Anybody try a chiller to keep the temps down?

[bubba]

Is there a good, inexpensive 1 out there?

http://www.bigalsonline.com/catalog/product.xml?product_id=21987;category_id=1705

 

[michael]

For my purposes chillers don't drop the temp as much as I would like for hot July and August days. That's why I plan to air condition my basement this year. The technology is changing and it might be cheaper to chill a tank or two. If the tank has any size to it or you have several tanks air conditioning the room is cheaper and more efficient.

 

[colin]

You could try going round some bars and clubs and seeing if they have any old beer chillers lying about, the ones that pump the beer through coils to chill them.

Also, try and phone up any local companies that sell or rent cooling towers for bottled water like the ones in offices, they sometimes have the ones that purify and chill mains water.

I have had chillers from both on aquariums and as long as they are well cleaned out they do great. Think they cost about £20 or so

 

[edward]

I agree with Mike. It is often easier (and may be less expensive) to cool the entire room if you have multiple enclosures that need to be chilled. One of the big drawbacks to any sort of chiller is that these are made to exhaust the excess heat into the room (and usually very close to the enclosure you are trying to cool). In a small room or if the chiller is inside a stand under the tank can cause the chiller to work against itself to the point it is ineffectual. These guys are also energy hogs and often pull more than a room air conditioner.

Ed

 

[k.]

I am impressed with cost of that chiller. I would want to do more research on the unit's specifications before I dropped $400 on it.

If I personally need a chiller, I would modify a minifridge by drilling two holes in the side and looping PVC braided poly tubing inside. THen use a powerhead type pump to circulate water. This method has got to be more efficient than cooling a whole room.

I use exclusively aquanetics chillers, we haven't had any problems and their support is great. I recently installed a flow through chiller on a mudpuppy tank that is exposed to a hot lobby area, and is right next to two 2hp pumps. I am glad I did because before I put animals in it the temps were pushing 80!

 

[edward]

Hi Kory,
This method has been discussed to death on some of the old reef forums. The weak link in this type of home made chiller is the rate of flow inside the coils. The rate of flow usually needs to be very slow to drop the temperature of the fluid inside the tubes and to effectively transfer the drop to the aquarium. This is very difficult on bigger systems or when an pump that is cooled by the water passing through it (like your powerhead) are used. Plus an inefficent fridge is an energy hog and most of the inexpensive fridges can bump up the electric bill.
When you chill a couple of aquariums then a chiller isn't too bad but when you have multiple enclosures, it is easier to chill the room as the vented heat is outside of the room (unlike the chillers heat exchange which is still vented inside the room).
If you are handy with tools then another route to go would be to buy the coleman coolers with the built in chiller units and either replace the lid with a see through pane or cut and install a window into the side/top of the cooler.
Another item to consider is that chiller units for aquariums are not rated for their energy efficency (if I remember correctly) unlike window mounted ac units. (And for $400 you can get a pretty good window unit).

Ed

 

[bubba]

Thanks

I think I'll try using an ice/air con combo this summer if there is a serious temp elevation in the tank.