Question about chillers

leftyblite

leftyblite

Member
My family surprised me this year with an early birthday/christmas present of a 150G tank with canopy and stand. I'am planning on eventually setting it up as a reef tank with a couple of small fish. This is going to take a while as I need to save up for all the items that will be needed, plus cycling and letting the tank mature. I have read in different books and on this website about chillers and am still unclear. Is this a necessity for a reef tank? Any advice would be appreciated!!
 
T

tizzo

Guest
Nope not a necessity. One extremely important factor in keeping corals is stability and that includes temp. If your lights are so hot that is causes you tank water to heat up past the degree of desirable, then you'd want a chiller.
I have 2 250 watt halides but luckily, I can run a fan across my water's surface to cool it off. If my lights were a little hotter or I lived in Texas or my ac is broke a chiller or if you have a canopy that isn't well ventilated a chiller would come in handy.
HTH
 
madison

madison

Member
Since you live in Rialto...where temp in the air can vary about 20 to 30 degrees between day and night and when during the summer it gets up to 110 degrees for weeks and weeks at ta time and night time at 95 degrees...Yes...you need a chiller for at least 8 to 9 months out of the year.
Also since you are going reef...you will need either VHO's, PC's, or MH's and they do put out quite a bit of heat...and if you raise the canopy too high for to vent the heat...the lights might not travel all the way to the bottom of the tank.
It's just like a heater...you are trying to stabilize the temp in your tank..IMO...it's better to keep the temp constant either on the high end or the low end rather then extreme fluctuations
Hope it helps

Just don't buy from Pet World in SB
They are willing to steal from their own mother. They will rip you off so badly they it will hurt for a long time!
Just my opinion!!!!!
 
leftyblite

leftyblite

Member
Thanks Madison. I know the place in SB that you are talking about. I watched them sell a gentleman and his daughter 2 pacus for their new 10G tank and told them that the fish would only get as large as the tank. I turned around and walked out the door. I go to a place either in Redlands or in Whittier for most of my fish supplies. I little farther drive , but worth it to get good service and advice.
 
madison

madison

Member
I wish you all the luck in the world...I know it's hard to find any decent LFS out where we are...try the one on Sierra off the 10 fwy by Kaiser Hosiptal in Fontana...it's a challenge to understand the guys...but at least they are honest 95% of the time :)
Also try the one across the street from the Montclair Mall...they are kinda expensive but the selections are good most of the time
Good luck!!! :cheer:
 
bergovoy

bergovoy

New Member
I use a LFS that has no clue, (In Pasadena). Even different sales personnel give contradictory advise.
Any suggestions on a store in the Pasadena, Arcadia area?
(PS, I did not post the name of the store for two reasons, one is to not offend anyone that does go there, and two to see if it is mentioned in any of your replies)
Thanks, and sorry if this is a hijack of your thread.
Bill
 
leftyblite

leftyblite

Member
Madison, Fontana is where my family got the tank. David is a really nice guy and very knowledgable, once you you can understand him. They bought the stand unfinished and saved a few hunderd $$$. I'm going to stain and seal it in the very near future. Sorry Bergovoy, I lived near there in Montebello for a long time, but not sure about the Pasedena area. If you don't mind driving to Whittier, try Tongs Fish World or use this website. I've heard they are very good.
 
madison

madison

Member
leftyblite...David is such a sweetie! good luck with the tank! I just got 2 green/white ricordia rocks from him last night...about 30 polyps together! for $25 a piece last night!!!!
:cheer:
:cheer:
 
blue oasis

blue oasis

Member
Hello we live in Florida and have a 90gal reef and fish set up. We just bought 2 -250 MH lights and prior to the lights was unable to get the water below 82.7. Now that we have lights we figured that the water would have jumped up to at another 8 degrees and that would be to hot, so we had to buy a 1/4 hp chiller. The cost was expensive $700, but figured we really liked the tank and wanted to continue with this hobby.
N & G
 
yimmy

yimmy

Active Member
Chillers aren't necessary, I asked my parents if when i get my tank can I get a chiller and they just said it would be easier to keep the house 1 degree cooler. It depends what kind of lights and how close they are. Fans are great but cause more evaporation and if you're running halides if they're close to the tank it would be advisable to buy a chiller. I live in AZ and am saving for a chiller because having the AC below 80 after a month during the summer it would've already paid for itself. They aren't necessary but if you find its hard to keep your temp below 80 especially in a reef tank then you should invest in one. Another thing you can do is take bags of ice and float them in the tank if your temperature gets way out of wack or you can put them into the sump. Hope your reef turns out well!
Jimmy
 
acrylic51

acrylic51

Active Member
Chiller might not be necessary depending on certain factors as stated earlier.....Before I would start worrying about a chiller I would invest in a good skimmer, RO/DI unit, and as the tank matures and cycles and you decide which way your headed in the hobby you can be saving money for the chiller if needed
 
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