Do I need a chiller?

Going to hang a 250 watt MH over a 45 tank. I work part time at lowes so 800 for a chiller is way above my budget . Do you think I can pull off a successful reef with fans and the light hanging 12" above the surface? I really hope I can pull it off, 250 watts on a 45 would be awesome.

 

i say that with fans you should be fine
i usually only have to use fans in the summer

one thing though, you will have to stay on top of evaporation

 

Easily. You may not even need the fan. I run a 250MH plus two 96 watt PC lights over my 30 gallon with no heat issues. It won't hurt to get the fan, but just wait and see what happens.

 

Depends on how hot it is in the room Also depends on the canopy, pumps, powerheads adding heat.
In Dallas I have to run my air cold which runs my electric bill through the roof.
But you can get away with it if you run the lights fewer hours per day.
If you do run into a problem you can find chillers used that will be the cheaper route than running your AC full blast all summer. (Which is 8 months long here in TX)

 

LIKE OMG..okay im done sorry, you just have no idea how worried I was about the heat issue. Thank you so much for the replies and advice, my corals are going to grow like crazy! This build has been such a pain in the you know what. It all started with the bottom of the tank shattering when I tryed to drill it (tempered). I finally finished installing the new panel, and my diy overflow column finally doesn't leak (took 5 trys) Slowly but surely this build will become reality I can't wait! ;D One more question, do you think my current skimmer will handle a 45 DT, 20 fuge, and 20 sump, total 75 gallons. I cannot seem to find its gph rating.

 

I sold my 1/4 HP chiller as it never ran anymore once I got my fans right. That on a 100G with a fully enclosed canopy, 2x250w MH and 2x140w VHO with 2- 4" computer fans in the canopy, one in each end both blowing in with exit holes in the top. The fans only run when the MH lights are on and the tank stays 79-81 year round in Phoenix in a house with a digital setback thermostat so is quite warm when no one is home during the day. No problems.

 

Now that, is one awesome tank you got there.

 

you probally only need a 1/13th or 1/10th chiller and they run from 300 to 400 i just seen a 1/10 for 299 onsale last week

 

I ran a 150w MH Viper K2 over a 5.5 gallon with no heat issues...

 

I ran almost 800 Watts of light over a 45 Gal tank. Fans make all the difference.

That being said, do you have and ATO?