Sunstar Posted July 14, 2015 Share Posted July 14, 2015 Unfortunately things did not go as I had hoped this year in getting an air con for my apartment - I was planning to, then my job shafted me with my hours. I use fans blowing air though the system, and fans on the tank, but I am not able to get it below 80. I have been periodically adding ice to the refugium to attempt to lower the temp. Now I am currently freezing ziplock bags full of water to try to do this without changing salinity. I am going away this weekend, so every household fan will be on my tank. its a 1.5 gallon and is enclosed. I will be leaving the lid ajar How do others do it when aircon is not an option. Link to comment
CronicReefer Posted July 14, 2015 Share Posted July 14, 2015 If you can do a little DIY look up TEC or Peltier cooling. You can get the parts relatively cheap and it will easily chill your tank. Link to comment
yoshii Posted July 14, 2015 Share Posted July 14, 2015 If you can, remove the lid completely. It will evaporate very quickly, but it might be the only way to get the temp down.Do you have an ATO? Link to comment
jeremycee Posted July 14, 2015 Share Posted July 14, 2015 i have been dealing with the same issues this summer. I like your idea of keeping a gallon bag filled with water and freezing it. Ive been keeping the tank at 79 during the day with a clip on fan blowing on it over the surface. Although, I'm not sure what size tank you are running. I have a 3g pico Link to comment
NinjaReefer Posted July 14, 2015 Share Posted July 14, 2015 I would not worry at all if your tank gets into the mid 80s. That is a very normal temp for coral reefs in the wild. In fact many of them see temps into the 90s or higher for short times. I let my reefs get into the mid 80s regularly and I never had a problem. Heater is set at 82 and its pretty common to get up to 85 or 86 on a hot day. I notice around 88 some corals seem a little unhappy till it cools off, but I have had it even get to 92 (forgot to turn on fan) and had nothing die. Point the fan at it and dont worry. Link to comment
khuzdul Posted July 14, 2015 Share Posted July 14, 2015 To get the benefits of evaporative cooling, you do not need to evaporate the water from the tank itself if you have a sealed pico.. You can wrap the lower part of the tank that has sand or substrate (to allow light into the upper part) with a wet / damp cloth and blow the fan on it. Or you can put the entire 1.5 gallon jug in a pan of water and blow the fan on the water. The evaporation from the cloth (or pan / water reservoir under the tank) will cool the tank. This is like a "pot in pot" refrigerator. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pot-in-pot_refrigerator Link to comment
yoshii Posted July 14, 2015 Share Posted July 14, 2015 To get the benefits of evaporative cooling, you do not need to evaporate the water from the tank itself if you have a sealed pico.. You can wrap the lower part of the tank that has sand or substrate (to allow light into the upper part) with a wet / damp cloth and blow the fan on it. Or you can put the entire 1.5 gallon jug in a pan of water and blow the fan on the water. The evaporation from the cloth (or pan / water reservoir under the tank) will cool the tank. This is like a "pot in pot" refrigerator. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pot-in-pot_refrigerator Never thought of this, but this sounds like a good idea! Link to comment
Sunstar Posted July 14, 2015 Author Share Posted July 14, 2015 Okay so mid 80's is okay. I will take a closer look at some of the suggested ideas. yes, I do have an ATO. Link to comment
Sunstar Posted July 21, 2015 Author Share Posted July 21, 2015 This weekened seemed to have gone okay. corals s urvived the extreme heat while I was out. I had three fans on the tank, auto top off. My fear at this point was the power going out and the primary filter stopping, but I do have a secondary which would keep water in motion. Battery Backup was wanted, but circumstances kinda denied me. Link to comment
Exodus Posted July 26, 2015 Share Posted July 26, 2015 Okay so mid 80's is okay. I will take a closer look at some of the suggested ideas. yes, I do have an ATO. I read a long article describing 86 degrees to be beneficial to reef aquariums at one point (Given Species type of course) whereas its always been a large consensus that 78 is ideal, I have an AC Unit in my window that doesn't always do the best job especially with the heat wave we are having this year and looking over the last 2 months of data from my Apex my average temp has been between 81 & 82 and I have not seen a single negative effect from it, so if your sitting right where your at I wouldn't be too concerned at all but I wouldn't dismiss attempts of cooling the tank either. Link to comment
PicoSavvy Posted July 26, 2015 Share Posted July 26, 2015 A small chiller would be the way to go. You need a margin of error. If you keep your tank at 78 then you have a margin of 6 degree until it reaches 84 degree ( for me 84 and above is the danger zone) . That margin well hopefully give you enough time to fix the problem. If your at the edge of what is an acceptable temperature for a reef tank your margin of error is a lot smaller and the chance of the inhabitants being killed is much greater Link to comment
Sunstar Posted July 27, 2015 Author Share Posted July 27, 2015 I am sitting at 83, cooking tonight so it may get warmer. I have fans. No way I can really get a chiller involved unless I make it in miniature. WHich is a facinating idea to be honest. But I am unsure how to make a miniature chiller. Link to comment
PicoSavvy Posted July 27, 2015 Share Posted July 27, 2015 Here is one that may work: http://www.fish-street.com/aquadg_dc_mini_chiller If you do buy it I recommend you to take the aluminum water block and anodize it. There are cheaper option if your interested in diy Link to comment
Sunstar Posted July 29, 2015 Author Share Posted July 29, 2015 I did not realise they made it that small would it work on a 8 - 10L? If not what DIY option is there? Link to comment
PicoSavvy Posted July 29, 2015 Share Posted July 29, 2015 I did not realise they made it that small would it work on a 8 - 10L? If not what DIY option is there?It can work on tanks up to a 30 liter tank. The diy option is this (http://m.ebay.com/itm/Thermoelectric-Peltier-Refrigeration-Cooling-System-Kit-Cooler-fan-TEC1-12715T-/181764612023?nav=WATCHING_ACTIVE) it is basically the same as the chiller that fish-street sell just without the plastic covering and about 40 dollars cheap. One of my friends, has one running on his freshwater planted. You will still need your own power supply for the diy that should be about 20 dollars Link to comment
HIppieRose Posted July 29, 2015 Share Posted July 29, 2015 Careful if you try the ice in a bag trick. One of my fish put tiny holes in mine. Link to comment
Sunstar Posted July 30, 2015 Author Share Posted July 30, 2015 I just put my ice bag in the refugium. it almost seems safer to go with the prebuilt one since I don't think I understand the diy one went past 86 today, ice bagged it for a little. Link to comment
PicoSavvy Posted July 30, 2015 Share Posted July 30, 2015 The diy one has six cables. 4 of those cables are for the fans and the other two are for the Peltier. The spec say that you need a 12VDC 15A Power supply. Link to comment
khuzdul Posted July 30, 2015 Share Posted July 30, 2015 Careful if you try the ice in a bag trick. One of my fish put tiny holes in mine. If fish put holes in bags, you can freeze a water bottle and float that instead Link to comment
Sunstar Posted July 31, 2015 Author Share Posted July 31, 2015 That is quite a good idea. As I said, I just drop mine in the refugium. seems to work. Link to comment
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