To chill or not to chill.... a nano!

[MikeyZO]

I've been toying with the idea of starting a second mini reef tank in the form of a 12 gallon nanocube. First off, I'm contemplating either Current's 12g Aquapod with PCs or 12g Aquapod with 70w HQI. Was wondering if anyone had any experience (good or bad) with either of these, and if anyone thinks that any of the other nano tanks out there (Oceanic Biocube, JBJ Nanocube, Aquamedic Nanowave, etc) would be better, and why.

Also, is it a common practice that a chiller is needed for these tanks since it's such a small water volume? If a house has central air conditioning, a room air conditioner, ceiling fan, etc. will that suffice to keep the temp where it's supposed to be? I'm trying to lean more towards the HQI tank, but if thats going to run to hot then I can do PCs (and save money). I live on Long Island in NY and, as I'm sure is the norm with most of the US, temps and humidity can SUCK here in the summer. I would really like to try to do this without a chiller if I can. Thanks for the input.

[missionsix66]

I think you'd be alright without chiller. Unless, you have a power outage. But, there are easy ways to deal with heat issues related to power outages. I don't have any recommendation between the 2 nanos, but, would go with metal halide.

[luvreefs23]

i would make preparations & plans for the chiller just in case. my 8 bulb t5 fixture will raise my 90's temp a full degree (maybe more without the fan) with an open top and thats in a 70-75 degree basement

[Iraf]

i have the jbj tank and love it, the oceanic uses bioballs for a main part of it's filtration and alot of people said they take some modifications to get to work better, my jbj i've done nothing to except cut a bigger slot in the hood for cords to go through, the factory one wasn't big enough for my powerhead, heater and thermometer cable to go through

[amcarrig]

Originally Posted by MikeyZO

If a house has central air conditioning, a room air conditioner, ceiling fan, etc. will that suffice to keep the temp where it's supposed to be? I

Yes. We have a 180 with 400 watts of MH lighting and we don't run a chiller.

PS. I grew up on Long Island and as far as I'm concerned, it sucks there all the time

[baugherb]

I had to add a sump to my 12 gallon nano cube for heat issues... Depends on how how it gets.... My next nano will most likely have a chiller.... Unless it goes in the basement like my current tank....

[Iraf]

i think chilling it all depends on your ambient temp, my house stays around 72 degrees year round and my tank is usually 79-80 degrees