Originally Posted by azfishgal
Wow, it's really about where we live, huh? My tank runs between 78-81, and I'm really hoping by keeping my AC set at 78, I won't need a chiller in the summer. BUT, this will be my first summer with my large tank, so we'll see (on knees praying). My husband wants MH, but I told him that would mean a chiller for sure, so lets see if we can get through a summer without one first.
I was hoping that with the basement at a fairly constant 76 degrees, that the 2 chillers would be able to keep it in the 76-78 degree range without having to run all day long. I found that even with the open stand, the heat rising from all of the equipment and lights , the space right below the bottom of the tank was above 90 degrees. Kind of like setting the tank on a warming plate. I tried using a large window fan to circulate the air under the stand, but there were too many obsticles in the way to do any good. The temperature of the glass on the MH's is over 200 degrees so you can image how much they are warming the tank being 10" above the water. 78 to 80 is a little to warm IMO, so I opted to go with the larger chiller to lower the temperature and run a little more efficiently.
Watch your temperature closely as things warm up this summer. From past experiences, I can tell you that it is more efficient, and more economical in the long run to use a chiller to cool the tank rather than relying on your central air.
Last words of wisdom from one who has made a lot of mistakes, is to purchase the next size up from the chiller you think will work. Don't cut it close to save a few bucks.
My 125 gallon has actually brought a nice change to our "dry" house. But, evap is a b%@ch.
