chiller for 15g
- Thread starter natan
- Start date
Bifferwine
I am a girl
...None. Sorry. The cheapest of cheap chillers out there will run you around $300 and they just aren't made for small tanks. They take up a ton of space and heat the air around the tank, so your room ends up hot unless you vent it. Just not practical for most tanks.
There are other things you could do to keep temps down. First off, having your temps in the low 80's, consistently, is okay. Temperature swings over a 24 hour period are more dangerous than if your tank always stays, for example, between 80 and 84. My tank runs between 78 and 84 year round.
You can buy a small clip on fan from Walmart and have it blow across the surface of the water to keep temps lower. I have two $7 clip on fans from Walmart on my tank, and just the two of them manage to drop my temp by up to 10 degrees on a daily basis (I don't even own heaters, but from my lights alone, my tank has heated up to 96 degrees before, and I will not buy a chiller for it).
If your tank is heating up, remove the heater. Even if you have the heater set to 76, or whatever. Their internal thermostats are not very reliable and taking it off completely can help.
You can also reduce your photoperiod if your lights are contributing to the heat.
There are other things you could do to keep temps down. First off, having your temps in the low 80's, consistently, is okay. Temperature swings over a 24 hour period are more dangerous than if your tank always stays, for example, between 80 and 84. My tank runs between 78 and 84 year round.
You can buy a small clip on fan from Walmart and have it blow across the surface of the water to keep temps lower. I have two $7 clip on fans from Walmart on my tank, and just the two of them manage to drop my temp by up to 10 degrees on a daily basis (I don't even own heaters, but from my lights alone, my tank has heated up to 96 degrees before, and I will not buy a chiller for it).
If your tank is heating up, remove the heater. Even if you have the heater set to 76, or whatever. Their internal thermostats are not very reliable and taking it off completely can help.
You can also reduce your photoperiod if your lights are contributing to the heat.
We are in the 80' now. I have no AC in the aquarium room and the summer temperatures will reach 95 F in daily average.
The temperature will be consistent though - mid 90'. Night and day make no difference here (and water has a very high heat capacity so it buffers most small deviations anyway).
Having said that, do you think a couple of fans could do the job?
Thanks much!!
The temperature will be consistent though - mid 90'. Night and day make no difference here (and water has a very high heat capacity so it buffers most small deviations anyway).
Having said that, do you think a couple of fans could do the job?
Thanks much!!
ccCapt
Reef Hacker
Fans will help, but they won't drop the temp 10 deg if the room air temp is 95. If you have no way to keep the room air any cooler than the mid 90's, a chiller may be your only option for keeping the tank near 80.
JAG107
Reef enthusiast
instead of spending $300-400 on a chiller, why not get a little in-room A/C unit? That way everyone could stay cool, instead of just the fish! Assuming your tank room has a window, of course.
Bifferwine
I am a girl
Jag has a good idea, and a window AC unit will be cheaper than a chiller anyways.
daugherty
part time reefer
i did that in my old house for my 50 i just has it so that the window ac unit was facing the tank and i never had anymore problems with it.
How far is your tank from the refrigerator? You would need to get a temperature controller to turn your circualtion pump on and off, but it could also control your heater so as to not depend on the cheap bimetal controls that come inside an aquarium heater. A few coils of plastic pipe running inside your refrigerator would work just fine as a chiller. Cut the door gasket enough to run the pipe through or cut a hole in the back or side to put the pipe through. Unfortunitly the best temperature controller readily available from online aquarium stores is the Ranco which cost around $150 dollars. I imagine you could do a lot better on a price on ebay or Craigs list.
