Question: Setting up Aquarium Chiller?

Hi guys, after waiting a solid month for delivery both my aquarium chiller and external canister filter have finally arrived in the mail! However, much to my dismay, the instructions that came with the Aqua One Arctic 250 chiller were so bad that I have absolutely no idea how the hell to set it up or even comprehend how I'm going to connect it to my filter (Fluval 205). That's what brings me to the forums today - I have taken a series of photos of both the chiller and my filter and I'm hoping anyone with any kind of experience with these products or similar ones could lend me a helping hand - If there are any important details I've left out of the photos let me know and I can take some more - Cheers in advance, Zach.

hey, nice work on the delivery, AquaOne are normally pretty good


try and set it up so that you have water flowing :

tank --> filter --> chiller --> tank

or you could run then both individually

only problem i can see is if the connections betweens brands are different, which you may need to pop down to bunnings and find the appropriate fitting...


i set up my JBL filter all the pipes and hoses clip together, and all in all was pretty simple..

have you checked their website?

http://www.aquaone.co.uk/documents/Chiller250-400_instructions_lowres_new.pdf

follow that, then, depending on your fitting size for the filter you could just join the "in" to the out" and away you go... filtering, AND chilling in one cycle, or run them seperate (would be no problem)

hope that helps, and we want pics once its done

Yeah I agree with b00f, that is the order it should go (tank->"in" filter->"out" filter -> "in" chiller->"out" chiller -> tank). Chillers dont need much "setting up" as the motor on the filter will pump water through it and you just need to know the in and out direction to connect your hoses. If the two hose sizes are different, look for reducing adapters from the local hardware store. Then cut your tubing so that it will fit. I had to reduce a 5/8" diameter hose down to a 1/2" and the adapter was impossible to find (funnily enough because they had almost all other sizes) and ended up ordering it from some obscure site on the internet after much searching around.

Note that after attaching the chiller, the flow rate of the water coming into your tank will be much reduced. I think it reduced my Eheim Pro II 2026's flow rate by about 1/3. A more powerful filter than your tank needs may be appropriate only if you find the flow is inadequate from the addition of the chiller. But axies dont like high flow anyway right

But besides that, the set up works quite well. Good on you for getting a chiller, your axolotls will love you for it!

tran said:

Yeah I agree with b00f, that is the order it should go (tank->"in" filter->"out" filter -> "in" chiller->"out" chiller -> tank). Chillers dont need much "setting up" as the motor on the filter will pump water through it and you just need to know the in and out direction to connect your hoses. If the two hose sizes are different, look for reducing adapters from the local hardware store. Then cut your tubing so that it will fit. I had to reduce a 5/8" diameter hose down to a 1/2" and the adapter was impossible to find (funnily enough because they had almost all other sizes) and ended up ordering it from some obscure site on the internet after much searching around.

Note that after attaching the chiller, the flow rate of the water coming into your tank will be much reduced. I think it reduced my Eheim Pro II 2026's flow rate by about 1/3. A more powerful filter than your tank needs may be appropriate only if you find the flow is inadequate from the addition of the chiller. But axies dont like high flow anyway right

But besides that, the set up works quite well. Good on you for getting a chiller, your axolotls will love you for it!

Click to expand...

with that, most of the new cannister filters have a flow rate on their in/ outputs (i forget if its both or just on one, but i know my JBL only has it on one.. also, remember, if your making a large hose, down to a smaller hose, there will be increased pressure...

set it up how YOU think it will work best (i would suggest seperatly first), then set it up with filter and chiller "in-line" with each other, and then work out which one


1. chills best,

2. flows appropriately

good luck, and if you need a hand, with anything, just ask, there is more then enough help here

b00f said:

with that, most of the new cannister filters have a flow rate on their in/ outputs (i forget if its both or just on one, but i know my JBL only has it on one.. also, remember, if your making a large hose, down to a smaller hose, there will be increased pressure...

Click to expand...

Haha well b00f, I'm not sure you can tell me what my filter and chiller should do because you dont know which systems I have and I have already read all the manuals and called the companies and I'm confident I know how to hook it up. Also the slight increase of pressure going into the chiller will not increase the flow back to its original rate. The fact is: what shows as 100% flow when I turn it on all the way (my filter does not have this flow rate input) read less than 70% when the chiller is connected. This is to be expected, of course, as you are increasing the load for the filter's motor. It is nothing I can change, if that is what you're suggesting. Perhaps I'm misreading what you said though...

Also chillers are not usually sold with pumps, so if they were to be set up independently of each other to conserve flow, a new pump would most likely need to be purchased for the chiller (and pumps can be expensive). Undoubtedly this will give you better chiller performance and filter performance as the two processes are not coupled. But many people just use the filter's pump for the chiller (that is why they are not usually sold with pumps, right?) and that works just fine. If your chiller comes with a pump then by all means use it independently. Just do what you think is best ZACH :happy:

BTW marine aquaria forums are also a great source of info on this very subject because most people with salt water aquariums need to use chillers. Good luck!

i think you misread me and i also, forgot about the secondary pump for the chiller.

i never said that the filter -> chiller would have LESS flow..

i was just reminding him, say if he went from a 3/4" hose to a say 1/2" hose pressure would increase, and to remind him to "turn it down"

come on zach, your keeping us waiting, you better be setting it up as i type this *shakes fist*

Hi Zach,

Congrats on getting your chiller after the long anticipated wait. I saw your message and came looking for this post as soon as i could!

Boof and Tran are both right in that you should connect your setup according to

tank->"in" filter->"out" filter -> "in" chiller->"out" chiller -> tank

The filter refers to an external canister filter. The adaptor ports for the chiller and filter may differ in diameter and hence the tubing size may be different. You can just bring the adaptor inlet or outlet ports (they are usually detachable) of both your filter and chiller to an aquarium shop and check out which tubing size you would require.

Just some other suggestions which i thought you could find useful.

1 - Place your chiller such that the ventilation vents could 'breathe''. Allow some ''air space' around the vents. You don't want to risk burning out your chiller!

2 - Might be a good idea to also get a common electrical socket multi adaptor board. Try to put both your chiller and filter plugs to the same power board. The board will also protect against power surges etc. that could damage your equipment.

3 - You may also like to 'prime' your chiller and tubings beforehand. That means simply giving the tubings a good rinse (with your current aquarium water is fine as well) and fill them with water such that there are no air bubbles in between. Generally the chiller will be fine even in the presence of bubbles but it is much safer to get rid of them first! On your chiller, you can actually fill tank water into the ínlet port until you see some water almost exiting the outlet port. Watch the water meniscus for 5 min or so. I like to do this to ensure that the chiller is not leaking!

Feel free to message me if you have other questions.

Enjoy your chiller!

Cheers

Thanks for all the responses guys - I will try as best I can to set it all up tomorrow - I'll make it my project for the day! I'll post some pictures up tomorrow or when I manage to complete the setup. The only further query I have is that in the instructions it says "The water supply to the chiller must be pre-filtered" which is contrary to what everyone has told me.. Is it possible to connect them in the opposite way or is that wishful thinking? If i'm confusing anyone I'm talking about: tank > chiller "in" > chiller "out" > filter "in" > filter "out" > tank..

Zeeman3000 said:

"The water supply to the chiller must be pre-filtered" which is contrary to what everyone has told me..

Click to expand...

Looks to me like everyone is saying to use prefiltered... out of the filter to the chiller, the way I see it, is pre filtered.

Zeeman3000 said:

Is it possible to connect them in the opposite way or is that wishful thinking? If i'm confusing anyone I'm talking about: tank > chiller "in" > chiller "out" > filter "in" > filter "out" > tank..

Click to expand...

Anything is possible but, I wouldn't try it. Restricting or even lengthening the inlet side of the pump puts a huge strain on the pump and will greatly effect the flow rates... possibly to the point of not even flowing. Most filter pumps are designed to "push" water therefore, any loads or restrictions need to be on the outlet side of the pump. Most canister filters get their inlet water by syphon rather than actually "sucking" it from the tank. That's why most of them have to be located below the tank to even work.

Congrats on the chiller :happy:

The only further query I have is that in the instructions it says "The water supply to the chiller must be pre-filtered" which is contrary to what everyone has told me.. Is it possible to connect them in the opposite way or is that wishful thinking?

Click to expand...

I may be wrong, but I vaguely remember being told that the reason the water has to go through a filter before it reaches the chiller is so dirt and gunk doesn't get stuck in the chiller and mess it up. This is why you shouldn't just use a normal pump with it - it has to be a filter of some kind pumping the water through. It might still work in that order without the water being filtered before it reaches the chiller, but this would decrease the lifespan of your shiny new toy

I would also think that water coming out of the filter is just water, and on its way to the aquarium, and why would you want to chill muck on its way to a happy home in the bottom of a filter?