What do you allow in temp. swing between a chiller/heater

**4Mike** · 02-18-2013, 11:12 PM

Just curious but how much swing in temp. do you allow between the tank heater and the chiller activating. I plan on running the tank at 78 Deg.

Thanks,
Mike

**Lady Hobbs** · 02-18-2013, 11:21 PM

Not sure I understand. My tanks are set for 78 all the time. Temp might go up a tad during the heat of summer but it drops to normal again by evening. I use no chiller. I have a room air conditioner.

**madagascariensis** · 02-19-2013, 12:53 AM

Is it a freshwater or saltwater tank? I am no saltwater keeper but I understand saltwater livestock require really stable temps. I have a freshwater planted and it is at 23-23.5 Celsius most of the time in winter. In summer temperatures fluctuate between 24-26.5 degrees Celsius.

**Brhino** · 02-19-2013, 01:07 AM

if you're keeping your tank at 78F, assuming the room it's in is always a few degrees below that, you'll never need a chiller. I would guess the majority of fish keepers do not have chillers. Are you expecting your room to get hot enough that you'll need one?

**4Mike** · 02-19-2013, 05:27 AM

Hi,
Yes, due to lots of windows (16) the room gets very hot in the summer 85 +. I always like to keep optimal conditions for the aquarium. My tank can fluctuate quite a bit as the temps. cool way down at night. I have always set the swing pretty close but I wondered what other people do. With my larger tank I usually didn't worry much.

**glarior** · 02-19-2013, 09:18 PM

Pending on the fish or corals you have would determine the temperature swing. If it was me I would not let my tank get above 79-80f and not colder than 76f. If I had seahorses I would not let it swing more than +/- 1 degree from 75f.

My tanks stay ~78 at all times unless I am working on it and have the pumps shut off and the temp would drop a degree or two. I don't have a chiller but my house stays 69-72 at night (pending how cold outside) and no more than 76-77 during the summer. I also am adding solar screen to the big window in the fish tank room.... might black out the window as well.

**4Mike** · 02-22-2013, 02:00 AM

Great Info.
Hmm, I just took down my Mylar on the Window... Maybe I''ll put it back up. Nice to know what you do as I was only guessing. Maybe I'll tighten up my settings. I do love Sea Horses but probably would be problematic with my planned tank. The Sea Horses are not very competitive when foods around.