Do I need a chiller

newbie68

newbie68

Member
Help. I am just starting out on reef. I have a 46 G bowfront with a Rena filter, remora protein skimmer, 2 - 97 W PC lighting. My current temp with the light on is 79 degrees. I have a candy coral, colt coral, mushrooms, PB tang, and a clown fish. Help and advise are highly appreciated. :needhelp:
 
murph145

murph145

Active Member
well if ur temp is stable then u should be fine.... why do u think u need a chiller.... if anything u could put a 2 3" comp fans blowing in to cool off the lights but if thats ur temp then ur fine
 
newbie68

newbie68

Member
The LFS told me that I need to keep my temp at 77 to maintain corals. My PC lights has a built in fan to blow off the heat. I am afraid that during the summer my temp might go high
 
murph145

murph145

Active Member
no ur temp is fine.... as long as it doesnt vary from 77 in the morning to 85 by the end of the light cycle ur fine.... ur temp can vary 3-4 degrees within the day but not much more than that..... some people here keep there reef tanks around 84 i keep mine around 79-80
77 is actually on the cooler side .... ull be fine.... if u dont notice the temp varying more than a couple degrres then ull be fine.... do u keep ur tank with the lid on or off to seperate the lights dirrectly from the water?
if u keep it off watch your water levels ull have to top off more with some ro/di water.....
lots of LFS's try to sell u stuff u dont need
 
newbie68

newbie68

Member
you mentioned that as long as I keep my temp from varying. The LFS store told me to yank out my heater. Any advise on how to keep my temp constant
 
scubadoo

scubadoo

Active Member
IMO...temp should not vary by more then two degrees each day and or during the day . Constant higher/lower temp swings of greater than 2 degrees can lead to disease for fish such as ich if disease is present in your system.
 
scubadoo

scubadoo

Active Member
Set your heater at 79 and you should be okay. Make sure you have plenty water movement. My tank is at 82 in the summer but I only have FOWLR in my set-ups. Stays at 80 in the winter months.
 
newbie68

newbie68

Member
Thx, I just bought one of those digital temp gauge, my old one is too hard to read. Atleast now I can monitor my temp...
 
murph145

murph145

Active Member
well is it varying now??
dont take your heater out.... at night when lights are out the tamp will drop and shock the creatures.... my lights keep my tank at about 80 during the day then when lights go out my heater is set for about 79 so that way my temp doesnt drop too much either....
 
newbie68

newbie68

Member
thx murph, With the lights off my temp was about 78 then with the lights on it went up to 79. Just checked right now with my lights off and its still at 79,
 
murph145

murph145

Active Member
ur welcome
then u dont need to worry at all..... its just ur LFS tryin to sell u something u dont need and thats a pricey piece of equipment!!
anyways u shouldnt need a chiller unless u were running some real strong lighting like halides but pcs should be able to cool off with just a fan like yours....
good thing u asked other people first instead of listening to the LFS.... saved u some money.... ive lost some money before by listening to them :rolleyes:
 
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