Chillers: who has 'em who doesn't?

[Wippit]

In conversations/postings about used equipment I seem to see that there is no clear majority of owners or non-owners of chillers.

Do we need them in this area? Or is it more a function of waste heat generated within the system (lights, pumps, etc.)? For instance, would I be less likely to need one if I didn't use MH?

[Wippit]

Add on:

What type of chiller is the best? (brand and/or design)

[pbnj]

Without MHs, i.e., using T5s, you can probably get away without using a chiller if you use some kind of fan (either across the sump or the display tank).

[muddybluewater]

I run a aqua logic drop in chiller. The main reason for it is evaporation. I was getting 4-5 gallons a day with out it and only 2 with. I still run a fan on the tank and one on the sump. The fans also help with gas exchange so they will always be there.

[+mcallahan]

I have 2x250W MH over my 90G and I don't use a chiller. In the summer I go through about 2G of top off water a day, but that's fine with me as I have all the RO/DI I need in my garage.

IMO, chiller are nice in that they keep your tank cool if you have a heat issue, but they can be noisy and expensive. Plus they are usually pretty bulky for one big enough for the tank you are looking at.

[rainbody]

I run a 1/6 hp chiller oceanic type. Its big, draws huge amounts of power(popped cicuit day one), and is yet another set of fitting to worry about. But its need to keep control of the temp swing throughout the day as the house heats up not to mention its got heater attachments for those 40 degree days in texas.

[offroadodge]

so my 2 cents= CLOSED canopy over 500Ws defntly a chiller, OPEN canopy its pretty ez 2 get the water temp in line JMO

[reefman]

I have a 1/3 hp Aqaunatik (sp?) on a 200 gal. I have 2x400W MH and am in the prcess of adding one more. I have used a chiller almost from the beginning - I think I got my first on for my 90 gal back then after the first 6 to 9 months. I consider them almost essential, especially for SPS and a lot of lights (although I see Mark disagrees), although I plan to use the fans as described above (at least in the sump area) to lessen the amount the chiller comes on and for the gas exchange.

Stephen

[Rjohn]

I have a 72 gallon bowfront using t5's. My chiller is is $10 clip-on fan from Walmart. My evaporation during the summer is about 2 gallons/day. Right now it is less than 1/2 gallon/day. During the summer, my tank runs 78 to about 81 F.

[Bill B]

I have a 75 g with canopy running 400 W of MH. Maybe I lucked out with my canopy 'engineering' but I have no problem keeping my tank below 80 using 3-120 mm 12V Radio Shack fans. I have two fans blowing in and one sucking air out. It is a small problem that when the home heater is running in the winter my tank room is noticeably warmer than other rooms from all the hot air being sucked out. YRMV

Bill

[offroadodge]

agree, i have a closed canopy with 2 -4" icecap variable speed fans to vent it, I also have around 1000Ws of light. If i didnt have a chiller the temp would probly go to 85-87. Everyones set-up is diff, I dont like to have more than a 1-1.5 degree temp swing. Thats JMO on my set-up. Mark keeps his tank cold(77) i keep mine at 79. Consistancy is key. The mannings keep theres at i think 80-81. All personal preference with-in reason, I woudnt keep an SPS tank above 83. remember JMO!!!!!

[caferacermike]

Open canopy (it is just a visual surround, no lid) with hanging 2x250w mh fixture with built in fans.. No chiller.

I own 4 chillers (I buy things) and have never ran any of them.

[Wippit]

Heh @ mike.

Thanks all!

[barderer]

As stated above its a trade off between water/power. If you are willing to evaporate water then you can use fans. If you are willing to pay for power you can use a chiller.

Chiller Pros

1. You don't need to constantly refill your ATO reservoir or setup a auto shutoff top off as you can run a closed hood.

2. The water chemistry is more stable because you are adding less top off water.

Cons

1. Most expensive option

Evaperation Pros

1. Water is cheap, fans are cheap.

2. Forces you to setup a nice ATO system, which is good anyway.

Cons

1. Its a PITA to constantly refill the ATO res.

2. You can introduce unwanted high concentration of unknown substances your RO/DI filter misses as you top off so frequently the small does add up.

[LiLS]

I guess it's just me but instead of

a chiller I need

a heater

[GKarshens]

I think Barderer broke it down pretty well. I have never ran one for more than a week. I bought one but it was so loud I couldn't take it. With fans I can keep my tank at about 79-80. I have never really measured how much I evaporate.

[+ACampbell]

I <3 chillers!

[reeferRob]

I bought a Tradewinds chiller for my 215 3 years ago, at the end of the summer it had come on twice, so I packed it up and it's been in storage ever since. I do have a fan running 24/7 and my temps in summer run 78ish

[+Hydro]

I've got 175, 75, 36 tied together with roughly 300 gallons of water and 1,700 watts of MH lighting, I need a chiller. I use a 1hp but I'm also going to be cooling my lighting with it soon. My suggestion is to setup the tank and see, it's all about your water temp. If you can't keep it down with fans you will need a chiller. We sell chillers and I have lots of exprience with them, our chillers are made to cool commercial equipment and are way overkill for smaller aquariums. The biggest drawback IMO is the heat and noise they produce. If using them inside (which most people do) all of the heat pulled out of the aquarium plus about 10-20% more is exhausted out of the back of the chiller. If the chiller is setup directly beside your tank it becomes a relentless cycle of heat being pulled from the aquarium, exhausted in to the air, and then some of this heat is just absorbed back in to the aquarium.

IMO good chillers to purchase, besides our own, are Aqualogic (very good chiller but expensive, american made) and JBJ. Chillers to stay away from are Current Prime brand chillers which they also make Eco Plus and Active Aqua. These chiller are inexpensive compared to the others but you get what you pay for, they have a 30% return rate and when they do work properly they run very inneficiently.

In case anyone is intersted in some BTU rating for lighting a 1000 watts of lighting puts out 4,000 BTU and the ballast to power that lighting puts out 2,000 BTU.