dking1813 Posted March 4, 2015 Share Posted March 4, 2015 I am new to the group and will hopefully be moving this summer from Louisville. I am in the military and will hopefully be moving to fort hood and need some advice on how tanks are kept in the Texas heat. Do you all run chillers or is AC sufficient. I know this can relate to lighting as well but as a rule of thumb. What is the best way to join the group if we move there? I love having other people in the hobby to talk to and bounce ideas off of as well as share tank thoughts and pics. Right now I have a 120 4'x2'x2' with around 40-50 gal sump, hydor skimmer, and 8 bulb T5 and a 150 cube 36"x36"x30" with 70 gal custom sump, reef octopus skimmer, with LED. SPS are my passion but keep a mixed reef. Was thinking about changing back to halides but worries due to the heat in Texas. Any thoughts or advice would be greatly appreciated to help me prepare for a possible move. Thanks to all. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Texasrob Posted March 4, 2015 Share Posted March 4, 2015 Welcome. You will b good just keep the AC on Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ckyuv Posted March 4, 2015 Share Posted March 4, 2015 Well welcome to Texas! (Maybe) a lot of people use chillers, I just keep my house cold. When we picked the house were in now I picked an area that didn't get direct sunlight, had a ceiling fan in the room and an ac vent above tank. With all that stuff and my leds I still use a heater all year around. Can't wait to get another sps tank in the area, if you got any cool sticks I'll hold them for you while you move Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
victoly Posted March 4, 2015 Share Posted March 4, 2015 Ac and Evap cooling works for me. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FarmerTy Posted March 4, 2015 Share Posted March 4, 2015 Welcome! I use a combination of evaporative cooling and a large chiller... I also run 3 400-watt halides in a canopy so heat does build up pretty quick in there. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sascha D. Posted March 4, 2015 Share Posted March 4, 2015 Welcome I had an 8 bulb T-5 fixture two years ago and didn't need a chiller. The tank got up to 85 in the summer with the canopy top on, but once I removed it the tank wouldn't get higher than 80. I switched to LED and the tank never gets higher than 76 in the summer. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dking1813 Posted March 4, 2015 Author Share Posted March 4, 2015 I appreciate all of the replies. I am thinking of going back to a 6' tank with 3 250 W halides with a lifted canopy to allow heat to somewhat escape. I'm still rebuilding my SPS system after a crash of my 150 cube got most of it but have a few connections to help rebuild. I appreciate the holding offer I have a good friend in Louisville who just opened a specialty saltwater store who is dedicating one of his holding tanks to my livestock for a couple of months to get a new tank settled and getting advice about where to get shop or traders. I look forward to hopefully meeting some of the group members when we get down there. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mFrame Posted March 4, 2015 Share Posted March 4, 2015 I ran a 90g with (3)250w mh and then the same fixture over my 230g tank when I first started it up. You will probably have heat issues if you try to run with a canopy on. You don't need a chiller if you open the top, just be ready to use evaporative cooling (fans) and have a little higher humidity in your house and you should be fine. As for how to join the club and be active, you've already done all you need to by creating your account. Welcome! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Viet'spride70 Posted March 5, 2015 Share Posted March 5, 2015 welcome... last summer I came back to mh. I used 2 250w pendants, they r 9 1/2" off water on top off canopy. I moded the pendants with pc fans, they r 38cfm @ 12v. installed 4 pc fans 2 on each end, they r 120mm 108cfm @12v and a cliff fan inside the stand. that's been done, my tank stayed @ 80-81F toward the end of mh cycle....NO CHILLER even my house @ 78F at day time. i cant take any more on E &W bills. they r double. i decided to go back to leds eventhough i run DIY leds in the past 3 years or so.... heres my moded pendants Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
madsalt Posted March 5, 2015 Share Posted March 5, 2015 Welcome to the club. ARC has been great and I have been able to get so much help here. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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