Chiller or AC for the room

[lorenz0]

HUGE on how everything looks. I mean to the point where I am starting to consider ordering a new tank. But thanks for the suggestion. Well this danby I have been looking at seems to have good reviews (minus it being a bit noisey) but if I can drop the temp down 4 degree's i will be happy.

I took a look on kijiji and there are mostly window ones and all the portable ones are like $50-100 less than brand new and look like crap.

well thanks for the suggestions guys. I will let you know how it goes

[lorenz0]

umm didn't see that rick was selling one, might have to give him a shout

[Nebthet]

Definitely go with an AC.

I live in a one bedroom apartment that has only two windows in it and a wall between them so I get no cross breeze. One window is in the living room, the other in the bedroom.
My tank, usually hits about 84 degrees inside when it is 30 degrees outside and gets hgher if the room isn't air condiitoned.

Last year used a Danby 5200btu AC (the cheap ones from Walmart) and it cooled down my livingroom nicely. (11ftx17ft area). In the bedroom, instead of shutting the window, I kept the window fan in there which has the dual intake and exhaust function on it. During the day, from 6:30am until 10pm I have the fan running on exhaust. At 10pm, when it starts getting cooler outside, I reversed it.

This worked nicely to keep temps down inside the apartment and the tank temps ranged from a low of 78 to high of 82 for the whole summer.

As others have suggested. Keep an eye on Kijiji ads in your area for good used AC's. Check to see if they are energy star or not.
Go to Costco, if you have one in your area and know someone with a card you can go in with if you don't have your own. Last month, I found a Danby 8000btu AC with remote there for $167 and my local Walmart was selling the same unit for $229

[ReefOcean]

Originally Posted by lorenz0

K well my apartment sits at about 24C most of the time now and my tank is at 82F and at this point I cant get the temp to go down.

So to make this as simple as possible, shoulc I give up my comfort for the tank and buy a chiller or can I get it down to around 78F with a fans across the sump and display.

Personally I prefer not dishing out the cash for a skimmer and spending that on a ac unit lol. Gets effing hot in there after an hour with the TV on

I live in a condo so I feel the heat. I was considering the whole chiller vs air con issue a couple years ago during a heat wave that knocked out 90 percent of my livestock.

The main issue that is came down to was the fact I probably wouldn't have the air conditioner on all the time thus risking a heat spike while I am work. Chillers kick in automatically, whenever the temperature of the tank reaches the preset level of "too hot". My chiller has been going strong for 2 or so years. I just keep it going all year because even when it is 1 degree outside, sometimes my tank can get too hot (go figure). Now most aircons have the automatic on/off ability too, but for something as valuable as reef aquarium, I'd prefer to have something measuring the temp of my water, not the temp of the area right by the open window.

As for extra heat, I don't notice it really. I notice the heat more from having the light on in my en-suite.