A chiller trying to hold an outdoor water at 80 - 85 degrees in 95+ degree weather.
Or multiple 75 & 150watt Metal Halides? (Just to give a number I'd say minimum of 4).
Im debating about trying to grow outdoors free light! or indoors.
A chiller trying to hold an outdoor water at 80 - 85 degrees in 95+ degree weather.
Or multiple 75 & 150watt Metal Halides? (Just to give a number I'd say minimum of 4).
Im debating about trying to grow outdoors free light! or indoors.
55 Gallon. One year old, and looking SUPER.
The chiller will be more power hungry. You should consider buying a "kill-o-watt" meter like I did. It cost me $30, and I plug in everything I'm considering buying to see how much power it will consume. For example, I thought I would buy a dehumidifier so my a/c wouldn't have to work as hard. I have a 8000 BTU A/C that keeps the fish room cool all summer. It uses 800w of power. The dehumidifier uses 750w of power. Needless to say, I decided I didn't need yet another energy hog and quickly squashed that idea.
If you have a shallow tank, 70w and 150w DE bulbs will do okay. If the tank is taller, elevate your livestock so it gets enough lighting.
Then err on the side of caution. Don't purchase equipment without knowing if it will do the job. Why spend money twice, once due to the not knowing and then later for what you should have gotten in the first place.
Your lighting will be fine if you do it indoors. Indoors you have far better evironmental controls.
If you want to cool the tank, fans will help a lot. In a greenhouse, some use swamp coolers to drop the building temperature about 10 degrees inside.
Ok mind you this is all "theory" but I did some math here and please correct me if Im wrong.
This is the chiller I used for the math.
http://www.drsfostersmith.com/Produc...&N=2004+113768
Ok 2.63 Amps and 5.0 Amps for example. How many 150watt MH would it take to equal that much power.
150x 2 = 300/110 = 2.72 (So 2 already eat more than the lowest grade chiller)
150x4 = 600/110 = 5.4545 Amps (so 4 eat more than their next size chiller)
So a room with a bunch of halides as a prop tank would not really make much sense compared to trying to grow outside right?
55 Gallon. One year old, and looking SUPER.
You have very little control over an outdoor environment. Do you have time to place shade cloth over your green house on very bright days to avoid cooking your livestock? Do you have the time to peel it off as it gets too cool? The guys at ORA work full time to do just that, and are getting paid.
If you are a home-body and have the time to dedicate to constant monitoring and making the minor adjustments multiple times per day, then an outdoor greenhouse might be the perfect project.
You probably will not need a chiller for an indoor tank, especially with 150w bulbs. Fans are cheap, and do the job. I've never owned a chiller in almost 10 years of reefkeeping.
I keep it within 2 degrees, but in a greenhouse you've got much more heat to contend with, plus often quite cold nights. Nevada / Arizona are well-known for 30 to 40 degree changes every day to night. Where are you located?