Chiller for Solana

[Titus77]

I am in urgent need of a chiller for my 34 gallon Solana aquarium. I need a chiller that will fit on the bottom shelf of the Solana's stand (I will get measurements later today).

Right now my city is in the 90 degree range. It will be like that for a while . I just noticed last night that the temperature in the Solana was nearing 90! That was at 11:30 last night! I frantically moved the Percs to the 60. I had my windows open and fan going, but my room just won't cool down!

My 60 gallon, which is a few feet away from the Solana (I have both in my room) has a chiller, and it's temp is around 76 degrees 24/7. The chiller on that aquarium drives me crazy! The cooling fan inside of it is hitting against something, and the manufacturer (Current USA) told me to move the radiator forward, but that seems to not work. Whenever I hear the clickity clack of the fan, I want to kill the chiller!

So if you could help me out with those two things, that would be great. Thanks!

 

[robthorn]

current 1/15th horse. been using one for almost a year on my solana. 250w halide. shuts off regularly.

 

[Titus77]

I forgot to mention that mine didn't come with a light (i got the stand and tank for free from my LFS when they closed). I am just gonna make a small LED fixture for it. I am using the Solana as a broodstock tank for my Percs Would I still need a 1/15? I keep the tank at 80 degrees (well, at least I DID until this crazy heatwave hit).

 

[robthorn]

I keep my tank at 77.5-78 and I live in Florida. Of course we have air conditioning to help. 1/15th is the smallest I have seen. When I go to work my a/c goes up to 82 degrees as a setback to save some power costs. Chiller does well.

 

[Titus77]

Is the Current USA 1/15th HP one shorter than the 1/10th? It seems as though I would have no more shelf if I were to get the 1/10th HP. How do your hoses connect to the tank? Could I possibly get a couple pictures to cheat off of?

 

[robthorn]

I run my main pump over the back of the tank and through the chiller and back up over the back of the tank to the normal tank supply. I don't have a shelf in my stand . Just a drawer. Maybe we don't have the same stand. I may have had a shelf but I don't recall it coming with one. I put the chiller in from day one so i may just not remember it.
I used pvc barb 90's going over the tank so I wouldn't have a big loop of tubing going over the back. Not the prettiest but it is hard to be pretty with these small tanks. no room to hide stuff.
I will have to see about pics later on.

 

[Titus77]

Okay. And about the shelf: it took me a few hours to realize that the shelf was on the bottom, stacked invisibly on the bottom of the cabinet. You might want to check it out...

 

[robthorn]

Nope no shelf and no drilled holes to hold one. I hear there are more than one version of these things. Now that I think of it my friends store has one set up and he has the shelf in it. Hs ballast sits on it. Never thought twice about it. It's not stacked on the bottom.

 

[Titus77]

Bummer. How did you get the water lines from you tank to your chiller? Did you cut a hole in the backing board, or did you remove it. If you cut it, where? Oh, and is your pump sucking or pushing water into your tank (pre/post chiller)?

 

[robthorn]

no cutting of anything. Only added plumbing. The pump pushes water through the chiller and then back to the tank.

 

[Titus77]

I am confused. How can you have PVC running through the back of the stand without ever drilling holes in the back of the stand?

So the pump is before the chiller? What model pump are you using?

 

[robthorn]

yes the pump is before the chiller. I used pvc barb 90's . They connect to tubeing. The tubes go right through the existing hole into the back of the cabinet. I did drill a 4 inch hole lower in the back of the stand and mounted a fan to pull the heat out from under the stand and make the chiller run more efficiently. I will do my best to get some pictures posted this evening.