit right now... which is the most I want to spend ($350-400)

Found a danby that sparked a bit of interest. The unit has to be inside. I didn't look into much when I purchased the place and we have a freaking book of bylaws/rules, one of them says no ac units out the windows and nothing on the decks (bikes/using them as storage)

So where is the best place to buy a portable one? I'm going to check out canadian tire and best buy after work

[Triggz]

Hands down kijiji or craigslist. Its something people get rid of all the time (moving, get central air, etc.) especially if your on a bit of a budget! :thumb:

[sphelps]

If you're not picky on looks and don't need the patio door secure (up high enough) you could just rip a piece of wood 6" or so to the height of the door. Drill a hole in the wood for the exhaust and sandwich it between the frame and the door.

[Coleus]

lol my bad. Yes it os included. I pay $300/month and it covers everything. I am looking at a 10k BTU unit right now... which is the most I want to spend ($350-400)

Found a danby that sparked a bit of interest. The unit has to be inside. I didn't look into much when I purchased the place and we have a freaking book of bylaws/rules, one of them says no ac units out the windows and nothing on the decks (bikes/using them as storage)

So where is the best place to buy a portable one? I'm going to check out canadian tire and best buy after work

get one from Costco. it works great

[Aquattro]

Or carefully read the bylaws to find out what they can do about it. I lived in a building with a rule about no dogs bigger than a toaster. If you kept one, it was a $10/month fine. Each month. Forever. So the guy downstairs with the big dog paid an extra 10 bucks a month on his fees :)

[sphelps]

Did you see this one?

http://www.canreef.com/vbulletin/showthread.php?t=76146

[Triggz]

http://calgary.kijiji.ca/c-buy-and-sell-home-appliances-Sharp-CV-P10MX-9-500-BTU-Portable-Air-Conditioner-W0QQAdIdZ293822546

just an example...

You will get a better quality unit for less than half the price. Just my opinion though. Some people just won't buy something used. I'm dutch.

[lorenz0]

HUGE on how everything looks. I mean to the point where I am starting to consider ordering a new tank. But thanks for the suggestion. Well this danby I have been looking at seems to have good reviews (minus it being a bit noisey) but if I can drop the temp down 4 degree's i will be happy.

I took a look on kijiji and there are mostly window ones and all the portable ones are like $50-100 less than brand new and look like crap.

well thanks for the suggestions guys. I will let you know how it goes

[lorenz0]

umm didn't see that rick was selling one, might have to give him a shout

[Nebthet]

Definitely go with an AC.

I live in a one bedroom apartment that has only two windows in it and a wall between them so I get no cross breeze. One window is in the living room, the other in the bedroom.
My tank, usually hits about 84 degrees inside when it is 30 degrees outside and gets hgher if the room isn't air condiitoned.

Last year used a Danby 5200btu AC (the cheap ones from Walmart) and it cooled down my livingroom nicely. (11ftx17ft area). In the bedroom, instead of shutting the window, I kept the window fan in there which has the dual intake and exhaust function on it. During the day, from 6:30am until 10pm I have the fan running on exhaust. At 10pm, when it starts getting cooler outside, I reversed it.

This worked nicely to keep temps down inside the apartment and the tank temps ranged from a low of 78 to high of 82 for the whole summer.

As others have suggested. Keep an eye on Kijiji ads in your area for good used AC's. Check to see if they are energy star or not.
Go to Costco, if you have one in your area and know someone with a card you can go in with if you don't have your own. Last month, I found a Danby 8000btu AC with remote there for $167 and my local Walmart was selling the same unit for $229

[ReefOcean]

K well my apartment sits at about 24C most of the time now and my tank is at 82F and at this point I cant get the temp to go down.

So to make this as simple as possible, shoulc I give up my comfort for the tank and buy a chiller or can I get it down to around 78F with a fans across the sump and display.

Personally I prefer not dishing out the cash for a skimmer and spending that on a ac unit lol. Gets effing hot in there after an hour with the TV on

I live in a condo so I feel the heat. I was considering the whole chiller vs air con issue a couple years ago during a heat wave that knocked out 90 percent of my livestock.

The main issue that is came down to was the fact I probably wouldn't have the air conditioner on all the time thus risking a heat spike while I am work. Chillers kick in automatically, whenever the temperature of the tank reaches the preset level of "too hot". My chiller has been going strong for 2 or so years. I just keep it going all year because even when it is 1 degree outside, sometimes my tank can get too hot (go figure). Now most aircons have the automatic on/off ability too, but for something as valuable as reef aquarium, I'd prefer to have something measuring the temp of my water, not the temp of the area right by the open window.

As for extra heat, I don't notice it really. I notice the heat more from having the light on in my en-suite.