Mo's first 95g DIY build thread - Egypt !

[Mounda]

My interest in salt water started as a kid when I used to snorkel along the shores of the Red Sea, seeing all the colorful fish was really breath taking but it wasn't long before I got my first Scuba diving license and discovered the true beauty of the marine world. My fascination with the life under the sea drove me to take a slice of the ocean back home and that was by mimicking a small portion through a salt water tank.

Before venturing into keeping a salt water tank I read a lot of threads and a lot of articles to understand the basics required to keep a successful environment for my valued fish and other inhabitants. This is my first experience with salt water however I have had several fish tanks over the past 20 years. It’s time to give back from what I’ve learned, I’ve documented and compiled most of my efforts with many images to help fellow reefers with their current and future projects.

I currently live in Egypt and building a salt water system is a very difficult task, we do not have a large market and we have very limited options when it comes to equipment. If available the equipment is usually 2-3x the original price, salt, supplements and fish food are also very highly priced. Although equipment is scarce and most of it is low quality generic equipment we are lucky to have the red sea miles away full of beautiful marine life, 6" Tridacna maxima for $5 is an unbeatable price and a sweet trade off ! There are a lot of DIY items in this build thread due to the fact that we have limited resources and very high customs on imported goods. The original plan was to build a 300 gallon in wall tank in my new house however after a some unexpected events I will not be moving for a while so that project has been postponed for a while but instead I started to work on a smaller project in my apartment.


System Setup:

- DIY 65 Gallon glass tank with starphire front panel and stainless steel rims
- DIY 30 Gallon glass sump with skimmer section, bubble trap, return section and refugium with DSB and Chaeto
- DIY 10 Gallon glass QT
- DIY Wooden stand
- DIY Lumenarc reflector with 250w MH lighting system
- DIY Herbie overflow system
- DIY Algal Turf Scrubber
- Super Reef Octopus XP-2000 cone skimmer
- Eheim 1262 Return pump
- 2x Koralia 4 powerheads
- 2x Jager 150w Heaters
- 2x Sunon AC Cooling Fans 120mm x 120mm , 80 CFM
- 100 lbs freshly harvest Red Sea LR
- 50 lbs Silica sand

[Mounda]

Stand

This is my first DIY stand, it’s actually my first attempt at a DIY project so here goes. The 65g display tank goes on top and the 30g sump goes underneath it behind 2 custom made doors. The canopy goes on top, it houses the lighting and prevents any suicidal fish from succeeding.

I used 2x5 pine just because I couldn’t find 2x4’s when I bought the lumber, at first while reading other builds I was a bit skeptical but when I actually saw the lumber I realized how durable it really is. Due to my lack of carpentry skills and knowledge about wood, I opted for a metal stand which I know a lot about but my living room furniture is wood so I decided on going with wood so the tank stand would blend in.

Stand Dimensions:
34 L x 20 W x 36 H.

Lumber



I used a construction level while aligning the skeleton before joining them together.



Using a wood chisel I made grooves so my brackets would sink in them so they don’t elevate the plywood that is going over them.





I used glue, nails, brackets and screws to reinforce the joints in different directions. Markings show where the brackets go.



Wood glue



Nails are hammered halfway in to make it easier while putting the wood together.



Making sure the brackets are at a 90 degree with each other.



Brackets 3-way with screws.



Nails for extra post support with brackets.

[Mounda]

I joined the bottom first then joined the posts.



After joining the posts I added the upper portion of the skeleton and the cross braces to add support to the plywood that will carry the tank and sump.



Finishing nails used to fix the side panels to the wooden skeleton. The side panels were made out of MDF with an Oak veneer.



Side panels added





Stand is almost done



Using oak plywood I covered the pine wood to give it a homogenous oak pattern, I had these Oak hardwood doors made by a professional. The sump will be behind the doors.



I stained the stand using a water based stain and then applied 2 coats of sealer.



The final product wasn’t too shabby, pretty good for my first attempt at carpentry. I don’t own any power tools so I had to get the lumber cut elsewhere and they never gave it 100%. It still requires a few touches here and there but I am happy with the overall product.

[reeferbro0622]

Sweet stand! tagging along!

JT

[JStraz4991]

Tagging along! this is gonna be a good build

[zaheda]

Good luck on you setup.

[Mounda]

Originally Posted by reeferbro0622

Sweet stand! tagging along!

JT

Originally Posted by JStraz4991

Tagging along! this is gonna be a good build

Originally Posted by zaheda

Good luck on you setup.

Thanks guys ! Stay tuned for more DIY projects.

[Mounda]

Tank

My tank dimensions are 34” wide x 20” deep x 26” tall. I used 10mm float glass, I did not opt for tempered glass because of the risk of spontaneous shattering. Tempered glass is much stronger however float glass tends to break rather than shatter so there is a chance to save your prized fish and corals rather than try to collect them off your beautiful hardwood floor. I have 2 perimeter stainless steel rims; one on the top and one on the bottom. The top perimeter rim is siliconed to the glass, the silicone acts as a soft media to separate the metal from the glass and also fixes the rim in place. The bottom perimeter braces the joint where side panels meet the bottom panel and keeps them in place under the pressure of the water column above it.

My first attempt at building the tank was a complete disaster http://reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?t=1819397 .This was my first experience with silicone, I saw a DIY tank video that made tank building look like a joke but I soon discovered that it was not as easy as it seemed. I stripped the tank down and built the sump instead.

After getting used to using the silicone gun and getting the beads in a straight and continuous fashion I rebuilt the display tank. Thanks to Jim aka uncleof6 on RC, my second attempt was a success.

Masking tape to mark where the glass panel is going and to prevent silicone from smudging the glass. I used 1.25mm nylon fishing line as a spacer to keep the silicone seam width to ensure maximum strength. Silicone does not stick to the fishing line and the line can be removed the next day and silicone can be injected in its place using a disposable plastic syringe.



I hammered 2 pieces of wood to the stand at a 90 degree angle to support the first glass panel.



First(back) panel supported by upright wooden pieces.



Minor support from the other side



Installing the first side panel then taping it to the adjacent panel. Trial of the drainage plumbing.



I installed the side panels one at a time and taped them to the adjacent glass panel for support. I let each panel cure for 24 hours before installing a new panel. The last panel is the easiest panel to add, it fits like a lid. This panel requires you to run a continuous bead of silicone along 3 edges.


Aquarium Building Tips:

1. Use masking tape on your panels to save time removing excess silicone (gave me hell).

2. Clean your glass panels using acetone, the surface must be squeaky clean for silicone to adhere to it.

3. Make sure your glass panels are the correct size you ordered, especially the bottom panel.

4. Structurally building the tank can be done one panel at a time if you are a beginner then once the tank structure is complete you can seal the whole interior in one go.

5. Make sure your glass panels are at a 90 degree angle and that they do not move, use whatever means you can provide to keep the glass panels in place while the silicone cures.

6. Do not move the glass panels once they have sunk into the silicone, you may gently slide them a mm or 2 but you will risk getting more bubbles in the seam which will reduce the structural seam strength.

7. Most silicone cures within 24 hours, silicone achieves its’ maximum strength after 7 days so you might want to postpone leak testing.

8. Most silicone manufacturers do not mention that their silicone can be used in submersible applications, they simply avoid law suits. Just find a silicone that has been used by a fellow reefer or a glass tank manufacturer and use it. The silicone I used was based on the data sheet on the manufacturers website.

9. Silicone makes the structural seam strongest when it is 1-1.5mm in thickness.

10. Invest in a good silicone gun, it is worth it.

[Mounda]

Painting Background

Painting the back panel is straight forward, several thin coats of spray paint will give you a smooth and even finish. If you spray too much your paint will run however it will not be visible from the inside. Do not forget to cover the rest of the panels as well as the top so you don’t get paint where it isn’t supposed to be. Wearing heavy duty gloves is also a very good idea to prevent the paint from getting on your fingers.

It is crucial to clean the glass surface so that the paint sticks to it and not to any dust or dirt on the glass, acetone is a great glass cleaner.


Cover the side panels and top with newspaper so you don’t get paint on them. *Camera phone*



A light coating to avoid spray paint from running.



Several layers later, make sure you spray in a clear area because of the paint nozzle spread.


A good way to find out if your background will pass light or not is to use a flash light in a dark room to shine light through it and see where the light passes or where the paint requires an additional touch.



Stainless steel rims

I have 2 perimeter stainless steel rims; one on the top and one on the bottom. The top perimeter rim is siliconed to the glass, the silicone acts as a soft media to separate the metal from the glass and also fixes the rim in place. The bottom perimeter braces the joint where side panels meet the bottom panel and keeps them in place under the pressure of the water column above it. A thin piece of compressible styrofoam separates the bottom panel from the rim so there isn't any friction between the 2 hard surfaces. The most important thing while planning bottom rim is it's height because the whole idea is to keep the junction between the bottom panel and vertical panels in place under pressure so your rim must be high enough cover the joints. After placing the rim I sealed it using silicone again to keep the rim adherent to the glass and to keep any water from getting between the glass and the rim.

An extra option is to powder coat the rims to add an extra anti-corrosion safety element, I skipped this step but if I were to do it all over again I would definitely get it painted.


Stainless steel rim, professionally welded using Argon.



Leak testing after painting background and installing rims





Overflow box

One factor to take into consideration is Linear overflow, this is a measurement used to determine the linear length of your overflow box. There is an online calculator on RC http://reefcentral.com/index.php/dra...flow-size-calc that can be used to determine both drain size and linear overflow length. I used Black glass to go with my black painted background, it helps conceal the box and the bulkheads too.

This box is made out of the 3 pieces of glass and will be pushed into the corner and sealed by putting the silicone on the overflow box itself rather than the tank. After putting the overflow box in its place I sealed the box from the outside using a thin bead of silicone and some of the excess that was squeezed out. I left 1.5" clearance between the overflow box and the top of the tank. It is important while placing the overflow box to realize that it should be placed high enough to ensure you do not see the water level unless you enjoy it. Give some extra clearance because the water level may rise above the overflow box.


Support for overflow box while silicone cures, black glass.



Tank with overflow box, drains, painted background and stainless steel rims.

[ahmedess]

Nice build. Cant wait to see pictures of the tank filled with livestock

[Mounda]

Sump

My sump is nothing new but it’s a pretty efficient design.

Water comes down into the first chamber on the left end through my dual drain pipes where it meets Mr. Skimmer, it then goes through the bubble trap which can be used for filter floss as the water goes down or for activated carbon as water flows back up into the second chamber which is the return chamber. The return pump serves 2 purposes, it feed the third chamber which is on the far right and it returns water to the DT through a loc-line U tube. A tee fitting on the return line feeds the ATS suspended above the third chamber which is the fuge with DSB then water overflows back to the return pump in the middle chamber.

This CG image was taken from another forum member



Dimensions

16” height x 30” length x 20” depth

I used 5mm glass for the sump panels since the height isn’t that much and since there are a lot of baffles they should serve as cross braces to keep my glass from bowing. My baffles are made out of 6mm glass. If you are going to incorporate a bubble trap in your sump then start by siliconing the middle baffle first, this baffle will be suspended and will not rest on the bottom panel so it’s better to get your silicone on both sides of the glass. Use a couple of cd boxes or any other alternative (1 inch high) to support the baffle until the silicone cures. After the silicone has cured you can go ahead and silicone the rest of the baffles in one go but support them properly from the inside and the outside. Leak test the baffles and re-silicone any leak sites.

Skimmer section is 10.5" in length built according to my XP-2000 skimmer
Return pump section is 8.5" in length and holds 6.5 Gallons of water
Refugium section is 8" in length

Total sump running volume is around 27-28 gallons, the sump can accommodate around 8 more gallons in case of a power outage.


Sump



Tank and sump in the stand



Testing water flow through the sump

[Mounda]

Filling the tank


I have a 5 stage RO/DI 75GPD system with pump that can be used for drinking and top off.



Stage 1: 5 micron sediment
Stage 2: GAC – granulated activated carbon
Stage 3: Carbon block
Stage 4: 75GPD RO Membrane

Stage 5: DI Cartridge or Post membrane cartridge
Water flows from the Membrane into a 3 gallon water tank for storage and from that point it can flow into 2 directions:

DI canister --> Fish tank
Post membrane cartridge --> Drinking water (for better taste and odor)




I started off by using boxes of IO salt but that turned out to be a bad idea. The salt in the boxes had hardened and caused a lot of precipitation in the water which altered the water chemistry. Calcium was low, alkalinity was low and ph was high. I had to remove the ppt physically by using filter floss. I used this water to cure my LR rather than using it for my reef tank. Later on I bought a bucket of reef crystals and I am really impressed ! The salt dissolves in a few seconds and the chemistry is perfect.


IO lumpy salt



Filling the container with DI water, eheim 1262 for mixing salt



Tank has silica sand in it, starting to add salt water



Almost done adding salt water



Salt water has been added but too much precipitate from salt



Starting to remove precipitate



Crystal clear water

[ahmedess]

did the guy who welded the rim for you use a stainless steel rod or did he just use a regular steel rod? cause i can see rust at the places where the stainless steel is welded. You should weld stainless steel with stainless steel of the same type

[Seouljer]

Tagged looks like a great build!!!!

[Mounda]

Live rock

I got my live rock - 110 lbs from a local source and by local I mean 14 hours away. This live rock was pretty fresh when I got it and it smelled like the sea. I got the shipment at 5am and I had work at 9 (first very big mistake). This was my first time to buy Live rock and from what I have read 14 hours is not a long time but boy was I wrong. Not having seen any live rock before I thought mine was very low quality because it had a lot of dark green on it, it really resembled unwanted algae. Turns out that the LR was actually premium and had too much life on it. I got the LR in big black plastic garbage bags that were in a box, there was hardly any moisture inside. On the bottom of the bags laid a lot of dead crabs, too many to count and they were of various sizes and colors. I was pretty sad at the time because the crabs did not make it but I was mistaken, all those crabs would have probably eaten all of my corals.

[Mounda]

Rock Curing

Not knowing better I dumped my LR in my DT – (second mistake) and at that time my sump was not connected so there wasn’t any access to the skimmer. I went to bed for a couple of hours and when I woke up my crystal clear water had become yellow and cloudy… the nightmare had begun.


Tank shot 2 hours after adding LR without a skimmer.



At work I searched online and apparently yellow water is common while curing, I thought well that is normal. I got an sms from home while at work saying the house smells like rotten eggs and we can not enter the living room where the DT is. Got back from work 13 hours later and there it was on the beautiful sand a seafood display of dead mantis shrimp, amphipods, bristle worms, euchanids, crabs, vermatid snails and dreaded cirolanids. It was an unbelievable that the rock had all that life on it, and the stench was unbearable. We isolated the room and we could not use it for 10 days. After 48 hours of no skimming I started to check the rocks for any live critters. I could see a lot of thin but long bristle worms, vermatid snails, euchanids and last but not least cirolanids.

















For those of you that do not know what a Cirolanid is check this photo of one.

Ugly and deadly.



Cirolanids are in my opinion one of the most resilient and deadly pests in a salt water aquarium. They are nocturnal predators that latch on to fish after lights out and they suck their blood and eventually kill them. Cirolanids are very fast swimmers, hide in the sand, reproduce like no tomorrow and will literally eat your fish alive. These monsters are very hard to get rid of and best to keep them out of your system by quarantining your purchases. They say they can live up to 6 months without a host. Interceptor is a drug that some people have used with some success.

Back to my LR curing, 72 hours and more research revealed that scrubbing was a good way to decrease the amount of die off material on the LR so I started to scrub using a tooth brush but with all new experiences I did my third mistake and I did not rinse the rocks after scrubbing them so when I reintroduced them into my DT again my water got darker and cloudier.


About to brush in salt water.



After brushing the LR I reintroduced them back into the DT without scrubbing, the water turned black.

[Mounda]

More curing

At that point all hell broke loose. My bristle worms, vermatid snails and everything that moved ceased to do so. I thought the stench couldn’t get worse but I was mistake. This time the hydrogen sulphide was so strong 4 glade gel packs (1 is supposed to be enough for a normal room) hardly made the air breathable. After a week I removed most of the water in the tank and replaced it with newly mixed salt water, added my eheim 1262 return pump (900gph linear flow) into the DT so this made the smell much better and at the time my skimmer was pulling a ton of $hit daily. I emptied my collection cup daily and sometimes more than once. What I really did not know was that since I had so much life on the rocks because of the short transit time and because this was my first experience with LR curing I had an unpredictable amount of die off that was so high the ammonia test was maxed out for the first 2 weeks of curing after multiple 50% water changes. Scrubbed the rocks again after the second week but this time used a bigger better brush and scrubbed them in salt water so I had very good results. The water I scrubbed in literally went grayish black.

















Third week of curing and the nitrites were at the maximum limit detectable by the test kit, 5ppm.



After another 50% water change and retesting my nitrites were still 5ppm, that was outrageous.



I was getting a little ****ed off that my water was still yellow and that my tank was far from being ready so I took a more active approach and put the whole system into full operation. Hooked up the return pump, adjusted the sump skimmer level, added my filter floss and carbon, added 2 koralia 4s, Loc-Line flare U tube and started working on my ATS. This process really got the curing going faster, more water, more flow, mechanical and chemical filtration, I really wish I had done this from the start however I did not have some of the items at hand and was waiting for them – intl. shipping. I added some actinic lights to my 4 week curing rock and that really made things look nice.


Curing is finally over, first attempt at rockscaping.



Trying out a local 26w blue PC bulb, more rockscaping.


My mistakes cost me the entire critter population on the rocks and most of the yellow, orange, green and purple coralline. However I do not think those sacrifices were in vain because I have not seen a single Cirolanid in my tank, the pest that would eventually kill my beautiful and expensive fish. So in the end I guess I lost smaller critters but I saved my fish and my corals.


Live rock curing tips I learned the hard way:

1. Get your rocks at a convenient time because you will need to spend a few hours of maintenance on them once they arrive. Do not get them at 5am !

2. Using a bucket with new or old salt water and a big dish scrubber with semi rigid filaments, soak the LR underwater and scrub everything off of it. Lift the rock out of the bucket and scrub some more then rinse the LR in another bucket full of fresh salt water.

3. Place your scrubbed and rinsed LR in the container or tank where they will cure. Use as much water as possible to dilute the amount of ammonia released from the dying life.

4. If you are curing in your display tank and using this as a cycle do not perform complete water changes. Carry out a 50% water change after 72 hours and then perform a second water change 10 days into curing. You could opt for a 25% water change after another 72 hrs has passed and a third water change 25% after another 72 hrs. The idea is to complete your cycle without reducing the ammonia too much and at the same time trying to keep some critters alive.

5. Carbon can help with the rotten eggs smell and can reduce the yellow color.

6. Use gloves while handling the LR.

[brycerb]

Crazy, I have never seen super-liverock. Maybe it was harvested locally, and got their in hours?

[Mounda]

Originally Posted by brycerb

Crazy, I have never seen super-liverock. Maybe it was harvested locally, and got their in hours?

Yes this rock is harvested locally, I got these rocks 14 hours after they were harvested.

[cjs3055]

what are the dimensions of the tank?

[maroun.c]

Just found your thread...
Wow Amazing. can't wait to have this tank full and running.
Few comments:

Equipment list looks impressive. Are yo ugetting those locally or mail ordering them?
Why use nails on the wood? screws are easier to insert and by drilling a larger hole they can go completely in and then are easier to cover.
Never dared to do wood stands as with the rate of water incidents I get I'm sure I'll mess itup in no time so I go steel stand and cover it with wood. Still yours look rather sturdy.
Glass 5mm? that would be scary even with the baffles for support.
not sure what these are called but they are the easiest way to ensure your tank glass is totally square:

What are the dimensions of the tank? will you loose to much height with the canopy sliding on it?
how about the dimensions of the sump in the stand? Is it easy to place and remove the skimmer?
that is great rock you got there. Its a shame you lost the life on it but some could have survived. Worst case scenario a few small pieces when the cycle ends could add life tot he rocks and not enough nutrients to start another cycel. As yo usay yo ugot rid from serious hitchhikers then new rock has to be meticulously chceked though.
Finally won't ask if you are married or not as if you were, I'm sure you got divorced by making the house smell so bad for 10 days....
Looking forward to check the tank in person next time I'm in Egypt.

[ashtree68]

Subscribed

[Mounda]

Originally Posted by maroun.c

Just found your thread...
Wow Amazing. can't wait to have this tank full and running.
Few comments:

Equipment list looks impressive. Are yo ugetting those locally or mail ordering them?
Why use nails on the wood? screws are easier to insert and by drilling a larger hole they can go completely in and then are easier to cover.
Never dared to do wood stands as with the rate of water incidents I get I'm sure I'll mess itup in no time so I go steel stand and cover it with wood. Still yours look rather sturdy.
Glass 5mm? that would be scary even with the baffles for support.
not sure what these are called but they are the easiest way to ensure your tank glass is totally square:

What are the dimensions of the tank? will you loose to much height with the canopy sliding on it?
how about the dimensions of the sump in the stand? Is it easy to place and remove the skimmer?
that is great rock you got there. Its a shame you lost the life on it but some could have survived. Worst case scenario a few small pieces when the cycle ends could add life tot he rocks and not enough nutrients to start another cycel. As yo usay yo ugot rid from serious hitchhikers then new rock has to be meticulously chceked though.
Finally won't ask if you are married or not as if you were, I'm sure you got divorced by making the house smell so bad for 10 days....
Looking forward to check the tank in person next time I'm in Egypt.

Hey Maroun, nice of you to pass by.

I got the XP2000 from the USA, a 220v version. A friend of mine carried it in his handbag while flying back home.

The phoenix bulb was a gift from a fellow reefer friend of mine in the USA and I paid for shipping and customs through Aramex.

The Koralias and test kits were carried by a relative from the USA.

The Eheim was purchased locally.

I used a triangle ruler to make sure that the glass was at a 90 degree angle to one another and adjusted the support accordingly but those neat looking tools are definitely easier to use. I haven't seen them before but I guess without knowing their name it would be useless trying to look for them for future projects.

The skimmer must be disassembled first before removing it from the sump due to the canopy. I need to remove it at a certain angle because it's kind of a tight fit, it's a pretty big skimmer and I have it on a stand so that makes the job a little harder. I can understand the 5mm being a concern but as long as the doors are shut and nothing foolish is around it everything should be fine. I chose 5mm instead of 6mm because it was just easier to do the calculations and a glass thickness calculator give me a high safety index. The sump dimensions are 16” height x 30” length x 20” depth.

Skimmer section is 10.5" in length built according to my XP-2000 skimmer
Return pump section is 8.5" in length and holds 6.5 Gallons of water
Refugium section is 8" in length

The tank dimensions are 34” wide x 20” deep x 26” tall and I used 10mm float glass, the canopy is designed to cover the top rim and nothing more and that is around 1.25 inches and the whole height of the tank is 26 inches so I'm good.

The only reason I can afford the hobby is because I'm not married yet

Would love to show you the tank in person.... It's only a couple of frags for a full tour

[maroun.c]

Will try to find out the name of those metalic clamps (not sure if they are called 90 dgrees clamps???) got them from Home Depot where they have te regulra clamps...
yes they are easy to use as they are surely 90- degress and you fix the glass with them by tightening the metalic pin... Still it's a bit too late for you as you got the tank already done...
I feel for you for getting all the stuff from here and there. HAd to travel with my skimmer on carry on luggage... not to mention how I fly back when in countries with decent LFS...
How about the DIY Lumenarc reflectors did you already build those? which bulbs are you going with and which ballasts?
How about chiller? easy to get one in Egypt? will yo ube able to place it somewhere next tot the tank?

[Mounda]

Originally Posted by maroun.c

Will try to find out the name of those metalic clamps (not sure if they are called 90 dgrees clamps???) got them from Home Depot where they have te regulra clamps...
yes they are easy to use as they are surely 90- degress and you fix the glass with them by tightening the metalic pin... Still it's a bit too late for you as you got the tank already done...

Will try to find something like them locally at a glass workshop and if I can't find them will look for them next time I'm at a Home depot.

Originally Posted by maroun.c

I feel for you for getting all the stuff from here and there. HAd to travel with my skimmer on carry on luggage... not to mention how I fly back when in countries with decent LFS...

I hear you bro... Customs, taxes and shipping are just insane in this part of the world.

Originally Posted by maroun.c

How about the DIY Lumenarc reflectors did you already build those? which bulbs are you going with and which ballasts?

The Lumenarc has been running for a few months now and is really nice, DIY in general gives me a sense of satisfaction I enjoy. Starting a project from scratch and achieving 90-95% of the original is a great feeling, not to mention VERY easy on the wallet. My reflector cost less than $7 including the tools and material I bought, you just can't beat that.

Stay tuned for the DIY Reflector soon.

Originally Posted by maroun.c

How about chiller? easy to get one in Egypt? will yo ube able to place it somewhere next tot the tank?

Chinese branded chillers such as Boyu and JAD are available on the market but they are as expensive as any other brand in the USA so I think it's a rip off but the problem with the US versions is that they run on 110v and 60Hz which is a problem for the compressor. My tank is positioned right in front of a 3hp split air conditioner so when someone is in the room it's usually on but I can not rely on it for cooling because I tried it while on vacation for 10 days and my electricity bill sky rocketed to almost twice the normal. Cost aside I don't really have much room for the chiller or a place for it's ventilation but it would be placed 5 feet away from a window so I guess I could come up with a solution but I just don't see it as a very efficient way at the moment but it's definitely the easiest.

I use an industrial AC fan 12cm x 12cm that blows across my ATS for maximal water evaporation, it does an amazing cooling job and keeps the tank at around 26 C which is 79-80 F. If I use the fan along with the air conditioner I can get the temp down to 23 C or 73 F but thats a little chilly. I just bought a 150w Jaeger heater and plan on getting another one in the near future but now I'm interested in getting a Reefkeeper lite for the temperature control so I can hookup the Jaegers and the fan together and of course all the other neat functions such as ph monitoring because my handheld Hanna ph meter is a pain to use.