Hows everyone dealing with the summer heat?
 

Just curious on how everyone was managing, my tank gets up to about 81.8 so I'm just getting by.

I have central AC and use a couple fans but no chiller.

I have central AC also, and fans, on my SPS tank I have it programmed so that the tank doesn't get too cold and stays around 79-80 all the time...however in my garage I have to use a chiller on that tank as there is no AC in the garage and it gets BRUTAL!

My tank regularily sits at 82 during the day :mrgreen: , I haven't noticed any problems with heat yet but then my sump is in the basement

Have central AC but notice the muffin fans over the sump come on every once and a while (on a controller). Tank stays steady though through summer and winter.

last year when I had a mag 9 running and before I setup my manifold for return, skimmer and reactors (see thread) my temp would get up to 83 and shut my MH's off all the time and I had two more fans running.

The manifold and getting rid of some pumps really made a difference.

I selected chiller but I also have AC as the room the tank is in can get smoking hot and there is no decent air circulation which causes the chiller to blow fuses quite often. So technically I have AC and a fan both of which are for the chiller (and I often hang out in the tank room on hot days :wink:). I also wish the fuse store gave a discount, at $2 per fuse the summer can get pricey.

Nothing. This is Calgary, we're lucky if we get two hot days a year....:rolleyes: and tank's in the basement which stays cool.

Heat? whats that? Crappy summer this year in Calgary. I do have central air though so if it does happen I should be good. :lol:

Heat in Calgary? What heat? Calgary weather SUCKS.:twised: Coldest summer in years. If I leave the basement window open my tank temp gets down to 72 F and the backto 80 F with the lights on all day. My chiller is not getting used a lot this summer.

AC, chiller and fans. I'm not kidding around with heat. My 55g has a 1/10hp chiller and my nano has an ice-probe and computer fan. So far so good :)

That said, it really hasn't been that warm here (aside a few days, and one week) so it really hasn't been a big deal.

tank cooling
 

My 80g is in the basement and has a chiller on it. It stays at 77 with 2x250 metal halides.
I am currently putting a 220g together. It will have it's own 10'x10' room in the basement. My 80gal will be pulled down and be put in the 220. the chiller is not big enough for the new tank so I will be adding a through wall a/c unit.

Basement! My new setup is in the basement, and I now have to keep my heater on as the tank will drop to 73-75 no problemo. It works well for me, because my tank stays at a constant 78 now :)

On my old system running 250w HQI , having the tank upstairs, I was getting 85+ every day. So this is a nice change.

I was at 82 yesterday and thats with a chiller. Turned the lights off for a bit and it is back to normal now. Looks like my chiller is a bit on the small side.:twised:
Should be interesting for me in the winter as I have a air tight wood stove in the same room. One more reason I bought my chiller probably will need to run mine in the winter as well.

Basement for me too... no problems yet this summer...might have some problems keeping the temp up in the winter tho.. we'll see.

I have central A/C and a chiller on my 50gal. Stays around 82-83. In my old house last year I had to use 2 portable A/C units and a chiller to keep things cool.

I have central air but I pop a couple fans over the sumps. If it's not real hot outside the AC wont kick on as much which means, paradoxically, the tanks get warmer when it's say 22 outside than when its 31 outside. I have a couple extra box/muffin fans onhand all the time. I love Princess Auto for that sort of thing. :lol:

I figured my temp jumped to 82* yesterday as my ceiling fan was off. Today with it on we are at a steady 79*
That fan must really be cooling my tank. :biggrin:

I haven't checked the temp yet this year, but I'm upgrading lights this week, so might have to buy a thermometer. If I run into problems, I'll buy a small AC unit for my sump room, as my sump is bigger than my tank and should keep everythng cool.

The saltwater tans are in the basement - the only cool part of the house!

Pretty much the same here, only I'm in Edmonton.

I spent the last five years battling Toronto's summer heat, with pop bottles with frozen water, calling my wife from work to check the temp, shutting of the lights early. This year I decided I no longer want to worry about it and grabed a PCI 1/4 chiller. It works great, much quieter than I expected. The only downside of it is the size of the chiller itself.
I would have liked to try one of the new Profilux Temp Control units but the price was a too hight for me.

i keep my AC at a constant temp ( both in the summer and the heat in the winter ) and have a basement sump that really helps keep the tank temp down.

I find running multiple tanks, at least multiple tanks with halides, pretty much negates the "This is Calgary" factor, basement or no. :( I would imagine that more sane people with fewer tanks have less of a problem in this regard.

I have an in wall air conditioner in my living room (where my tank is) but I've always had difficulty balancing the tank temp in the summer because like most in-wall air conditioners there is no real control. I have to turn it on or off manually. Which causes difficulties when I'm away.

Last year I got a little smarter and put it on a timer (to come on during the heat of the day and off in the evening) but that still isn't the best solution because the tank would get too cool when the weather didn't heat up the house.

This year I managed to find a plug-in thermostat and Canadian tire. I works great! I set the temperature and it comes on and off as needed. It was 38 degrees outside yesterday and the combination of the air conditioner and fan across the sump kept the tank temp steady at 79F all day.

I can't find a link to it but it's built by Noma and you can find it in with the light timers. I think it cost $25. It works so well I bought a second one for my portable air conditioner. I now no longer worry about the wicked fluctuations of temperature I get in my tank (especially when I'm away).

Cheers

Does it work with the portable? We finally broke down and got a portable unit but I am not sure that the thermostat timer would work.

We have no other air conditioner. My tank has ranged from 79 to 82F. It has an add-on Ice Cap variable rate fan that kicks up its speed when the air over the tank warms up. Seems to work since the room temp has been hovering around 80F recently.

It works with our portable. One way to check is to test your air conditioner with a basic timer (you porbably have one for your aquarium). If you can get it to go on and off using a timer, you can probably use the plug-in thermostat.

HTH

It's true...Tony's basement makes me sweat!

I will try this evening, great solution if it works.

I float large RO/Di Ice cubes that also act as top off. One cube can bring temp down 2-3 degrees C.

OMG are you other Calgary people in the same Calgary I am in. I have been roasting all summer long!

Tank is running with a chiller, and I am running with ice and cold beverages.

:lol:I guess it helps we have a walk-out basement. Just open the doors in the evening and turn on a fan if it gets that warm. Which it did yesterday.

We had 2 weeks of rain in June.. i should know, I sat home from work, because the jobsite was too wet to work.. haha.. It has not been a stellar summer by any means IMO.. However the last few days, have been 'warm'.. :lol:

It is 28 degrees IN my house...warm is putting it mildly!

Is this where your hair gets all bleached out like the teak decks of your sailboat. These salt water tans you speak of.:lol::lol::lol::lol:

Were back to rain so no more heat for us.:razz:

Ice Cold Beer

And lots of it!

Things are starting to heat up here (finally!). I splurged 9 bucks for a clip-on fan at Canadian Tire and will try pointing it into my sump.

I was going to buy a chiller until I saw the prices, and they add heat to your room as well!!! I opted to go for a large portable a/c unit from cosco. It cost me 450 and puts out 12000btu!! or you could spend 1500 - 2000 on a comparable chiller. I personally like to be comfortable when viewing my tank. so A/C is the way to go for me!!:mrgreen:

A/C is nice but get ready for a shock when you get your hydro bill! :mrgreen:

I did the same thing too, bought a AC unit from costo to do my kitchen/familyroom where the fish are. It was all good until I upgraded my lights and now I have found out the hard way that the AC and Tank and Big Screen TV are all on the same circuit. Cant run them all without blowing the fuse.
:cry: