Chillers?

[dugg]

Who makes a good chiller for a decent price? I never used one before, so i have no idea what to look for in one as far as brand, type, or size. I know i want to get something that will work on up to around 120 gallons. I will be using it on my 30 right now, but fully intend to upsize soon.

 

[eddybabyhd]

pacific coast makes awesome chillers for the price. But some of the online vendors are making killer deals with the coralife ones though, i think its because central is like the walmart of the aquarium industry

 

[kpk]

I like my pacific coast 1/4 hp

 

[lawboy888]

i have two chillers that i can part with one. both are rated for 300 gallon or above...pretty expensive...pm me for details...i am not using them because i have T5's and my fish only tank is not that hot yet..

 

[dugg]

I think a chiller rated for 300 gallons, would be like some Tim Taylor overkill for my needs lol. Probably way out of my budget also. I already dropped close to $500 this month on my tank, and the wife is starting to get a little testy lol, but thanks anyway. I told her when she gave me the evil eye over mentioning a chiller that i would try and keep it under $400.

 

[dugg]

She's really going to blow a gasket when i get home from my tattoo appointment this week lol.

 

[dugg]

OK, 1 more quick question. Do the inline chillers have thier own pump, or do i need to purchase a pump separate?

 

[Gwalker]

I just hooked up a 1hp coralife chiller on my coral system and it is working very effeciently and is very quiet. Of course you won't need one that big but I like what I've seen with the brand so far. You will need an additional pump for most all chillers. You will most likely be looking around the $500 to $700 range for the size you want.

G.

 

[eddybabyhd]

premium has the 1/5 hp for 420ish and the 1/4 hp for 475ish.

 

[Gwalker]

"premium has the 1/5 hp for 420ish and the 1/4 hp for 475ish."

Plus shipping,. If they throw in shipping you'll be lucky to get it in one piece after OO(U)PS gets done with it.

 

[eddybabyhd]

Mine came with shipping and UPS delivered with a dolly to me. Premium had it packed in the original box, and then put inside of another box that was kinda like a crate. It had huge neon green stickers that said HIGH CLAIM VALUE and such. So I guess its up to you dugg, i have never had a bad situation with Premium and their guys are super nice. I stopped and talked to them at MACNA and they were very informative, they wont sell you what you dont need

 

[dugg]

eddy, did you have to ask for the free shipping, or were they just running a special when you bought yours? They have a 1/6 hp with heater control for $439 but has $30 shipping.

 

[eddybabyhd]

they might have had a free shipping promo. but 30 bucks for a 55lb item is not bad. I just wanted you to know that they had good deals on them. That was the one i bought. The CL-450, it chills my 120 with two 400 watt halides above it

check out their strach and dens under closeouts. Or call them, if they have any with scratches and stuff they sell them cheap. A buddy of mine got one from them for like 375 for the 1/4 horse. It had a broken housing, on the backside.

 

[dugg]

Thanks for all the info, i'll check the scratch thing out. If it ain't scratched when i get it, it will be by the time i plug it in anyway lol.

 

[dugg]

Well, looks like me and lump the no legged dog will be sleeping in his house together for awhile lol. I just ordered me a pacific coast 1/6 hp chiller, and a Finnex 300W Deluxe Titanium Heating Tube. Grand total of $503. I missed the $400 mark by a little lol, and the wife was already at the boiling stage at $400. Thats ok, i'll hook her up to the chiller for a few minutes, and she'll be fine. Most importantly though, i don't have to have all these fans blowing anymore to keep from boiling the tank. Now if this thing doesn't make my already high electric bill go even higher i'll be fine.

 

[eddybabyhd]

Dugg, one problem I have had is make sure that the flow through the chiller is pretty high, or close to the rated flow pattern. I had found that the temp control on the chiller would chill the water in the sump faster than it would flow to the tank. So the chiller would start and stop very frequently. Ideally the output should go straight back to the tank, but that is not always fessable.

As far as the electric, my bill dropped at least 50 bucks a month when i bought the chiller due to the heat not having to be extracted by the central ac

 

[dugg]

So should i just hook it up inline with the return pump, or use a separate pump?

 

[eddybabyhd]

if you can put inline with the return that would work great. I got around it, because i had a seperate pump feeding my refuge in a seperate room

 

[dugg]

Does anyone make something that will shut the chiller down if the pump should stop running, or will the chiller burn up if that happens?

 

[eddybabyhd]

the chiller has a safety, dont worry. If will shut down if the water in the heat exchanger drops below 45 degress. I have had that happen already. I had a snail get sucked into the pump while i was away from home. It shut off, pheew