It’s May and, for many people, warm summer weather is just around the corner. Are you ready?
For the marine aquarist, warm temperatures outside can increase the temperature in your tank enough to, at best, cause unwanted algae blooms and, at worst, harm to your animals. While most of the animals we keep come from the Tropics, the temperature of a reef tank under metal halide lights can easily exceed the temperature of the tropical ocean. While some gamble during the warm summer months, hoping a heat wave doesn’t strike, the responsible thing to do is to have a plan for keeping your marine tank temperature stable regardless of the ambient air temperature.
Fans Can be Effective at Keeping Your Aquarium Cool
The simplest and least expensive way to cool a tank is to use fans. A fan (or fans) directed at the surface of the display tank or the surface of the sump can effectively dissipate heat. On my 135-gallon tank, I run a fan off my aquarium controller. When the water temperature hits a pre-set number, the fan kicks on and brings the temperature down. If the temperature continues to increase, the controller then shuts down my lights. While this strategy is effective, the downside is that the fan increases water loss due to evaporation making it necessary to top-off with more RODI freshwater than usual (absolutely essential to keep the specific gravity stable).
An Aquarium Chiller is the Best Insurance
While a fan or fans can effectively handle many tanks' temperature during the summer months, it is often best to have an aquarium chiller plumbed and ready to go. An aquarium chiller operates much like a refrigerator and cools your water to keep it within a pre-set range. Different chillers operate in different ways, but the two most common set-ups are drop-in chillers and external chillers. A drop-in chiller operates by using a coil that is submerged within your sump, while an external chiller requires water to be move through the unit and then back to your system.
Chillers are highly effective and offer insurance for summer heat waves. While they may at first seem expensive, the cost of a chiller is often negligible compared to the amount of money most aquarist have spent on their animals. There is no doubt that their operation will increase your electrical bill, but for most of us (in a well planned set-up), they will only be necessary in the summer.
Like all pieces of aquarium equipment, you get what you pay for, so be sure to spend a little more and get a reliable, energy efficient chiller. With the proper maintenance, it should provide you and your animals years of service. Check out the chillers on the site, especially the ones from AquaEuro USA.
Stay cool!
Do you usually just use it in the summer? I've heard of people running them year-round on small tanks with MH lighting
Posted by: Jeff | October 23, 2009 at 01:33 PM