Do I need a chiller?

[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 !