LTS
New member
Hi everyone. I posted earlier about struggling to keep our axolotl's tank down within normal ranges during the summer. We're managing to do so with frequent and careful monitoring, but we're going away a couple of times later in the summer, so we're thinking a more robust solution might be required.
Looked into chillers today. Watched a 'how to set up a chiller' video on YouTube which made me realise I had no idea where to start - it actually made me MORE confused than before, as I had assumed a certain level of 'plug in and play' functionality!
I'd really appreciate people's advice on good resources to look at, products to check out, and general requirements for a chiller setup. Our current setup is listed below:
- 1 adult axolotl named Max
- 50 litre tank - all-in-one with no sump
- Dimensions: 60cm*40cm*32cm
- Eheim Pickup 45 internal filter
- We also have a basic air pump, though we retired that because Max used to try to fight the bubbles
Ideally budget is in the £200 - £250 range, which I know is at the low end, but we're really talking about something that can lower the temperature by just a few degrees on a few particularly hot days a year, or when we're away and want the peace of mind that the temperature is being controlled (we can ask a friend to come round and feed him a couple of times, but can't really say "can you also stay during daylight hours and open all the windows and check his temperature every couple of hours and cool it down if it goes above 21" etc). We live in the UK, it doesn't often get hot enough for it to be required, but we wanna make sure the little guy is comfortable.
I understand that we would need both a water pump (which I realise I'm not really sure what it is beyond the obvious) and a chiller, plus various pipes that are usually sold separately...
Looked into chillers today. Watched a 'how to set up a chiller' video on YouTube which made me realise I had no idea where to start - it actually made me MORE confused than before, as I had assumed a certain level of 'plug in and play' functionality!
I'd really appreciate people's advice on good resources to look at, products to check out, and general requirements for a chiller setup. Our current setup is listed below:
- 1 adult axolotl named Max
- 50 litre tank - all-in-one with no sump
- Dimensions: 60cm*40cm*32cm
- Eheim Pickup 45 internal filter
- We also have a basic air pump, though we retired that because Max used to try to fight the bubbles
Ideally budget is in the £200 - £250 range, which I know is at the low end, but we're really talking about something that can lower the temperature by just a few degrees on a few particularly hot days a year, or when we're away and want the peace of mind that the temperature is being controlled (we can ask a friend to come round and feed him a couple of times, but can't really say "can you also stay during daylight hours and open all the windows and check his temperature every couple of hours and cool it down if it goes above 21" etc). We live in the UK, it doesn't often get hot enough for it to be required, but we wanna make sure the little guy is comfortable.
I understand that we would need both a water pump (which I realise I'm not really sure what it is beyond the obvious) and a chiller, plus various pipes that are usually sold separately...
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