Buying a chiller, how would I connect it to my tank?

Ok, so I'm buying a chiller, but I'm not sure how I would run it in line with my filter.

my axie tank has a trickle filter built in the top, and the filter is fed with a 480LPH pump, (my tank is 95L or about 25US gallons for our metrically challenged friends) so it turns over the tank water about 5 times a hour, the water is sprayed over the filter bed, and flows through the media and under the filter bed to the opposite end of the tank and flows back into the tank via a gravity fall.

the only thing I can think of doing is feeding the chiller after the pump and before the trickle filter, but I'm worried that this could reduce the life of the chiller's internals.

could I fix this problem by adding a filter sponge over the intake?

I will post pictures of my current setup (filter, pump etc) when I get back, I'm going to get McNuggets.

I'd do exactly what you suggested.

Not sure the chiller internals will be any worse off for running unfiltered water through it, i run my chiller after the canister filter for both heat caused by the filter, and contaminants, but does it really matter? Probably not , i think your water would have to be pretty bad before it started blocking the chiller and pump really fast.

Put it this way, if your water was bad enough to block the chiller, it would probably have already blocked your pump, and also, imagine how bad and lumpy your water would look in general.

Your idea is what i would do (with the sponge just for good measure)

Bren