Chillers for the Nano Tank

[E.intheC]

Summer is fast approaching and I'd like to discuss chillers in the nano forum.

Are you currently running a chiller?
Have you run one in the past?
What brand, and how many horsepower (well... What fraction of a horsepower)?

Other experience? Pluses and minuses?

As for me...I've never ran a chiller but I've always run into temp issues in the summer.

 

[HaKs310]

Use to run this little guy on a 14g BioCube a few years back:
http://www.bulkreefsupply.com/store/products/chillers/jbj-mini-arctica-chiller-1-15-hp.html

It was the analog type and it quit working after about a year, I am sure it was just the analog switch that needed replacement on it. Other than that it ran great.

 

[ange062]

I run a JBJ MiniArctica 1/15hp. I've had it about a year and two months, and honestly it's one of the best upgrades I have made to my tank. Living in TX has a big part to do with this though.

I love being able to keep my tank perfectly controlled, no matter what I set the AC to in my house. The chiller paid for itself the first summer by allowing me to turn the AC to 82 when I leave the house instead of having to run it at 72 24/7. Running a 200w chiller FAR outweighs the cost of running my 3.5kW AC in my house, and last summer we had a record number of days over 100deg.

Plus I like the added insurance of not having to worry if my house AC dies for some reason, and cooks my entire tank.

Drawbacks? Price, but that's negated by electricity savings and piece of mind. Cleaning it, but that's a simple "backwash" once a month during a water change and keeping the dust filter clean.

 

[E.intheC]

That's actually one of the chillers I'm looking at now.
How quiet was it?

 

[HaKs310]

From what I remember it was pretty quiet. You could hear it kick on but it was nothing too serious. It running is slightly comparable to the tank itself running.

 

[ange062]

That's actually one of the chillers I'm looking at now.
How quiet was it?

From what I remember it was pretty quiet. You could hear it kick on but it was nothing too serious. It running is slightly comparable to the tank itself running.

Very quiet, like above you can hear it kick on but otherwise it's silent (quieter than the rest of the tank). The kick-on sounds like a mini-fridge coming on, as it's essentially just a compressor from one!

 

[Doogie1977]

Where can you pick one of the JBJ up at a descent price?

Thanks!

 

[ange062]

Where can you pick one of the JBJ up at a descent price?

Thanks!

Got mine brand new from my LFS for $250 :bounce1:

Online they typically go for $350-400 from what I have seen recently.

 

[marlinman86]

Anyone have any exp with using the pacific coast models? I'm getting tired of all the evaporation from my tank running a fan on it and need to invest in a chiller, mine is a 38 gallon with 28 gal in the display

 

[scolley]

I recently got a JBJ myself, and am amazed at how quiet it is. But you've already heard that. I'm posting about size. Unlike the prior poster with a 1/15 HP, those were not available when I bought mine, and got a 1/10th HP. I've got a 33g nano. With sump the system is close to 45g capacity, and that 1/10 HP drops the temp in my tank like a stone.

It'll pull the temp down a degree in a couple of minutes. Personally I'd like that to change slower. On a smaller tank it would only drop faster.

Bottom line, in JBJs, for a nano, 1/15th HP is better.

 

[jok3rqnk]

I use a pacific coast impotrs chiller, got it off craiglist 2 years ago and is running pretty well. Mine is the cl280 model