Chiller Suggestions

Jukas

Member
I recently switched my lights to a set of Corallife 2 x 250 HQI metal hallides. Of course with that comes the expected water temperature increase. Right now it's not a problem as my heater simply isn't coming on, and the temp is staying between 79 - 82 throughout the day.

However once spring is over and summer sets in the increase in ambient temperature will push the water temp up at least 10 degrees which just won't work. Last summer I dealt with it by running the AC constantly during the day, but since then I've moved to a new house that doesn't have central air so I need to look at a chiller.


I currently only have a 75g tank, but within a year I plan to upgrade to a 120g tank so I'd like to pick a chiller with that tank size in mind. My concerns are how much heat the chiller will throw into the room, and most importantly how loud it is. As of now the tank and all equipment are in the living room. If negotiations with the wife improve I'll run the plumbing through the wall into the garage, which would let me put the chiller, the sump and return pumps in the garage, but as of now I need to shop for one as if it's going to live in the house.

Based on what I've researched so far I'm thinking 1/4 or 1/3 hp size would be adaquate. Which brands should I look at for low operating noise, and heat output?
 

prow

Well-Known Member
i like jbj arctica chillers. very quiet and looks nice too. i used a 1/4 hp for my 115gal with a 45gal sump and it work nicely. now i have a 1/3 hp for my current tank 180gal with 2x 35gal sumps. the temp around here doesnt vary as much as it seems to around your area. i only need the cooling a few weeks out of the year. maybe two weeks in Aug then again a couple of weeks in sept then maybe a week somewhere else. you may need more consant cooling than i. so if you can, i would opt for the 1/3hp. it will be cheaper to run and not run as much. pacifica chillers are nice too, but i like the looks of the arctica chiller. those would be my two choices, of course the arctica chiller is what i went with. liked the 1/4hp so much when i upgraded my tank and needed a bigger chiller, it was a no brainer, i got the 1/3 arctica chiller with out a second thought and am very happy with it..

FYI; make sure you set the chiller up so the exaust goes outside or is vented well so the heat produced goes up and out of the house or it will act like a heater and heat up your house. but no worries on the tank it will stay nice and cool..

a little story to share; last month it was pretty cold, for me, around here. i got up as usual around 4:00am. its was freezing in the house, i had left the door and windows open:rollingey . anyway i turnned the heater up in the house. it was not coming on, so i cranked it up full blast. then closed the door and all the window and left for work. well, i forgot to reset the heater and left it set at 95(the highest setting on the thermostat). when i got home, 15 hours later, my house was like a sauna, a hot sauna. i am not sure how hot it got but it was well over 100 degrees. the house heater had turnned its self off, once the temp went over 95, but the chiller was still running and the temp in the house countinued to rise because of it. now the tanks temp remained just right, never went over 79 even though the ambient temp was (guessing) 110++... sorry for the long story, i have been itching to tell it and this seemed like the perfect thread to share it....:tongue:
 

Jukas

Member
FYI; make sure you set the chiller up so the exaust goes outside or is vented well so the heat produced goes up and out of the house or it will act like a heater and heat up your house. but no worries on the tank it will stay nice and cool..

That's what I'm worried about. Right now the tank and all equipment is in my living room. If I lose the negotiations to do a through the wall plumbing,the tank will remain in the living room with no real way to vent heat from the chiller to the outside world.
 

prow

Well-Known Member
would it be possible to use a exaust tube with a fan to allow it to blow out a window? or would that be too much of an eye sore?
 

Jukas

Member
would it be possible to use a exaust tube with a fan to allow it to blow out a window? or would that be too much of an eye sore?

That would certainly be too much of an eye sore. The tank is on an interior wall that's shared between the garage and living room (hence why I'm begging to do a through the wall plumbing), but the closest window is all the way across the room.

I guess if it really heats up the room I can use that as one more negotiation point for putting the sump and all equipment in the garage and plumbing through the wall.
 
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