Chillers

[mimi]

Although I can't really afford a chiller right now; I'd like some input on what brand to get in the future; for a 75gal, 48x18x18 reef tank.
In Line or Drop in? Which works better? HP?
Thanks,
Mimi

[DaveC]

http://www.premiumaquatics.com/Merchant2/merchant.mv?Screen=PROD&Store_Code=PA&Product_Code =PC-CL-280&Category_Code=pacificcoast

According to premimun aquatics this chiller will work on even a 150 gallon tank if you do not need to drop your temp very much, but if you have a 75 gallon I would imagine this would work very well, and the price seems to be pretty fair..I do not use a chiller, but my fish room is a 12 x 10 room, so I use a window A/C if needed..

DaveC

[Chuck S]

The chiller posted will work great for your size tank.

[Bill]

I used to use a 1/5hp Aquanetics drop-in in my 180gal reef and now use a 1/4hp in-line in my newer 160gal. I have the in-line located remotely from the tank on my outdoor patio so I don't have to deal with the noise. If you mount it under the tank, it will generate some noise ... especially if you vent the cabinet well ... like you're supposed to. My only issue with the Aqunetics drop-in was that the probe needed to be vertical or at least 45 degrees tilt at worst. This meant that I had to get a sump where I could keep at least 10" of water level to keep the probe mostly covered. This recommendation on the positioning or attitude of the probe comes from the chiller manual and I was really bummed when I got it because they don't tell you this up front. It was a real hassle to try and keep the probe submerged ... which you need to do to maintain efficiency. Another difference is cleaning of the evaporator side ... the probe in a drop-in or the flow through exchanger in an in-line. Cleaning the probe on a drop-in is somewhat easier because you can apply good old mechanical scrubbing to the surface. With an in-line, you basically have to unplumb the chiller and fill and rinse the closed exchanger with several iterations of bleach. And it'll still probably not get as clean and uncrusted as you can accomplish by hand on the probe.

[grizz99]

is a chiller necessary for me? i just got a 75 gal tank and will be doing a reef setup, i live in minnesota, and if the heat in the house isn't on then the AC is, the tank will be in the family room and it has central AC. when would a chiller be necessary?

[brody98]

what do you keep your ac set at? I also run a 75 (but in Iowa) now that I have a house with central air I no longer use a chiller but I never let it get over 74 in the house, anything higher may require the use of a chiller depending on what your planning to use for lights and the distance you have them above the water and if your going to run open top or not. the pump you use will also make a difference, external / internal. there are a lot of variables that will determine if you can run without a chiller, you will also have to adjust your heater to the peak temp of your tank during the day so it doesn't drop off at night.

[Chuck S]

I hate to see your electric bill. /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/wink.gif

I set my AC at 78 and during the hot summer it runs all the time almost.

[brody98]

Actually its not bad at all I’ve got low E windows and you would be surprised how much 2x6 walls with lots of insulation will do for ac / heating bills, Iowa is a bad place to be for extremes we can go from -20 in the winter to 100+ in the summer, and believe it or not I’ve went from the furnace being on in the morning to the ac on in the afternoon… yikes