CHEAP Chillers

[Zach Sonker]

Never had a chiller before, recently came across a cheap old jbj 28gal hqi... read online these get hot.

Anyone ever use these cheap chillers on ebay? I dont know if its better to save up for a new better chiller, wait on a used chiller of a better brand, or try getting one of these and hoping it works.

https://www.ebay.com/p/Aquarium-Adj...-160gph-Water-Pump/591362750?iid=252429275529

Link included, I've always used leds or tubes, first halide light (and I want to try it.)

THANKS!

 

[Mark Gray]

Flowwing I got to do the chiller thing 2 but I want to try to do 2 tanks with 1 chiller

 

[Jeepguy242]

Looks like a radiator with a fan on it. Dos it use a compressor and Freon. If it doesn’t then it will only cool the water to room temperature and probably won’t keep up with cooling the tank

 

[Bouncingsoul39]

With only 72w I doubt it can offer any real cooling and for the price I don't think it is a true chiller with a condenser. This is the best budget chiller you can get that is a true chiller with a condenser:
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0048IVBT...t=&hvlocphy=9031042&hvtargid=pla-350859033263

 

[Ryan Rosales]

It’s a chiller using a Peltier device (thermoelectric chiller/heater) to cool your aquarium water, the technology is also used for commercial applications such as microprocessor cooling, drinks and champagne chiller, mobile cooling boxes and more, the Peltier device is also being used in space due to its low operating voltage and power consumption.
Similar to the technology of Chill Solutions CSXC-1 and Ice Probe* by Coolworks.
Make sure it’s with a titanium heat exchanger for seawater use.

 

[Ryan Rosales]

With only 72w I doubt it can offer any real cooling and for the price I don't think it is a true chiller with a condenser. This is the best budget chiller you can get that is a true chiller with a condenser:
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0048IVBT...t=&hvlocphy=9031042&hvtargid=pla-350859033263

That’s a good working chiller! I’ve had that last summer since my tank temp was sky rocketing from 77’F to as high as 85.6’F. Kept the temperature stable with 1-2’F differential.
That’s similar to Aqua Euro USA chiller but way, way more affordable.

 

[Zach Sonker]

With only 72w I doubt it can offer any real cooling and for the price I don't think it is a true chiller with a condenser. This is the best budget chiller you can get that is a true chiller with a condenser:
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0048IVBT...t=&hvlocphy=9031042&hvtargid=pla-350859033263

Thanks, that chiller actually is on a top 10 list for best chillers of 2017... i wish they had a 1/15 version... thanks a lot guys, first halide light and i dont want to come home to boiled fish.

 

[Bouncingsoul39]

Might as well get a 1/10th, will work more efficiently and you'll be upgrading to a larger tank in the future anyways.

 

[jda]

Ideally, you will want a chiller with a titanium heat exchanger so that it does not break down in saltwater. There is some debate on if a stainless, copper, tin, etc. exchanger will release metals into the tank in sufficient quantites to be an issue, but there is no doubt that they will break down over time. If you know what the heat exchanger is made of, then you could ask Dr. Holmes-Farley if it poses an issue.

Always pay attention the heat exchanger on any chiller, but especially hydroponics ones since most metal will not corrode as much in freshwater.

 

[xCry0x]

With only 72w I doubt it can offer any real cooling and for the price I don't think it is a true chiller with a condenser. This is the best budget chiller you can get that is a true chiller with a condenser:
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0048IVBT...t=&hvlocphy=9031042&hvtargid=pla-350859033263

I got this chiller. It works - but I would recommend having a controller control it. The thermostat on it only handles round numbers and requires it to surpass a 2* change to turn the condenser on. So I had it set for 79 and it would hit 82 before turning on and dropping back down to 79.

I switched it to my controller that is set to 80* and triggers heating/cooling with 0.5 changes. So at 80.5 chiller kicks on and drops it down to 79.5.

 

[Cae]

I brought a second hand Hailea hc-150A it works great at keeping the temp down in the tank, but it puts out a lot of heat into the room from the unit. All my other tanks were heating up about 3-4 deg c. Not worth the 300 I paid. I am going to invest in a window reverse cycle air con. I will only have to turn it on twice a day for about an hour to cool the room and the same with the heat setting in winter. At the moment I'm running about 800w in heaters. I can hopefully get rid of 6 cords in the process.