Question: Let's talk chillers, shall we?

I live in SC, USA. In the South, it can get rather warm... We have all 4 seasons, but summer is definitely dominant.

That being said, I think it would be irresponsible to set up a 50 gallon tank (for axolotls) without a chiller, even though they are expensive.
If you live in a similar environment, and think differently, do tell! (Yes, I've read about frozen bottles, chilled towels, and even DIY chillers)...

I have been hunting for a good used one... But when I do find the occasional one for sale, I don't understand if it's big (or small) enough.

Do you have a chiller? If YES:

What model?
What size tank?
Pros and cons of using a chiller?
Are they noisy?
Pictures!

Thanks

I live in northern Idaho and out seasons are the same. it's about 90 here still. I have a 55g tank with no chiller. I have a fan that blows on the top of the water and my tank is usually around 68 degrees. some days it gets hotter than that, so I just change about 10 to 15% of their water. the surface area of the 55g with the help of the fan evaporates really fast which keeps it cooled off. hope this helps!

I live in Colorado, but it's in the middle of the plains area and it tends to get pretty hot. Despite that, I'm able to keep my tank cool with a couple of ice bottles and the AC. My tank tends to stay right around 20C. I know that tank temperatures can get a little higher in the summer months without harming the axolotls.

Hi, I live in Brisbane Aus, and it can get ridiculously hot. especially inside the house. Some days are up to 47 degrees centigrade and inside its even hotter. I have a Resun cl650

Resun CL-650 Aquarium Chiller 1/4HP(Unistar 650) [CL-650] - $559.9 : Aqua Wholesale, Pumps, Filters, Chillers & Other aquarium Supplies

and it works really well keeping my 270 liter tank cold at about 15 degrees even on hottest day. I just found ice bricks etc did absolutely nothing last summer and had to bite the bullet and get a chiller. made the world of difference to my axies. i had it on for an hour and could tell they were sooooo much happier

I live in Israel where the summer lasts 8 months and my AC doesn't work. There is no getting around a chiller. I used to have handreared axolotls but they died the moment I neglected switching frozen water bottles for a few days. Now I have a Hailea 1/4 HP chiller for my 288 liter tank. It's connected to the external filter so that the filter sucks in the water, sends the filtered water through the chiller, and the chiller outputs the cold and clean water back in the tank at a rate of, I think, 600L per hour which is a lot so the hose needs to be aimed in a way it doesn't cause a strong current.
I'm paranoid about the cats pulling the plug or the electricity (I have prepaid) running out when I'm not home to buy new credit immediately, because Israel is so hot, you wake up sticking to your sheets. The tap water is 29°C.

Yeah, you should get a chiller. It's a one-time investment, but it saves you so much hassle. I got mine second hand, got very lucky, paid only 1200 NIS (whatever that is in USD, I guess 300). It's a bit loud when it's active, but switches itself off once the water is down to the desired temperature (I picked 18°C). It turns itself on automatically once the temperature rises again and it's just this buzz/humm, maybe like a loud fan, nothing too bothersome but definitely annoying if in your bedroom.

Ciele and MochGuu,
Thank you!
This is exactly the kind of info I needed.
Quick question... If you are connecting your chiller to the filter, then what filter system do you have?? I am assuming this will only work with a "canister" style filter, correct?

Now I'm going to look up how to change to gallons and dollars

Hey I live in England where the use of chillers isn't required as we are not known for having a hot climate! However due to the last heat wave and the fact that my tank is in my room with the airing cupboard and various heating pipes i invested in one.
NO REGRETS (so far).

I have a DD 300 model of chiller for my 95 litre tank, (20 gallon), so it's much smaller than yours. My cooler: D-D DC-300 Refrigerated Cooler - Aquacadabra - Fishkeeping with a Touch of Magic.
The flow rate is 150-300 per hour which is larger than my tank but the key thing with flow rates is that you want one which can comfortably cycle the water through or its gonna have to work overtime and use more electricity trying to cool the tank. Also the pump is going to have to push water up and down assuming like mine that the chiller is on the floor. Not all chillers come with tubing and pumps, (although the larger chillers I found did have internal pumps), so be aware that may be an extra expense.

Pros:
Peace of mind
Tank is at a consistent temp all the time.
Again with the peace of mind.

Cons:
Expensive
Not all chillers include pumps and tubing! Especially the smaller models so be prepared for this.
Eats more electricity than a fan
Noisy BUT you get used to it.

A word about noise- yes they are noisy but as I can verify having one on in my bedroom you get use to the noise after a few days. At first I didn't know how I would sleep and now its’ totally fine.
I hope this helps J

Excellent, thank you :happy:
How is it connected? Just through the pump, or are you running it through a filter as well? If so, is it a canister filter??

SariYappa said:

Ciele and MochGuu,
Thank you!
This is exactly the kind of info I needed.
Quick question... If you are connecting your chiller to the filter, then what filter system do you have?? I am assuming this will only work with a "canister" style filter, correct?

Now I'm going to look up how to change to gallons and dollars

Click to expand...

Yeah it's one of those trashcan-like external filters. Both the chiller and the filter have IN and OUT hoses, but instead of putting the OUT hose of the filter into the tank, you connect it to the chiller's IN valve, and put the chiller's OUT hose into the tank instead.
The thing is, filters and chillers tend to have different hose and valve circumferences so what I did, was shove the filter's hose into the chiller's hose and tightened it with a screw-on ring to prevent leaking. Sounds complicated but since I'm the kind of person who has no pictures on her wall because she doesn't know how to screw holes in there, and I still managed to set this up all on my own, you'll do just fine

SariYappa said:

Excellent, thank you :happy:
How is it connected? Just through the pump, or are you running it through a filter as well? If so, is it a canister filter??

Click to expand...

Min isn't; I have a HOB filter which I started out with and then a pump in the coner of the tank which runs water out of the tank down the back to the chiller on the floor. Another pipe then leads up from the chiller into the opposite courner of the tank. This tube goes right into some java moss on bodwood which stops the flow being to powerful- because of the tank size I also have both the filter and pump on low settings. If I can find my connecter cable i'll post a photo!

Wonderful, I have choices

Mochi, I understand the hose thing... Not difficult at all
Tea, pictures would be great, be sure to include an Axolotl, will you :famous:

Thank you very much for the much needed info :happy:

Pictures of the tank, plus the requested axolotl. You can see the green tube on the far left which takes the water back in, the HOB filter in the middle and the pumb drawing the water out to the chiller on the right.

Thank you. Makes sense...
Gotta love that last picture... He really does look like toothless.

Hi, yes it is connected to a cannister filter. Also a friend of mine made an AWESOME home made chiller. Sorry no picture so...so she had an old ESKY lying around that wasnt being used. in the top she drilled 2 holes (1 at each end through lid) then took about 10 meters of plastic tubing and connected it to her Filter output then fed the tubing through one whole coiled around in the esky then fed the other end back out through the other hole and connected it up to her spray bar. The esky was filled with ice. At first she bought about five bags. The water leaves the filter goes through about 8.5 meters of tubing thats is fully submerged in ice then goes into the tank. because it is in and esky the ice stays cold and frozen for days, and she just checks every other day to drain some water and ice which isnt usually much and she can now just top up from ice trays in freezer. It lowers the water temp by about 8 degrees. because she already had the esky it initially cost her about $50 inc bagged ice, but it could also be done with a big styrofoam box which many restaurants/butchers get a throw out...worth a shot for anyone who doesnt have the budget for a chiller ...i hope i explained it well enough!

ciele02 said:

Hi, yes it is connected to a cannister filter. Also a friend of mine made an AWESOME home made chiller. Sorry no picture so...so she had an old ESKY lying around that wasnt being used. in the top she drilled 2 holes (1 at each end through lid) then took about 10 meters of plastic tubing and connected it to her Filter output then fed the tubing through one whole coiled around in the esky then fed the other end back out through the other hole and connected it up to her spray bar. The esky was filled with ice. At first she bought about five bags. The water leaves the filter goes through about 8.5 meters of tubing thats is fully submerged in ice then goes into the tank. because it is in and esky the ice stays cold and frozen for days, and she just checks every other day to drain some water and ice which isnt usually much and she can now just top up from ice trays in freezer. It lowers the water temp by about 8 degrees. because she already had the esky it initially cost her about $50 inc bagged ice, but it could also be done with a big styrofoam box which many restaurants/butchers get a throw out...worth a shot for anyone who doesnt have the budget for a chiller ...i hope i explained it well enough!

Click to expand...

That sounds like a really great idea! I'll have to try that out when Spring comes around. Thank you for the information!

Ciele, thanks for the info
I have seen several 'DIY' chillers online with instructions... They seem interesting

May I ask what exactly is an "esky"?????

SariYappa said:

Ciele, thanks for the info
I have seen several 'DIY' chillers online with instructions... They seem interesting

May I ask what exactly is an "esky"?????

Click to expand...

An Esky is pretty much one of those plastic portable coolers that you can put drinks and such in. Like the kind of thing you would use at a picnic.