Do I need a chiller?

[Ryanst]

I would probably think that you need a chiller or ac. I keep my tank in the basement with ac in the house and it only gets to 20 C or 68 F. Even with the tempature outside the the tank being so cold when the lights come on it still warms my tank from 76 degrees to 77.5. I dont know what kind of lighting you have but on really hot days you might want to leave them off if you dont get a chiller. jl aquatics has some good prices on chillers right now they are 15% off
www.jlaquatics.com/product/ch-ep003/EcoPlus+1+4+HP+Aquarium+Chiller+with+Dual+Stage+Co ntroller.html or www.jlaquatics.com/product/ch-ep001/EcoPlus+1+10+HP+Aquarium+Chiller+with+Dual+Stage+C ontroller.html
I would personally get the 1/4 horsepower not the 1/8 because if you ever plan on upgrading the 1/8th probably wont be enough and its not that much more.

[fkshiu]

Simply try having a fan blowing across the water's surface before investing in a chiller.

I regard chillers only as a last resort especially in a temperate climate as we have in the Lower Mainland. They suck power like mad and actually heat up the room they're in.

Fans are an extremely effective first step, especially where humidity is relatively low like around here. Room and portable ACs don't use much more power than chillers and actually cool the entire room rather than heating it up like a chiller would.

[mark]

Old place had a 75g with PCs, temps stayed steady.

Before I got the AC in the new place just had some muffin fans on the sump (and still have for backup) and no problems with temperature with 2x250W though running a basement sump. Plan on a ATO as can go a lot of water, I was up to 2g a day.

[Lance]

Originally Posted by fkshiu

Simply try having a fan blowing across the water's surface before investing in a chiller.

I regard chillers only as a last resort especially in a temperate climate as we have in the Lower Mainland. They suck power like mad and actually heat up the room they're in.

Fans are an extremely effective first step, especially where humidity is relatively low like around here. Room and portable ACs don't use much more power than chillers and actually cool the entire room rather than heating it up like a chiller would.

+1
I'm pretty sure you'll be able to get by with a few fans. If you're running MH's you can turn them off for a few hours during the hottest part of the day.

[DiverDude]

The key to this is AVERAGE room temperature. If the average room temperature is close to or above wheat you want the tank at then you're going to have issues.

I can't comment on the effectiveness of fans but my feeling is that a fan is only good for a degree or 2 and it's going to up your evaporation rate quite a bit.

The question then becomes how do you cool the environment. You can either air condition the room or run a chiller. If you can reasonably install air conditioning (don't forget you need to vent to outside) then a chiller or an air conditioner are similar prices (assuming the room isn't too big). Personally, I'd A/C the room and get the benefit of a nice cool room. In my case, I couldn't practically run A/C so I had to go chiller. It's a PITA but you need to keep a lid on tank temps !