Chiller questions

[tinyfish]

How do I find reference data or reviews on chillers? I need to know how to size them. I would like to be able to adjust the temperature setting on the chiller.

Do the chillers use a separate pump?

Is there a brand people would suggest?

 

[mfinn]

I keep going back to Drs. Foster and Smith website where I bought my first chiller from. It has all the instuctions for setting it up and setting the controller for it.

 

[salteebox]

some people plumb it directly to the return line. Others T-off the return line. So you don't have to get a separate pump. Is this for the 20g tank? Most chiller for that tank size won't come with temp control. You probably have to get a separate controller.

I would recommend jbj. I use one for a year and it is very quite.

 

[mfinn]

Do the chillers use a separate pump?

I use a separate pump for my chiller for 2 reasons. One they need a specific min. max. flow rate and it is much easier to figure that out with separate pump and also because if the one pumps goes out (and they all do at some point) then both functions are lost.

 

[rkb]

Tiny-

First a happy new year to you! I have 29g DT with a 20g sump and have a 1/10th hp JBJ Arctica Chiller. If you go to the JBJ website they have a calculator that wi help determine the correct size chiller for your system. The calculator takes into account ambient temp, number and wattage of pumps/powerheads and desired temp.

As for recommended chillers the JBJ brand came highly recommended to me when I did my search a couple months ago.

I have mine plumbed in my return line, but when you do this know that your flow will be dramatically reduced. To maintain the same high flow rate I added a couple extra pumps-a K nano and a Rio 1100 return in addition to my Mag 5 return that goes through the chiller and my MP10 and K1 in the DT.