Buying a chiller....

[opie]

Hey all.
I am looking to buy a chiller. Sounds simple right?
NOT!

There are so many brands, each screaming of their value over the rest so I have come to seek the advice of the veterans on this board.

If you have a chiller,

1) how did you choose yours?
2) What size is your tank?
3) How many horsepower is it?
4) Did you buy online or locally?

Thanks!

P.S. Any tips would be appreciated!

[whitesquall]

AquaLogic 1/4hp it was built in 1993 and runs flowless this last month I had to have some frion added.

They are built like a rock!

[opie]

Thanks for the Aqualogic tip.... I have been looking at their 1/4 and 1/3hp chillers, they seem to be very popular on R.C.

[blstravler]

Opie how hot is your tank getting?

[jer1198]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=7227911#post7227911 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by whitesquall
AquaLogic 1/4hp it was built in 1993 and runs flowless this last month I had to have some frion added.

They are built like a rock!

how much refrigerant had to be added,a chiller is a "sealed" system, if it needed to be charged, you have a leak, if its leaking where water goes thru (if its a flow thru type) or at the drop in probe, you may have problems with water contamination in your tank.
just wanted to warn you, not trying to scare you.

[opie]

Tank is getting up to 83 -84F with only 2 MH lights.
I just added another one hence my concern - I really dont want to come home to a 90F tank one of these summer days.
I figured I might as well do this now before it really gets hot. :)

[Marcelog]

I've heard good things regarding the JBJ Arctica chillers. Been looking into the 1/10 HP one myself.

Marcelo -

[opie]

Thanks Marcelo!

[Marcelog]

No problem ;)

Marcelo -

[blstravler]

Have you tried running a fan over the sump?

I have 3 400w MH over my 180 and between the fans in the canopy and the fan over the sump my tank never goes over 82.2.

I have all fans set up so they come on with the MH's.

I also keep my house at an even 74 degrees.

Just an idea.

[opie]

I can try that but that is likely to be unreliable as I am in an apartment that gets quite warm as the summer progresses.

[Kelly]

I had the AquaLogic 1/4hp drop in chiller, it was super reliable and held my tank at a rock solid 79 degrees in July and August.

[reeferpnoy]

bought a aquamedic 1/6 so far im pretty satisfied.....will test how it will do this summer........

[danthemanj]

I bought a used Red Sea 1/5 HP chiller for my 90 gallon. So far its doing fine. Comes on several times in the day already and controls the temperature at 80 degrees F, cannot imagine not having it. A bit noisy but gets the job done.