Dont buy a chiller ... use a heat exchenger

[milou]

fan doesn't work when outside temperature is like 30+ C. I used frozen coke bottle for emergency but i think I will try your heat exchanger method. Last summer I lost bunch of frags due to the heat. This time I won't repeat the same mistake again.

[straightrazorguy]

The fan works for me. Even when it's 30, it brings the tank temp down a couple of degrees. Remember, it's the evaporation that cools the tank, not the temperature of the air. And speaking of evaporation, you gotta make sure you replenish your top off water often when using a fan.

[input80]

Originally Posted by straightrazorguy

The fan works for me. Even when it's 30, it brings the tank temp down a couple of degrees. Remember, it's the evaporation that cools the tank, not the temperature of the air. And speaking of evaporation, you gotta make sure you replenish your top off water often when using a fan.

+1

[monocus]

my tanks are in the basement and during summer hours they are kept cool and I ran only leds

[harlequin01]

interesting topic, what is the highest temperature you get during a very hot summer day?

[Son Of Skyline]

I use a fan directed right at my water surface when the temps get really high, but then my evaporation goes way up and I end up using a whole lot more ro/di for topoff. So I guess my way also wastes a lot of water. Probably on par with the OP's method.

[StirCrazy]

I guess the whole point of this, and I refrained from saying it in my original post, as it has been said numerous times over the years.

we all know when it gets hot we can have problems, and we all know that the areas we live in get hot, some more than others, but we end up complaining about tank times every year, and a lot complain about die offs. so what do we do, we come up with some 2 buck inefficient way to cool our tanks. yes in a emergency in a power outage, you have a heck of a good way to bring your tank temp down.

but here is my question to you, and any others looking at this.

we spend thousands of bucks on our corals and fish, but yet we balk at spending 2 to 400 bucks on a chiller that will do a much more efficient job and will come on and turn off automatically with out you having to be home.

does this make sense to you?

Steve

[mike31154]

Originally Posted by harlequin01

interesting topic, what is the highest temperature you get during a very hot summer day?

Here in the Okanagan it's not unusual to be in the mid to high 30's outside for a couple of weeks straight at the height of summer. The central air in my older home hasn't worked since I moved in, yet I'm able to stay reasonably comfortable using a portable air conditioner & by opening all the windows overnight. I don't require a chiller for my fish tank. Due to the clear skies during these hot spells, it cools off substantially overnight, similar to a desert where it can drop to near freezing. Some folks simply seal up their homes 24/7 & run central air all summer. Don't think I could afford the hydro bill & if BC Hydro has their way, prices will rise substantially over the next few years. Time to invest in some solar panels & get the wind generator on the roof.