Chiller or LED (1 Viewer)

[panther009]

My 75 gallon will begin to heat up once the cold weather is done. I am trying to decide if its worth getting a used chiller or change lights to LED's and eliminate the main source of heat? any comments, suggestions, insights, experiences, cost savings or not ???

 

[RR-MAN]

That all depends on how much extra cash you got.

Why do you need a chiller? I ran 2-250MH on a 120/g without a fan or a chiller (tank was open top). What is the house temperature like in the warmer season?

 

[Scott]

If you get a chiller it costs money and your power consumption goes up...

If you get LEDs it costs money and your power consumption goes down... Not to mention the coolness factor of being the first kid on your block with LEDs

In the long run the decision to go LED will pay for itself it would seem.

 

[panther009]

RR,

I think its a combination of closed canopy and lights being too close to water level to be under the canopy that is raising the temp. Also, as you saw, it doesnt help that the tank is by the wall that gets direct sun from noon till sunset so the room temperature in that corner goes up even if the rest of the house is cool.

i may try removing the canopy and place lights little higher but i like the canopy look hence looking at options.

 

[panther009]

wonder how much decent LED's would cost for a 75 to grow corals..any ideas?

 

[corals2go]

I don't sell these or get paid by this company lol if i'm breaking the rules just delete this.

I have one of there 100watt $299 units over a frag tank and i'm happy with it they also now have a 200watt unit which you might only need one on your tank. the 100 watt you can get 14k or what i would call 22k(think blue). the 200 watt is 22k only.

It's the evolution 200 watt led. Just google it.

 

[Scott]

Im about to spend a little over $200 to light a BC29. With a little more than 3 times the surface area I would estimate between $500 and $600 but that is a very rough estimate with high quality components by CREE and Meanwell. You could always go the cheap route and uses StevesLeds.com at about a third the cost for LEDs and instead of using actual LED drivers wire them directly to a power supply with the proper resistors in place.

 

[Scott]

I like that fixture, too bad its only 2ft long. You would have to have two of them so you're right around that $600 but at least you wouldn't have to DIY it and they look real nice too. But they do have pics of customers who use their fixtures and there is one shot of a 300 with 3 fixtures on it that seems to be VERY well lit.

 

[Ostentum]

My MHs are 8 inches off the water and the power consumption to run the halides 8 hrs a day is under $12 a month. my tank doesnt budge 80 degrees and i keep my house at 78 degrees no chiller. I do have one but dont need it. If you like the look of LEDS then get them but I can guarantee that you wont get the color pop and growth of a VHO, metal Halide combo. Cost breakdown is $11.64 a month to run Halides 8 hrs a day and the VHOs are $7.86 a month to run them 12 hrs.

 

[R-BallJunkie]

yeah what he said. payback is important when you look at equipment costs and savings.

whats your setup? 250 x 2 plus VHO? all said, a chiller wouldnt hurt, LED's r cuz you want them, not really need them....end of the day, fans, and moving lights up can help alleviate temps a few degrees.

what did you run this summer, tank temp wise?

 

[NarnyTheGreat]

When I ran 2 150w metal halides with VHO my tank temp would swing between 76 in the morning 84 in the afternoon. Keeping the temp down was difficult even with an open top and fans. Honestly I didnt have the 600$ to buy one fixture so I went with a used 250$ tradewind drop in. My husband was more open to spending 250 on something used rather than spending 600$ on something new lol. So I went that way.

 

[panther009]

i have a closed canopy so i cant move the lights up any further. thay are as far up as possible. about 5 inches above water level. they are not MH. They are 4 T5HO's each 60 W. closed canopy add to heat.

I do have fans and they are good at bringing temp down but cause a lot of evaporation. i donot have auto top off as it is not possible to get plumbing in that part of the house so that means daily manual adding water not to mention fluctuations in salinity.

past summer i had a smaller tank and lesser light and was not growing corals so was not a big issue. i am looking at 6 months from now when summer sets in and my corals have grown six months. need to decide on something soon.

thanks all for your input.

 

[bevoboy]

You can vent your canopy to help with heat extraction. I run 2x250 MH and 2xT5 on my 75G. The lights are retroed into a canopy that I built. The top is only 2/3 enclosed and the back of the canopy is open. There are fans in the hood but they never run because the tank temp doesn't rise above 80. Bulbs are 8" above water line.

If you modify your existing canopy to increase airflow it should help quite a bit. Heck of a lot cheaper than either LEDs or a chiller.

 

[soymilk]

Im not sure why you said you can't have an ato. My ato is not hooked up to any plumbing. Just a container with Rodi water with a pump inside and a little switch inside the sump to activate when water is low. I fill up the Rodi reservoir every 4-5 days. Salinity is spot on.

LEDs might help but initial costs are pretty high.

 

[Ostentum]

Yeah my setup is 2x250w 12k Reeflux metal halides and 4x 110 Super Actinic VHOs, only currently running 2 but going to add the other 2 on in the next few days. 8 inches off the water no chiller but I do own one, tank doesnt go over 80.5 degrees, which it hit yesterday, with my house kept at 78 degrees. I think the key is the location of the tank. This one is kept away from windows in a large open dining room that opens up to the living room and kitchen, no walls. The 140g I had to run a chiller on since it was right in front of a window in a room with not the greatest circulation (formal dining room). That tank even with the temp in the house at 78, the chiller would kick on about every 30 mins to keep that tank below 80.

 

[tmgrash]

Putting my vote in for the led's.

 

[RR-MAN]

Putting my vote in for the led's.

Of course...

If I change to 2-60" SOL LED fixtures, it will cost me $6,000. I can buy a second Elos tank for that kind of money.

 

[tmgrash]

Putting my vote in for the led's.

Of course...

If I change to 2-60" SOL LED fixtures, it will cost me $6,000. I can buy a second Elos tank for that kind of money.

Haha, yup of course. Yeah you could do a lot with 6k

Just posted some new pics but I think they got moved to the photography forum, which not many look at.

 

[RR-MAN]

Pictures look nice man...great growth.

Why do they make the LED fixtures so slim? My tank is 30" wide.

 

[tmgrash]

Pictures look nice man...great growth.

Why do they make the LED fixtures so slim? My tank is 30" wide.

Probably because most tanks are 24" wide. I do like a 30" wide tank though.