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Which Chiller


Headless_donkey

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We have a 30 gallon cube with ten gallon sump. We are looking to keep the temp around 75F. Right now it is fine with a couple of fans, but I am conserned about the summer. I am looking for suggestions on a chiller. I don't know what size we need. Does anyone have any experience with specific chillers? Does any have a used one for sale? I am not really interested in a DIY solution.

thank you

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I'm a huge fan of the Artica Chiller line by JBJ (and we use them as often as possible).

My only word of advice is that I bought a 1/10th HP Pacific Coast chiller and wish I had gotten a bigger one. If you ever upgrade, it's much easier to use the same chiller you used on your 30 gallon. A JBJ 1/4hp Artica would be my suggestion for a long term, effective chiller that you can use on a much larger tank.

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The weirdest part is you probably need the chiller less in the summer. I bought a giant 1/2hp for my 75g last year in Feb when I set up my halides. I was afraid of raising the temp. Sure enough March to May seemed to get about 81F, right at the cutoff for me. The unit I bought did not come with a controller so I didn't get a chance to start running it at the time I got it. Here's the interestign part of my boring story, mid May my tank started running 77F. Why would that happen? My homes AC started running regularly to keep us comfortable. I found that I "need" (as in I never actually needed it) a chiller in those couple of months when you don't have the heat or AC on. I'm the type that likes to open my windows from Feb to April-May, and again from Oct to Dec when the weather is pleasant. It's those months that I see my temp rise. I coulda hooked you up with a 1/2hp drop in for your nano had I read your post before selling mone this weekend.

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  • 4 months later...

I'm with Mike on this one.

My 58g has two small fans (no chiller).

One runs when the actnics go on and the second goes on with the halide. (They're hardly necessary during the summer months.)

Home thermostat stays at 72 in the summer and tank has never been over 78 over the summer months.

In the "winter" (or whatever you call it here. I've seen winter. This ain't it. lol) months when my heat is running the tank will reach 80-81.

My solution:

For summer months

Turn the thermostat down a few degrees more and chill out all your tanks (and yourselves)

(It will take a good while for the increased electric bill to meet the chillers price)

For winter months

Open a window. :hug:

There you go.

The fish will thank you.

The dogs will thank you.

One more small note of interested to you young couples to put away for future reference:

Don't buy any more chillers after the Mrs. hits say 45 or so.

You won't need them.

Trust me.

My house is "chilly" all the time now. :thumbsup:

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