Which are the best chillers?

[reeftacular]

I am currently setting up a 90 gal reef tank (48x18x24) with a 30 gal sump. I live in So Cal & know I will need a chiller unit soon. Our summertime temps hover around 90-100 Aug-Sept. I have central air upstairs but not much reaches my aquarium downstairs. With so many on the market, what are the best brands, how large a unit will I need, & I hear in-line is the way to go as opposed to drop-ins. Please let me know your experiences as I have never had to buy one before.

[Chin_monster]

Aquanetics are really good chillers, with a really big price tag too.

Custom Sea Life makes good chillers also. I passed on buying one of them, however, because the heat exchanger is built out some "exotic" stainless steel that supposedly withstands the saltwater environment exceptionally well. Which it may -they seem to think it is as good or better. I decided to stick with the proven titanium heat exchanger rather than jump on the next new thing bandwagon.

Aqualogic also makes good ones. This is the one I ended up buying -one of their inline 1/3 hp Delta Star units. Way over powered for my needs, however there was in minimal price difference up to this point -then it got really expensive. A 1/5 hp unit would have been adequate for my needs.

P.S. These are all local Southern California companies (San Diego County precisely) too.

[moonpod]

The problem with all of the above mentioned units is that they are NOISY. Like having a small car next to your tank. There are some newer quiter units, but the efficacy and reliability are still up in the air. Specifically JBJ's arctica line, Fritz is marketing an Italian unit the teclimas and aquamedics titan chillers.

[reeftacular]

Thanks for the inputs, noise & heat output are definately considerations also. They seem to all cost about the same, (expensive), but I'm planning on keeping acroporas and the other stony corals so it's a nessesary evil. Any other thoughts out there? :fish1:

[moonpod]

Well, if noise and heat output are your number one concerns then maybe you should try the jbj arcticas, there is a two year warranty though in general jbj stuff isn't like top shelf sort of stuff ya know? I've got the teco CA200 and it's pretty nice, not big enough for your tank, but it works well, but the RUMOUR is that the jbj puts out less heat/is more effecient.

[beefcake]

You may want to give AZOO chillers a look. They are supposed to be extremely quiet, made with titanium not stainless, and uses no freon.

[Chin_monster]

The operating sound is rather noticable with any chiller, but not terrible. They sound much like an AC unit. Heat is always an an issue, no way around it. They have to be ventilated well. Again falling back to the AC unit, ever walk by the other side of an operating AC unit? Wow, hot. Samething.

As far as imported chiller go, such the JBJ, Fritz, as well as others, I'd be incredibly wary. It is imported, as well as questionable reliablity and quality control. Unless it were a German or a Japanese unit I really doubt you could convince me to buy it and even then there would be repair issues.

Another thing to consider is the construction of the heat exchanger. I'd really want to be sure that it is constructed out of titanium or safe material (CSL) and definately NOT a coated copper heat exchanger. According to many people with experience with them there is high failure rate, either the coating flakes away or simply a manufacturing error with incomplete coating or assembly damage to coating. Copper is definately bad for Acroporas.

The other consideratiion is that these are local companies which means if/ when repair issues arise they can be taken care of easily without a lot of shipping time and expense. That alone means quite a bit to me having seen what many "used" chillers have been subjected to. It is a very unfriendly environment to mechanical equipment. Think ventilation and humidity control.

[moonpod]

Originally posted by Chin_monster
The operating sound is rather noticable with any chiller, but not terrible. They sound much like an AC unit. [B]
Exactly, not good for a living room for instance. If you've got a dedicated fish room ok then--trust me you don't want an aqualogic in your living room, though they work very well.

[B]As far as imported chiller go, such the JBJ, Fritz, as well as others, I'd be incredibly wary. It is imported, as well as questionable reliablity and quality control. Unless it were a German or a Japanese unit I really doubt you could convince me to buy it and even then there would be repair issues.
[B] Good point, but you don't know til you try, and what choices do european aquarists have except for european units like the teclima

[B]The other consideratiion is that these are local companies which means if/ when repair issues arise they can be taken care of easily without a lot of shipping time and expense. That alone means quite a bit to me having seen what many "used" chillers have been subjected to. It is a very unfriendly environment to mechanical equipment. Think ventilation and humidity control.
Uh, JBJ is in inglewood socal

[monstereef]

I've have the 1/5 Arctica and it is very QUIET. I have it in my living room and I can barely hear it when it kicks on. I bought this unit because it uses less energy. Use less energy -- produce less heat.

This unit blows out the warm air out the back of the unit. Most chillers have the condenser located in the back, which blows out the front. This is big concern if you have it in the living room.

I was a little skeptical, but it has been chilling my reef without a problem..:rollface:

[axlerod]

I have a fritz teclima ca 680 chiller for about 2 yrs now on my 120 gal. the chiller is in my living room very quite when running but does put out a lot of heat to slove this i use some dryer duct to vent it outside during the summer months have not had any problems with this unit yet.

[moonpod]

Originally posted by monstereef
I've have the 1/5 Arctica and it is very QUIET. I have it in my living room and I can barely hear it when it kicks on. I bought this unit because it uses less energy. Use less energy -- produce less heat.

This unit blows out the warm air out the back of the unit. Most chillers have the condenser located in the back, which blows out the front. This is big concern if you have it in the living room.

I was a little skeptical, but it has been chilling my reef without a problem..:rollface:

How long have you had the arctica? I'm curious about this. The reviews for this unit so far are good, but noones had one for very long. I have a teclima for my current tank, but I'm setting up a much larger tank, and the price for a teclima is well....very high. I am considering the arctica, but JBJ and me don't mix well in general....

[miy3791]

MoonPod,

I have had the Arctica for 2 months. My LSF told me that these chillers have been selling in Japan for the last 4 years. He said they were really reliable and that it was backed up with a 2 year standard warranty.

But so far so good! I will keep you posted on the progress...

[Snailman]

miy3791



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