Chiller set up for axolotls

[Kaiiak]

Hi all! I am currently cycling a fifty gallon tank in hopes of making a good home for my future axolotls. I purchased the active aqua chiller with power boost 1/4 hp aach25hp. It does not come with hosing or any attachments. I believe I need to purchase a submersible pump but I do not know where to begin. I just need it to be powerful enough and mainly I need to know how to attach it to the chiller. Any help would be very greatly appreciated. Thanks all!

 

[minorhero]

If you are using a canister filter then you can attach it inline with the return on the canister filter. If you are using a sponge filter then you are right, you will need a submersible pump in the tank. That chiller comes with attachments for 1/2 inch and 3/4" tubing. In this case you should go with the 1/2" tubing as it will be easier to work with. So you will need some 1/2 vinyl tubing (can be purchased at a hardware store or online) and a pump that will connect 1/2" tubing in and produce flow in the 396‒925 gallons / hour range (the rate of your chiller). There are a lot of options for this, here is one random option I found on amazon. Good luck.

 

[Kaiiak]

If you are using a canister filter then you can attach it inline with the return on the canister filter. If you are using a sponge filter then you are right, you will need a submersible pump in the tank. That chiller comes with attachments for 1/2 inch and 3/4" tubing. In this case you should go with the 1/2" tubing as it will be easier to work with. So you will need some 1/2 vinyl tubing (can be purchased at a hardware store or online) and a pump that will connect 1/2" tubing in and produce flow in the 396‒925 gallons / hour range (the rate of your chiller). There are a lot of options for this, here is one random option I found on amazon. Good luck.

I do have a canister filter & I had no idea you could do that! Thank you so much!

 

[Kaiiak]

I spoke too soon & I am an extreme beginner. How will my canister filter get water to it? It currently has a submersible pump attached to the output. Do I attach the chiller to the hose that pumps water into the aquarium and then run the chillers output into the aquarium? Thanks again so much.

 

[minorhero]

I spoke too soon & I am an extreme beginner. How will my canister filter get water to it? It currently has a submersible pump attached to the output. Do I attach the chiller to the hose that pumps water into the aquarium and then run the chillers output into the aquarium? Thanks again so much.

Something is a bit off in this explanation as canister filters do not use submersible pumps outside of the one built into the canister filter itself. Can you post a picture of your filtration setup? Do you by chance have a sump?

 

[Kaiiak]

I spoke too soon & I am an extreme beginner. How will my canister filter get water to it? It currently has a submersible pump attached to the output. Do I attach the chiller to the hose that pumps water into the aquarium and then run the chillers output into the aquarium? Thanks again so much.

That is what is attached on the inside. It runs to the canister that is underneath the tank and flows back in through another hose. I’m sorry that my terminology is off this was a gift from a friend who previously used it.

 

[Kaiiak]

The water is only cloudy because I just added sand and it hasn’t settled yet.

 

[minorhero]

This is a filter setup I have never seen before. Presumably there is just a tube on the return side that goes into the aquarium? That is where you would attach the chiller with another tube leading out of the chiller into the aquarium.

 

[Kaiiak]

That is the canister it leads to and the hose that pumps water back into the aquarium (return?) it is possible that I set it up wrong, would not be surprised at all. However, water is being pumped out & into the tank.

 

[minorhero]

Ok that is a canister filter and it looks like there is an electric cord coming out of it which is what I would expect. The canister filter has a pump inside of it (usually in the lid with these models). I've not seen someone put a pump on the intake to feed water to the canister filter beyond what the filter itself can pull in.

Anyway the tube that water comes out of the aquarium is called the inflow or intake, the tube that comes out of the canister filter and goes back to the aquarium is called the outflow or return. This latter tube where the water flows out of the canister filter and into the aquarium is the one you want to attach to the chiller. You will want to use the 3/4" fittings for this since the tubes on your canister filter are almost certainly 5/8". The 5/8" size can stretch to fit the 3/4" fitting. You just need to heat up the ends slightly in warm water or with a heatgun or even a hair dryer. You will need at least one short length of tubing to run from the canister filter to the chiller. Hopefully this makes sense good luck.

 

[Kaiiak]

Ok that is a canister filter and it looks like there is an electric cord coming out of it which is what I would expect. The canister filter has a pump inside of it (usually in the lid with these models). I've not seen someone put a pump on the intake to feed water to the canister filter beyond what the filter itself can pull in.

Anyway the tube that water comes out of the aquarium is called the inflow or intake, the tube that comes out of the canister filter and goes back to the aquarium is called the outflow or return. This latter tube where the water flows out of the canister filter and into the aquarium is the one you want to attach to the chiller. You will want to use the 3/4" fittings for this since the tubes on your canister filter are almost certainly 5/8". The 5/8" size can stretch to fit the 3/4" fitting. You just need to heat up the ends slightly in warm water or with a heatgun or even a hair dryer. You will need at least one short length of tubing to run from the canister filter to the chiller. Hopefully this makes sense good luck.

Thank you!