keeping a tank cool

[mielikkishunt]

Well, I think I found the culprit for the poor hammer coral, the tank got up to 86, and since I turned it down, he seems to be recovering a bit.

My worry is what to do in the summer. There is no central A/C in this house, and no way to put it in(and no, a room AC would not work, you'd have to see the house to understand why).

Any thoughts on how to help keep the tank from frying everything?

[rantsandraves]

Keep a 2 liter pop bottle full of water in the freezer. When the temp elevates stick it into your sump. Or you could spend hundreds of $ and buy a chiller.

[whatevva]

Spring for the chiller, you'll be glad you did!

[reginanmc]

You can try a fan as well

[TheWeaz]

I would suggest a chiller. if you don't have the money, try to position a fan between the light and the surface of the water to move some of the hot air out..

I got a chiller and it has made life a lot simpler.

[Fly Guy]

2 liter bottle of ice will accomplish all but nothing and the tiny bit it helps relies on you doing something about it

You have two choices........

1. good venting and fans which can cool a whole lot more than many people think. If you only need a few degrees pull down a chiller is not necessary. You can put them opn a timer to come on with your lights

2. chiller. chiller is a great way to go. get one with a dual controller built in and it will control your heater as well, and eliminate the chance of a faulty heater sticking on and either cooking yoru tank or making your shiller work harder than it needs to

[ChrisPrusha]

What kind of lights do you have on the tank?

[bucket brigade]

do you have glasstops on the tank? remove them.....my tank is open water and I've never seen a problem with my two 250w MH lights blazing down 10 hrs a day.

[Loverotties]

Chiller the best thing!

[jph]

the problem is, a chiller in a room without AC is going to drive up the room temperature even more.


J.

[mielikkishunt]

this is what I have lighting, no hood

Odyssea
New 2008 model
48" 260W (65Wx4) Aquarium Power Compact Light

2x Bulti-in cooling fans.
8 x Blue moon LEDs Module ( 2 LEDs in each module )
3x ON/OFF power switches.
3 individual power cords for timer setup.
3x 65w Straight pins 12000K Daylight PC Bulbs.
1x 65W Straight pins True Actinic PC Bulbs.

[crvz]

First thing to try is a fan blowing across the surface of the water either on the display or sump (if you have one). I'm able to reduce my tank temp by 3-4 degrees with a fan.

[Loverotties]

People seem to say the cheap fans at walmart work well.

[DarthOcellaris]

just open your windows during the day. It's obviously warm enough inside to do so ......

[tdwyatt]

Originally Posted by crvz

First thing to try is a fan blowing across the surface of the water either on the display or sump (if you have one). I'm able to reduce my tank temp by 3-4 degrees with a fan.

Best place to start. Wallyworld has them for about $10 USD and setting them as already suggested over the tank and the sump will help a lot, 3 to 4 F degrees will put you in the 82 to 83^oF range... Look at a swamp cooler (evaporative cooling device used in greenhousese you can build at home) for some ideas if a chiller is not feasable.