[MrRoo]

Tank has been up 3 days and the temp is already 80.3 . It is in the coolest room of the house and the room itself is only 73*. It is on the bottom floor that has all wood floors and cathedral ceiling that gets great airflow. It has only been 85-90* here the past few days and during the peak of summer it can easily get 100* so I guess my sump fund is turning into a chiller fund

[IceMan]

what are your tank and lighting specs? how close is your light to the water surface? what time cycle do you have them running (how long)? and chillers are high, not to mention the sump will help maintain a constant temp. remember the greater the water column the better off you are no matter what issue you look at. 80 is a lil high but don't go crazy over it.

[MrRoo]

60 gallon tank, 24" high, 2x96w PC lights sits about 8 inches above the water. While 80 is not that high it is not summer yet and it will easily be 100+ 5+ days a week for months. Plus I live in CA so they can turn my AC off at anytime so the house will be cooooooooking. If it is 80* now when it is only 80* outside and low 70's inside the temps could get as high as 90* with it being higher than 90 in the house.

[IceMan]

Originally Posted by MrRoo

60 gallon tank, 24" high, 2x96w PC lights sits about 8 inches above the water. While 80 is not that high it is not summer yet and it will easily be 100+ 5+ days a week for months. Plus I live in CA so they can turn my AC off at anytime so the house will be cooooooooking. If it is 80* now when it is only 80* outside and low 70's inside the temps could get as high as 90* with it being higher than 90 in the house.

you might wanna invest in a generator, the chiller has to be powered aswell, wait you mean lose power right? not just tell you not to run AC

[MrRoo]

No not loose power, they shut off just our AC.

[MrRoo]

I just came home and it was 81.4*.

[IceMan]

Originally Posted by MrRoo

No not loose power, they shut off just our AC.

WOW!!! i live in the sticks... someone shuts our ac off and the body would never be found. lol

friend you just made me alot happier to be a hill billy.

[aquasalt]

Originally Posted by IceMan

WOW!!! i live in the sticks... someone shuts our ac off and the body would never be found. lol

friend you just made me alot happier to be a hill billy.

Now that's funny!

I don't remember anybody dictating when my AC is on or off when I lived in Cali. What 's that all about?

Another option you may want to consider, in addition to the sump, is using fans.

[MrRoo]

Originally Posted by aquasalt

Now that's funny!

I don't remember anybody dictating when my AC is on or off when I lived in Cali. What 's that all about?

Another option you may want to consider, in addition to the sump, is using fans.

SCE gives you a 35% discount to do it. Normally it is no problem since they do it between 9am-4pm which is the hottest times and I work till 6pm so I never notice. But with the aquarium it may cause some problems. Plus with that I get a $35 credit every month so my electricity bill is around $32

[joelq]

A few things to try:

- get one (or two) of those clip-on fans from Walmart and clip it to the top of your tank aimed down at the water. This will help cool your water. If you have a canopy, the fans are even more important. In my case, I run overdriven T5HOs under a canopy.

I used to only run my canopy fans (4 80mm PC fans) while my lights were on, but now that it's getting warmer, I'm running them 24x7. With this my water temperature fluctuates from 78-80F with the AC set to 80F while we're all away at work.

- it was mentioned earlier that the sump will help maintain are more constant water temperature, which is true. The sump will also drop your temperature by a couple degrees. Also, if you have a sump, you can install a clip-on fan over there as well, which will help with the cooling.

- as you get closer to the summer, you could shorten your photo period, to limit how much your lights heat your water.

I just started my 90g reef this past December, so I haven't gone through a Dallas summer with it yet, but many of the folks in my local reefing club go without chillers and are able to maintain a good temperature range, even in the heat of the summer.