I am going to buy a Chiller Friday. (1 Viewer)

[alstang1]

I am going to be buying a chiller on Friday. I need advice as to what I should look for, name brands to consider, ones' I should stay away from, size, extra equipment needed, ect ect ect. Any help is appreciated.

My setup. I have a 75 gal with a 20 gal sump. Tank has corals and reef safe fish.

Thanks

Al

 

[Abe77901]

You now my vote is the JBJ Artica, works awesome for me.....

 

[alstang1]

Cant find one. What HP is yours? Thanks.

al

 

[Abe77901]

My chiller is the 1/10 which is rated good for up to a 125 size tank. And its worked awesome on my 55. Both www.marinedepot.com & www.reefgeek.com have them for $399.00 , you know i got mine on ebay with a free mag pump and shipping.

 

[Guest]

I have a 1/4 HP Pacific Coast chiller on my 75g. It is a little big for that tank, but I'm glad I went with the bigger one, since it will work on my new tank. The 1/10 HP is borderline with a 75g. If you have a lot of heat sources, it will be running a lot. I would never use a 1/10 on anything bigger than a 75g for sure.

I got an awesome deal on my chiller, so it was no contest, but if I was paying full price, I would probably consider the Artica's as well. They are supposed to be quieter, although no chiller is really quiet. My only hesitation would be that I'm not a big fan of some of JBJ's other products (I had one of their PC fixtures and was not impressed), so I would want to see a longer track record of their quality.

 

[Wildfire]

The most important question when chiller shopping is this:

"What do you want the chiller to do?"

Are you looking for a 10 degree pulldown, or just something to take those last 2 degrees off of the tank? Also, do you mind a little noise, or is silence a must?

 

[alstang1]

About 10 degrees, and noise should not be an issue.

al

 

[cparka23]

one thing to consider is where you will be able to put it. No matter what anybody says, it's a bad idea to put it in the stand. You will kill the life of the compressor, need to refill it more frequently, and you will not get the desired performance. you should think about where you can keep it well ventilated. i have mine underneath the stairs in a pretty open closet where there's a vent.

i have a 1/3 hp via aqua, the chiller brand which everybody on RC seems to hate but won't come out and say why. for me, it has been good for 6 months w/o any hiccups and was inexpensive. if you call village, i think they have had one running on their tanks for much longer. they might be nice enough to give their opinion on it.

It pains me that I didn't wait a couple months longer to buy one, since PremiumAquatics had a big discount on a 1/2 HP aquamedic tc1500. They're normally an arm and a leg ($900), but it was priced around $450 during August or September.

 

[cparka23]

oh yeah, manufacturer's recommendations are usually exaggerated of course. you really should go by the horsepower of the models you compare with each other.

 

[alstang1]

It pains me that I didn't wait a couple months longer to buy one, since PremiumAquatics had a big discount on a 1/2 HP aquamedic tc1500. They're normally an arm and a leg ($900), but it was priced around $450 during August or September.

Is it possible this deal is still going on? Where can I find these prices?

Thanks

al

 

[cparka23]

Nah, the deal ended awhile back. It was just for that month. I saw a thread about it on RC and visited the site for Premium Aquatics by clicking a link. It's probably premiumaquatics.com or something. They have their prices listed there, but it is back to $900.

 

[rhane71]

I have a Aqua Logic Delta Star 3/4 HP chiller. I bought mine from Dr's Fosters and Smith. They had the lowest price and shipping was only $11.99 total. Everyone else wanted $200-$400 for shipping and I would have to wait several weeks for a drop ship. With the good Dr's. I received it in 3 days.

I know you don't need one that size but be sure you get one that is not going to be running all the time. You want it to come on for 10-20 min. and then shut off for an hour or longer. Check out Marine Depot to compare the chillers. Are you looking for a flow thru or drop in? Also, if you plan on getting a bigger tank anytime soon I would size a chiller for that tank with all the equipment you plan on using. I was using a CSL 1/2 hp and it was great till I upgraded my lights and put in bigger pumps.

Either way I recommend buying a chiller with a remote controller and from a company that has been around and that is here in the USA. I would not buy a CSL as they are no longer a company and you will not get a warranty.

Good luck...

 

[bigbird123]

chiller

I have an Aqua Medic 1/2hp on my 135g and during the summer it would come on 2-3 times a day. I have 1300 watts of MH on for 10-12 hrs a day. My tank stays at 76-78 degrees. I bought this chiller from a guy in Kansas for $620 shipped to my door. Great deal and I love it! He sells the 1hp for $950.

Steve

 

[alstang1]

Re: chiller

I have an Aqua Medic 1/2hp on my 135g and during the summer it would come on 2-3 times a day. I have 1300 watts of MH on for 10-12 hrs a day. My tank stays at 76-78 degrees. I bought this chiller from a guy in Kansas for $620 shipped to my door. Great deal and I love it! He sells the 1hp for $950.

Steve

Where do i get info on this guy?

Thanks

Al