Chillers

emmanuelchavez

Superstar Fish
Feb 22, 2008
1,370
0
0
#1
Has anyone had any experience with chillers before? Much like this one:

Proportional Temperature Controller (Coolworks)

When I got home today, I saw that all my aquariums were in the temperature range of 82-85 F... so I turned off all the lights, and turned on the window a/c unit in my room... I saw that the 2.5 gallon that has (soon to be had) my female betta was reading 86.... and that's the maximum the temperature strip will read.... so it was probably higher...



The worst of the southern heat isn't even here yet... so I wanted to prepare for it...

What sucks is that the laundry room is right next to my room, so on laundry day, my room gets pretty hot...


I didn't want to rush and get a chiller for every small aquarium I have... b/c they're expensive (... and because I'm saving up to get a larger one this summer...)
 

emmanuelchavez

Superstar Fish
Feb 22, 2008
1,370
0
0
#5
the cheapest thing you can do is if you have an AC in your whole house and turn it to 70 so youll be cool and your fish will too
Haha, yeah. we have a central a/c unit... but it doesn't cool parts of the house very well.... and well, cranking the a/c to 70 is effing expensive!!!!!

As it is, in the summer (which in houston is like from mid-march to november), we keep the unit at 77 or so, only turn it on during the day and afternoon, when we're at home, and I pay a light bill of $350 a month, on a good month.

putting the a/c to 70 every day (and night) for that many months will cost me more than a chiller would.... especially since energy costs are rising every second.
 

emmanuelchavez

Superstar Fish
Feb 22, 2008
1,370
0
0
#7
I'm definitely doing the fan in the room thing. the problem about open tank is that the filter units are built onto the tops, so I can't really have them open. Maybe my new bigger aquarium will be an open top - that evaporation rate will probably get me as far as the waterbill is concerned. lol.... cheaper than electricity though. :D
 

Lotus

Ultimate Fish
Moderator
Aug 26, 2003
15,115
13
38
Southern California
home.earthlink.net
#8
You definitely don't need to keep the house at 70! Freshwater fish are fine up to the mid 80s, as long as it's a slow climb. We keep our thermostat at about 80 while we're out in summer, and tanks climb to about 86 (they all have a lot of big lights on them). It's really never been a problem. You may need to add a little more oxygenation on taller tanks or those more heavily stocked to ensure there's enough oxygen in the water.

We do have a chiller on our saltwater tank, but they're not cheap.

Edit: Evaporation shouldn't be too much on your tanks. Certainly less than you'll be using for extra showers/yard watering in the summer. :p
 

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HAAA

Large Fish
Mar 2, 2008
203
0
0
Inland Empire
#11
wow your problem is reall hard to solve my tank usually has a problem with staying warm since im not in my room alot i have the curtains close with the fan on tanks at 70 and i have the their heatre set at 80
 

emmanuelchavez

Superstar Fish
Feb 22, 2008
1,370
0
0
#12
wow your problem is reall hard to solve my tank usually has a problem with staying warm since im not in my room alot i have the curtains close with the fan on tanks at 70 and i have the their heatre set at 80
haha, I think i'm just a PITA when it comes to problem solving, I gotta see it from every angle.

I think it's a lot easier to warm up a tank than it is to cool it, since aquarium heaters are relatively cheap when compared to chillers. If i do things right though, I shouldn't need a chiller.... I just need to replace that dang ceiling fan, it's been in my list of things to do for like 2, maybe 3 years.