How do you keep your nano reef cool during the summer?

[Finless]

Summer is not here yet but the temperature of my 29 gal biocube went from 78.1 in the morning to 80.5 in the afternoon for the past 2 days.

I have turned off the heater, prop up the lid about an inch so there is a gap for air flow across the water surface.   I also removed the front lid.

I suppose I can and will turn on the air conditioner soon, which should help.   I definitely do not want to spend the bucks or have room for a chiller.

So what are the ways that other nano-reefers do to keep their tank cool during the summer?    Fans blowing across the surface?   I need to keep

the lid on for the lights.   I can only add a 60mm computer fan where I removed the front lid. 

[Thrassian Atoll]

I had a fan on my biocube back in the day that did well.  I didn’t have a lid with my lights though.  That’s going to be tough.  AC in the house is your best option.  You could always have your lights cutoff at a certain temp.  Maybe even run your low temp a little higher so the temp doesn’t swing as much?  I am not sure if say leaving your low as 79.5 would raise it to 82 in the afternoon though.

[Clown79]

78 to 80 is not a huge fluctuation.

 

I have been able to keep mine stable with using a regular stand fan or AC.

[Kangster911]

I am new to the reef keeping but back when I had freshwater tanks, I had AC running all day in the room where my tank was to keep the temperature low, even when I was not home. It added about $70 per month to the electric bill and I am assuming running an aquarium chiller will raise the electric bill as well, but a chiller is about $300 -$400

[FISHnChix]

17 minutes ago, Kangster911 said:

I am new to the reef keeping but back when I had freshwater tanks, I had AC running all day in the room where my tank was to keep the temperature low, even when I was not home. It added about $70 per month to the electric bill and I am assuming running an aquarium chiller will raise the electric bill as well, but a chiller is about $300 -$400

I dont think the chillers for a tank this size use that much power.. @banasophia has a chiller on her cube.. dunno how much it cost though🤔

[This guy is extra salty]

I have a clip on fan that I put on the sump/tank 

[sadie]

on really hot days I float a bag of ice.  If I change it out 2x it usually keeps it around 80, but that's not going to help you all summer.

[Kangster911]

I was curious how much a chiller would cost nowadays and found an interesting product that I never saw, thermoelectric aquarium chiller. I, having studied chemical engineering, am fully aware of traditional compressor driven liquid evappration compressing type coolers but this thermoelectric chillers have no liquid moving parts. I am intrigued but do not know how efficient/effective it would be, especially for a 29 gallon, but I might try it.

[jservedio]

Depends on where you live, get the room as cool as possible during the night and keep the blinds and doors closed during the day until it starts to cool off again.

 

Here in NC, even when it's 80+ outside, I can keep the room with my tank no higher than 76, even though other rooms will get above 80. And that's in my office where I am all day with a computer running, without that it probably wouldn't hit 75.  Any hotter it's just too uncomfortable for me and it gets turned on.

 

If it's a small room, just get an in window ac and keep the central air off. Chiller is overkill on a nano unless you let your house get up to 80.

[Finless]

I have heard about floating an ice bag in the sump.   So I an ice bag ready in the freezer.   For the past few days, temperature here in San Jose are seasonal so I have not had to use it yet.

Also, I now have the Apex control the heater (got the Apex 1 week ago), so at 76.4 degree, it will turn on the heater and at 77.9 degree, it will turn off the heater.

I am God to these creatures.

[Naekuh]

Once my fan and ambient cant help, i'll bring out my 1/10 hp chiller along with my canister filter.  

Infact im thinking of bringing it out once mid may hits as then i predict things will get hot. 

[MrObscura]

My house is 75 year round. 89 is fine. 

 

My tank ranges from 78-82, usually its 79-80.

[Lognor]

I was just starting to look into this same thing after the weather uptick the past few days in the Chicago area.  It's only my second summer season with my coralife biocube 29.  .  Last year I used a combination of ice in the back chamber, leaving the back lid open most of the day, and having the AC on more.  This year, I think I'm going to modify the lid on the back of the canopy to install a couple of dedicated fans.  I've seen a few threads suggesting fan/air cooling like that can bring it down 4-6 degrees, which is what I'm looking for. 

 

Early stages of planning.  I'm thinking about 2-80mm or 120mm slim fans.  Cut holes in the deck lid.  Secure them to the lid with rubber grommets to minimize vibration and noise, and add some sort of mesh or grill over the top.  Last piece is a molex AC/DC adapter and power supply.  Got it all in my head, now I just need to find the parts and do the work.  Definitely cheaper and easier than a chiller.  

[banasophia]

Hey guys, thought I’d post a link to my thread about the Chill Solutions chiller... still happy with the investment in my Biocube’s temperature stability, but it did cost around $250-300.