chiller question

[leftyblite]

I'am in the process of setting up an 80 gallon Fowler tank and have a question about air chillers. I live in southern California and have read several differing opinions about wether a chiller is needed. Is it? Thanks in advance for the help.:help:

 

[clarkiiclo]

It gets pretty hot there in the summer.
You dont want your tank to get over about 78. I know when our weather was over 100 it was really hard to keep the tank under 80.
We used fans. I dont have central heat/air. If you do it may be easier to keep your temp down.

 

[leftyblite]

I do have central heat and air. I also have an 80 gallon african cichlid tank and the temp didn't get above 80 degrees last summer.

 

[nas19320]

Chillers are generally used on reef tanks where the lighting raises the water temperature significantly.

 

[ophiura]

I think if you have central air, that is definitely a plus. As mentioned, much of the heat generated is from high power lights, and many people will use evaporative cooling by simply hooking up small computer fans to blow over the surface of the water.