Temperature control - CHILLER... any suggestion?

K

kkw30806

Hi all... I live in Los Angeles and recently passed Sunday, temperature went up to over 90+ degree and my poor fish were suffering. The tank temperature went over 84+ degree.... :( :frustrat: :grumble:, even though I have a fan blow across the water. I know it doesn't help much. So before this happen again, I want to find a better way of controlling the tank's temperature.

Question:
1) Beside buy the Chiller, is there another of keeping the temperature down. Assuming that the light are on for about 9 hours a day.

2) If I do buy a Chiller, does anyone have any good suggestion on the brand that they trust? Currently i have a 30 gal tank but would like to expand to 60+ later on. So I guess something in between....

Thanks guys for readng... any suggestion would be greatly appreciated.
Jack
 
http://www.jbjlighting.com/aquarium_prods.html

I bought one of these the 1/5 hp chiller and have had it for two years and absolutely love it.

It is whisper quite and no complaints. They also have a sizing link based on lighting pumps etc...

Hope this helps
Brandon

P.S. I know chillers are expensive, but when you think of all the money you have in that tank its a small price to pay. Also you will be amazed at how much healthier your tank is when you temp stays with in 2 degree range 24/7...
 
A 1/5 hp chiller will be plenty good for your 30 to 60 gal tank. you need to consider several things when buying a chiller. you will need a built in controller with heater plug in capabilities for flow through, or a controller that will activate a pump at certain preset temperatures and isolate the heaters. there are some chillers out there for couple hundred to seven hundred dollars. you should choose a chiller that is rated for a system slightly larger than the one you will be putting it on. this will give you some lead way in performance. I would recommend Premium Aquatics, Marine Depot, for a comparison. There are some electric chillers that can be used through a bulk head fitting also. good luck hope something here helps.
 
Thanks John... I will do some more research on your recommendation as well. Trust me, I would like to buy a BIGGER tank 90+. Unfortunately of space limitation and mainly my wife... hahaha... :) she would kill me. So as for now, I will keep my 30 gals and maybe 1/5 hp chiller. Will keep you guys update on it.

Thanks again,
Jack
 
I just bought a Thermoelectric Peltier Cooler.It is the same thing that the iceprobe using but this one has a higher wattage.I just have not completely figured out how I am going to set it up.Maybe attaching it to a aluminum CPU heatsink and aluminum or other metal rod to the other end and insert that end
in the water.I will mount in my hob refugium maybe.$35 verses $110 for the iceprobe
 
minireefer just to let you know there is some debate on the effects of aluminum in the aquarium...

Some refuse to use aluminum oxide(white media)for phosphate export and rather the iron product(orange media). The reason is some believe raised aluminum levels in the tank can be dangerous if not deadly to corals, where as iron just promotes algea growth etc.

Anyways i'm not claiming to be an expert on the topic, but it is something you might want to look into before sticking an aluminum rod in your tank.

I would go titanium... all the comercial chillers pretty much seem to use titanium coils..

Just something to think about.

Brandon
 
Hello all, does anyone have any thought or own a JBJ 1/10 hp chiller? This one is kind of fit my budget for the moment and I did some research on it. It's more than what I need for now and for future expandation (60-90 gals tank).

Any common anyone?
Thanks,
Jack
 
I think that should be plenty i run the 1/5th HP one on a 100 gallon tank with two huge external pumps (iwaski 70rlt and Blueline 55) I also have over 800 watts of lighting.

I like you live in TN where it gets hot in the summer and my unit doesn't have any problems. It is on about 1/3 of the time during the day and hardly runs at all at night.

Brandon
 
Thanks Brandon for the reminder.No aluminum no copper.I hope my local harware store can provide a bracket made out of titanium.The ice probe is enanmel coated aluminum.I have been trying to find a price on the JBJ nano but no luck
 
if the spec's on the 1/10 suit your need, then the manufacturer is decent and should do the job. if you have not found any other chillers comparable then might be the one for you. good luck. I have a 1/4 hp drop in chiller that I could let go for 50 bucks, but the shipping might be expensive and the chiller would need to be serviced before use. in fair condition and worked a year ago. some rust on the air grill, and used well, but as far as I know has a good compressor and hoses. was given a way when i tore down my last 125 and was given back to me after a couple years. so if you want to try something here it is strickly as is and no garauntees. pm or e mail me if interested.
 
Ok guys... finally I bought my JBJ 1/10 hp chiller. So far so good. It's going to get hot again this coming week. Can anyone tell me what is the desire temperature for the chiller. Currently, the manufacture default it to 77 degrees. Is this standard good for salt water fish, coral and reef?

Thanks guys...
Jack
 
Hey bkv1997... I am glad you are online. I read the whole menu on my JBJ chiller and they don't have the .1 degree setting. It's either 1 degree up or 1 degree down. Strangely... I don't find it. Are you familiar with the JBJ 1/10 hp chiller? I was going crazy yesterday. Anyway... does your chiller stop or start within 1 degree differences? Mine is setting to 79 degrees default and when it goes up to 80, the cooling process starts. It stops at 78 degree. Is it normal? Doesn't it should stop a little below 79?

Oh... also, I will write another post later on for my crazy experience... on my chiller yesterday...

Thanks,
Jack
 
So you are saying that when you change the temp it doesn't switch in .1 degree steps?

If I hold the up button for a couple seconds it starts flashing then i start pressing the up button it goes 78.5 78.6 78.7 78.8 78.9 etc......

The 2 degree temp swing you are describing is how mine works also. I have mine set at 78.5 the unit kicks in at 79.5 then cuts off at 77.5.

Let me know if I can be anymore help.
Brandon
 

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