Metal Halide and no Chiller?

[Chaloupa]

150g with 2 400w halides and 120g with 1 250w halide upstairs in the same room.....had fans over the sumps, no chiller, but then got a heat pump for the house...wouldn't you know it, it is the only room that doesn't actually get cool...it's the furthest from the furnace/blower....so in actuality the heat pump only cooled the room slightly, we have an HRU for humidity....and the tanks did get to around 83ish.....but at least manageable...

[Quagmire]

In the summer I use a fan and 2l pop bottles of frozen water to cool my tank.I'd like to find one of those small drop in chillers for a decent price.That would be perfect.

[SeaHorse_Fanatic]

No chillers. 210g reef with 3x250w DE & frag tank with 175w. No heat issues usually since I'm in a ground floor suite that stays cool most of the time. For the hottest days of summer, I use clip on fans & in extreme circumstances, I have 12000 btu portable room AC unit that keeps the main room with the tanks a nice comfortable 24 C even when its blistering hot outside.

My reasoning on getting an AC in of chiller is that it keeps me cool as well. It also helps keep all my tanks cool so more cost effective.

Anthony

[Joe Reefer]

No chiller here.

[michika]

I always ran no chiller & 1-3 400w MHs. I have a chiller now, but that is because someone in my building insists on keeping the heat a little too up there.

I kept the temperature in check by always having at least two fans, one blowing in, and one sucking out over the water or in the canopy.

[kwirky]

consider the thermometer you're using and where it's located. If it's black, and almost directly under the lights at the top, it's going to heat up like mine did.

I was using a little digital thermometer that was black. It was reading sky high temperatures when it was in the main tank where the light is because the black color was heating up under the lights.

I put a glass thermometer in the tank and moved the black digital thermometer to the sump. I found both temperatures much lower and pretty much the same.

I was panicking about having to get a chiller for my T5 tank but was pleased to find my temperatures were fine all along.

[Reefer Rob]

3- 400w MH and fans. Lots of fans. I think a controller is more important; to control your chilling and to shut off your lights if your tank overheats. Start with a controller, then ask your spouse if you can get a chiller next year