Cooling idea's for tank/room.

[juststartingout]

I am looking for input on ways to keep the tank and or tank room cool. It seems that a stand alone chiller for the tank would just keep the water cool. Where as if I were to purchase a stand up portable air conditioning unit, it would keep the room cool, which in turn would help keep the water cool, plus keep the humidity lower. Any experiences/ thoughts?

[chainsaw5vent]

chillers are good because it cools the water directly. portable air conditioners need to have the hot air from the heat exchanger DUMPED OUTSIDE the room where the a/c unit is located at. if the room is closed, eventually the heat exchange will cause the room temp to rise and make the a/c unit ineffective.

we purchased a portable a/c unit for my daughter's room a couple of years ago thinking that it was a cool idea. she kept her door closed and found out that it was a hotter idea.

[juststartingout]

I had thought about that, actually the dehumidifier should be exhausted outside of the fish room as well.

[schwaggs]

If your configuration supports it, I think a window air conditioner works the best. It will dehumidify the air and cool it as well. My second choice is a chiller. Last choice is fans that evaporate water. The probem with fans is you then need something to remove the excess moisture from the air, like a dehumidifyer and then you might as well be running a window ac unit.

[dgasmd]

If you have a "dedicated" fish room, you need both: the chiller and the AC/dehumidifier. It also depends on where you live in the country.

[Bax]

I am very concerned about this issue. I live in north Jersey and you'd be surprised how humid it can be here during the summer months. Even now, my 75 g in my office is building humidity with the AC running.

[Bryan89]

It is far easier, cheaper and more efficient to use a ductless (aka mini split) A/C unit versus a window unit. It will allow cooling, dehumidification and in some cases heating all in a single unit. No window required. Check on eBay, pretty cheap units are available for about the same price as a portable A/C unit without the exhaust to outside needed.

[schwaggs]

Originally posted by Bryan89
It is far easier, cheaper and more efficient to use a ductless (aka mini split) A/C unit versus a window unit.

Can you explain how a $500+ AC system that requires professional installation is far easier and cheaper that placing a $200 window air conditioner in a window and plugging it in?

[jacob30]

I currently have a portable AC system in my equipment room. It does an adequet job but it is working close to it's maximum level. In hindsight I would have done a mini-split system. The mini splits are about the same price as a portable AC (not a window unit). A cheap high BTU window unit would work well also.

[Bryan89]

Originally posted by schwaggs
Can you explain how a $500+ AC system that requires professional installation is far easier and cheaper that placing a $200 window air conditioner in a window and plugging it in?

It does not require professional installation, you can do it yourself. With the A/C units, you get what you pay for. A $200 portable really does not offer that much in the way of cooling, is very inefficient and really doesn't work well to eliminate humidity. You also also have to cut a vent to the outside of your house for the hot air and on some units you need to vents to outside (one hot one cold).

So, if you buy a portable unit you get pretty weak cooling and still likely need a dehumidifier. That to me is why it is better to have a mini split. Take it for what it is worth, this is just my opinion.

My father in law has been an HVAC contractor for 20+ years and recommended the unit I bought based on a lot of factors, including reliability and overall ownership cost. This hobby isn't cheap, why buy a poor quality low reliability cooling unit?

Bryan

[Fiziksgeek]

I know nothing about the mini-split systems, but I can recommend that you not use a portable. I have known a couple of people who have tried, and they all failed to effectively cool the room.


If you have a forced air heat/ac system, you can also add a return to the fish room. In the summer, the ac will removed excess mositure from the air, and in the winter, it will spread the moisture through out the house.

[sidewinder770]

I would have to say the mini-splits are the way to go as well. Keep in mind that the window units are also VERY inefficient and will end up costing you more in the long run in electricity alone. And personally I think they look like A** as well. I use a mini-split as well as a chiller (which is also a DIY using half of the mini-split) and it's great.

I installed my own mini-split and it was easy and comes pre-charged with freon. I did have a "pro" come out to evac the lines but since he was doing a home A/C unit checkup at the same time he didn't charge me anything to do it.

[juststartingout]

Originally posted by Fiziksgeek

If you have a forced air heat/ac system, you can also add a return to the fish room. In the summer, the ac will removed excess mositure from the air, and in the winter, it will spread the moisture through out the house.

My supply and return trunks are right above the fish room. I had thought of doing that, but we don't always have the heat or a/c on. I probably still will do that and see how it pans out, I can always supplement or close off the vents.

[jnarowe]

I am having great results with two fans blowing over the display between the water and the lamps, and one fan sucking from the other end up at ceiling height and expelling the hot air outside. The "return" air is just an attic vent under my deck so when the exhaust fan kicks on it creates negative pressure in the room and cool air from under the deck is sucked in. I had installed a controller for the exhaust fan that works on room temp. as well as humidity, but I had to disable the humidity part because when it rains outside, the incoming air was humid as well and the exhaust fan kept cycling on and off.

Trying to "air condition" a tank room is seriously inneficient. Because of your location, I would recommend a DIY chiller like the one installed on this TOTM. I have sources for the heat exchanger and all you would need to do is get an actuated valve & pump to turn on when you need the tank water cooled. It is fairly simple when broken down into stages and will save you a LOT of electrical consumption bucks.

[xdusty6920]

this is good discussion and thoughts. humidity and temp are my #1 concern for my upcoming MONSTER thats going into the basement.

[jnarowe]

Basements are a great place for a large tank I believe because it is easier to control the ambient temp. I painted the walls and ceiling of my tank room with yacht bilge paint and sealed the concrete floor. I also installed an exterior steel door. The room is virtually waterproof so humidity affecting the rest of the house is nil.

[Bryan89]

Originally posted by xdusty6920
this is good discussion and thoughts. humidity and temp are my #1 concern for my upcoming MONSTER thats going into the basement.

Depending on where you live and how you setup your system, temperature and humidity issues may be the opposite of what you would expect. For my particular system, because my house A/C and heating system is in my fish room, I have to cool my tank in the winter (house heat on) and heat it in the summer (house A/C on). I really only need to use the mini split A/C system for cooling on semi-warm (~75F) humid days when the A/C is off in the house to keep the tank room cool and lower humidity. Cooling in winter is easy with the outside air vent and return I have.

Talk to an HVAC guy before you set a large tank up, it may save you significantly in the long run.

Bryan

[juststartingout]

thanks for all the input, great discussion.

[jnarowe]

If you check out my construction pictures you can see how I rigged my system up. I realize that it is a "ghetto" job but it really works well. One key issue is that we do not experience extreme temperatures here. It rarely gets above 75F or below 50F. So far when the outside temp. has peaked over 80F the reef has still been kept under 80.5F so I am very happy about that especially considering I am using 1000W MH lamps!

[juststartingout]

Originally posted by jnarowe
especially considering I am using 1000W MH lamps!

I thought that the glow in the western horizon was from Bryan's neck of the wood's, but I see now that it comes from Poulsbo, WA.

[jnarowe]

No doubt! "But officer, it's a reef!"

[pennyguy23]

I got these, controlled by the Cap 1 Works GREAT