geotronic chillers

There is a simiar product that has been out for a while ... just from a quick look, these appear to work on the principle of evaporative cooling like the other product which I think was/is called and Ice Probe? Cant remember the name for sure but they werent inexpensive.

The other brand reportedly works well for tanks that require a relatively small amount of cooling ... that cant pull the temp down like a chiller. The advantage is much less energy use and they are quieter.

I am not an expert on these devices.
 
<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=15555954#post15555954 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by heartandsoul
i need to bring my tank down about 8-10 degrees.. i dont want a inline chiller.
Click to expand...

I would go with fans to cool the tank and sump first and foremost. Then see how much additional cooling you need. If its an inwall system and the fans would be hidden, use large crossflow fans. They work far better than round fans.
I dont know if those gizmos can pull down 8 - 10 degrees but I never used them. Your option in chillers is a drop in coil type if you dont want an inline.

If you dont want any type of compressor based chiller I would call the company that makes the Geotronics and find out if they can do what you want them to and which unit or units it would take to do so. Then see if they will back up the claims by refunding your money if they dont meet those claims.

Again, I never have used them and I dont know what they are capable of. I do know that an actual refrigerant based chiller will.
 
I was looking at a thread by a importer of a expensive new line, and it all sounded good until I read that the room temp. has to be 5 degrees cooler then the targeted water temp. I guess I would have to keep my house at 73 degrees, at 80 degrees my last month elec. bill for a small house was 378.
 
Bringing tank temp down by that much using fans (evaporative cooling) is going to present a new problem: humidity. For years, I used fans to cool my 125 with 3 400s from 84 to 79. The basement felt like Florida in August. It was so humid, it made it hard to sit and enjoy the tank. I recently redid my lighting and went from a hood to an open top using 3 lumenmax elites. There are no provisions for fans, so I was using 2 floor standing fans to cool the tank. The humidity got out of control. My dehumidifier would run all the time and really didn't seem to do a thing.

After talking to people with much larger tanks, it seemed that a chiller was the answer. From what I read, a 1/4HP would be plenty, so I bought a 1/3HP model just to be safe. Took me about an hour to plumb it into my return and the results have been amazing. The tank stays cool (79) and the humidity in the basement went from 65-70% to 40%. BIG difference. The basement is comfortable now, and I can sit and watch the tank without breaking a sweat.
 
well i went and bought one of those portable air conditioners and put it in the fish room last night. Ran it for 8 hours and it pulled the temp from 84.5 down to 79 degrees.. i will try to get the tank down to 76. Hopefully when the 4-400w halides come on with the air conditioner on it will help to keep the temps down..
 
Hi. I have one and have been mostly pleased with it... It's ideal, as it will heat or cool as needed to whatever temp you set. I had a unit fail after 2 years, but Geotronic replaced the unit at no cost to me.

The only functional issue I have is using it the way my system is setup. My sump and the unit are in the basement, and my main display tank is upstairs. Because of this, I do need to supplement with a heater and fan on the main display. (I suspect if my sump was directly below my tank this wouldn't be the case)

Cheers,
L3
 
i think the geotronics are great chillers if you need an ultra silent chiller.

besides being expensive, the efficiency of thermoelectric cooling via the Peltier effect is nowhere near as efficient as a compressor cooling system.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thermoelectric_cooling

the geotronic 900 is close to $2k
http://www.whatafish.com/servlet/the-79/Peltech-Ocean-GEOTronic-900/Detail

using 400 watts to get a 9F pull down for 237 gallons is an expensive electrical way to go. the company also doesnt state what the ambient temp and humidity is...which will also determine pull down. maybe more, maybe less?

http://www.oceangeotronic.com/


comparison of a compressor design, a teco chiller using 480 watts will pull 425 gallons 9F with an ambient temp of 86F.

https://www.tecous.com/product/seachill-tr20/#specifications

besides all the hurdles of geothermal chillers. i will admit that they are pretty slick. plus, there is no refrigerant to refill when needed. a lot less 'moving' parts, in theory, should mean less chance of breaking down...but compressors have been around so long, that i think it is pretty down now. i dont know the reliability of geothermal chillers. they havent been in popular use long enough for a true judgment.
 
well i didnt go with the chiller because of the price. the one i needed to use with my tank is close to 2000.00. so thats why i went with the portable ac unit at 400.00
 
<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=15573205#post15573205 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by heartandsoul
well i didnt go with the chiller because of the price. the one i needed to use with my tank is close to 2000.00. so thats why i went with the portable ac unit at 400.00
Click to expand...

Any reason why you did not want to use an aquarium chiller? You said you didnt want in inline chiller. But I mentioned a drop in coil chiller as an alternative. We have an ac unit for the living room as a backup for the central ac, and it is signifigantly louder than the chiller. So I assume that the noise issue wasnt the reason why you didnt want a chiller.

Just curious ...

Im glad the ac unit is working for you.
 
<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=15576026#post15576026 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by heartandsoul
my tank is 475 gallons.. a drop in chiller for that size was very expensive. My tank gets up to 87 degrees somedays here
Click to expand...

Not everyone makes a drop in over 1/3 or 1/2 hp. I would have been looking at an inline if I were in the same boat and with the heat load, probably a 3/4hp unit but maybe even a 1 HP if the ambient temp. was very high where the chiller would be located.
So retail ... in the 1300 - 1500 dollar range for what I consider one of the 3 best chillers on the market ... yep, they are expensive.

My 90 is an in-wall and would run at about 86 degrees in the summer with the lights on until I changed the venting in the fish room and added large crossflow fans for evaporative cooling. Now the chiller only kicks on maybe once or, at most, twice a day during the hottest days. I keep the tank at 78 (77 but with a 2 degree differential, the chiller kicks on at 79. So the tank usually runs at 78. The tank wont run over 79-80 degrees now with the house kept at 77-78 degrees without the chiller, and thats on the very hottest of summer days with all lighting on. But understandably, effective evaporative cooling would mean a lot of humidity in the home on a 475 gallon system.

Many reefers are running their tanks in the low 80's, some into the mid 80 range these days with no problems. I was always comfortable with the upper 70's so I stick with 77-78 degrees. But technically, they are fine in the low 80's .

I was just curious. Im Glad you got it worked out with the portable ac.
 
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