Chill Solutions CSXC-1 Unboxing and Installation

[Halfaro]

Thank you very much for the updates and insight. It looks like this chiller is sold out everywhere due to the virus, I've been eyeing it for a few weeks now as I plan on setting up a 30 gallon seahorse tank and I only need a 4-5 degree drop. I was also going to try the tunze aquawind but that has been out of stock everywhere too.

 

[reefiniteasy]

Thank you very much for the updates and insight. It looks like this chiller is sold out everywhere due to the virus, I've been eyeing it for a few weeks now as I plan on setting up a 30 gallon seahorse tank and I only need a 4-5 degree drop. I was also going to try the tunze aquawind but that has been out of stock everywhere too.

Send them an email and ask when they’ll have more. They respond quick. Great customer service. If you must have it for your project, I would hold off until you can get one. You won’t be disappointed. It’s worth it.

 

[reefiniteasy]

I’d offer to sell it but we just bought a generator for hurricane season and I’ll need it to cool the tank if the power goes out.

 

[Halfaro]

I appreciate the thought, I have a few more weeks for my tank to establish, so I'm hoping stocking levels go up soon. I will reach out to them to see if they have an idea for when they will be able to reload their inventory.

 

[immortl]

I too am finally looking to buy and install one and reached out to Chill Solutions this morning, 6/12. They said they expect to have them in stock next week, week of 6/15 sometime. I'm currently debating between this which seems just right, or a 1/15th HP Arctica Mini Chiller which may be somewhat overkill and about 2x the price.

 

[immortl]

I received an email from Chill Solutions this evening letting me know they had a small number of the units in stock and had updated their website. I just checked and they were still in stock and I placed my order for one.

 

[Halfaro]

I kept checking their site and I did see they were in stock, so I also pulled the trigger. It's sitting in a box ready to be installed, hopefully I'll get to it this weekend. Thanks again Alex. As a backup, I also got the tunze aquawind, I figured I could use it as a backup for maintenance periods or for emergencies if the chiller ever gives me issues.

 

[reefiniteasy]

@immortl and @Halfaro do not expect to see a quick drop in temp. I can’t explain it, but it takes roughly 24 hours for it to do its thing.

 

[Halfaro]

Awesome, thanks. I have a 29 gallon tank, which looks to be the upper limit of what the chiller can handle, so I will definitely be patient.

 

[immortl]

Mine is sitting here too and ready to be installed. I'm curious what folks' thoughts are on where exactly to plumb it in to my current setup. I have an external algae reactor (aquamaxx cylinder deal) and I'd like to insert the chiller inline with either the input to the reactor (so between the tank and reactor, water flowing out of the tank, through the chiller, and then in to the reactor), or output from the reactor (again, between tank and reactor, but with the flow passing out of the reactor, through the chiller, and then back into the tank). I'd really like to use this existing pump and put the chiller in one of these two locations. But I think I need to figure out the water temp difference between entering the reactor and leaving, because...

Overnight, I suspect the lights wrapped around the reactor cylinder warm up the water as it passes through the reactor. I'm paying closer attention but I think I see a 2 degree rise in tank temperature at night. So I see, maybe, problems with using this loop.

If I put the chiller after the reactor, it's going to think the tank itself is a good bit warmer than it actually is and will try to cool the water to a point where the temp of the water exiting the reactor is at the set point. This could result in a cooler tank temp than the set point. I could figure out what this differential is and adjust the setpoint accordingly. But then when the reactor lights are off during the day, the tank would be warmer than I would want.

If I put the chiller before the reactor, chilled water is entering the reactor, potentially reducing the temp there before the water makes it's way up to the tank. I wonder what this differential would be and if it would impact the growth of chaeto at all?

And I very well may be way overthinking this whole thing, given that the changes are not instantaneous. Seems like I need to play around with a temp probe or two and see if there is actually much of a temperature differential between water going into the reactor and that coming out of it, before I put the chiller in place.

What do you guys think?

 

[reefiniteasy]

Mine is sitting here too and ready to be installed. I'm curious what folks' thoughts are on where exactly to plumb it in to my current setup. I have an external algae reactor (aquamaxx cylinder deal) and I'd like to insert the chiller inline with either the input to the reactor (so between the tank and reactor, water flowing out of the tank, through the chiller, and then in to the reactor), or output from the reactor (again, between tank and reactor, but with the flow passing out of the reactor, through the chiller, and then back into the tank). I'd really like to use this existing pump and put the chiller in one of these two locations. But I think I need to figure out the water temp difference between entering the reactor and leaving, because...

Overnight, I suspect the lights wrapped around the reactor cylinder warm up the water as it passes through the reactor. I'm paying closer attention but I think I see a 2 degree rise in tank temperature at night. So I see, maybe, problems with using this loop.

If I put the chiller after the reactor, it's going to think the tank itself is a good bit warmer than it actually is and will try to cool the water to a point where the temp of the water exiting the reactor is at the set point. This could result in a cooler tank temp than the set point. I could figure out what this differential is and adjust the setpoint accordingly. But then when the reactor lights are off during the day, the tank would be warmer than I would want.

If I put the chiller before the reactor, chilled water is entering the reactor, potentially reducing the temp there before the water makes it's way up to the tank. I wonder what this differential would be and if it would impact the growth of chaeto at all?

And I very well may be way overthinking this whole thing, given that the changes are not instantaneous. Seems like I need to play around with a temp probe or two and see if there is actually much of a temperature differential between water going into the reactor and that coming out of it, before I put the chiller in place.

What do you guys think?

I don’t know if installing in line with the reactor is a good idea. If you install it before, you’re cooling the water Only to have it possibly warm up from the reactor before it enters the tank. If you install it after the reactor, it might have to work harder to cool the water because of the reactor. You’ll have to let us know how you decide to do it.

 

[immortl]

I agree. Athough, I already have 2 pumps in the 3rd back chamber and am hesitant to add a 3rd. I'm sitting here watching the tank and pondering and am starting to think, maybe I can split the output from the 2nd pump, a Sicce Syncra 1.5 (~375gph), and branch one line off to the reactor and the second line over through the chiller. This should slow the flow rate through the chiller (and reactor, don't think that's a big deal) down more in line with what is recommended. I see now that I looked up the pump I have and the one they sell, my current pump's flow rate would be more than recommended.

 

[reefiniteasy]

I used the rio pump that the install kit came with until it broke. I then picked up this Sicce Nano pump. It’s tiny and works well. Can probably fit with the others in that chamber if you want it on its own loop.

 

[Halfaro]

Mine is sitting here too and ready to be installed. I'm curious what folks' thoughts are on where exactly to plumb it in to my current setup. I have an external algae reactor (aquamaxx cylinder deal) and I'd like to insert the chiller inline with either the input to the reactor (so between the tank and reactor, water flowing out of the tank, through the chiller, and then in to the reactor), or output from the reactor (again, between tank and reactor, but with the flow passing out of the reactor, through the chiller, and then back into the tank). I'd really like to use this existing pump and put the chiller in one of these two locations. But I think I need to figure out the water temp difference between entering the reactor and leaving, because...

Overnight, I suspect the lights wrapped around the reactor cylinder warm up the water as it passes through the reactor. I'm paying closer attention but I think I see a 2 degree rise in tank temperature at night. So I see, maybe, problems with using this loop.

If I put the chiller after the reactor, it's going to think the tank itself is a good bit warmer than it actually is and will try to cool the water to a point where the temp of the water exiting the reactor is at the set point. This could result in a cooler tank temp than the set point. I could figure out what this differential is and adjust the setpoint accordingly. But then when the reactor lights are off during the day, the tank would be warmer than I would want.

If I put the chiller before the reactor, chilled water is entering the reactor, potentially reducing the temp there before the water makes it's way up to the tank. I wonder what this differential would be and if it would impact the growth of chaeto at all?

And I very well may be way overthinking this whole thing, given that the changes are not instantaneous. Seems like I need to play around with a temp probe or two and see if there is actually much of a temperature differential between water going into the reactor and that coming out of it, before I put the chiller in place.

What do you guys think?

I just mounted it over the center, I don't have a sump or much room to the sides, so for now it is there and I'll see how it goes the next few days. I was concerned that it would blow a ton of hot air over the tank negating the cooling effect, but so far, by the time the air travels a few inches it's fairly cool, so I hope it will be a non issue. I have the outlet hose held by a clamp as you can see until I get a nozzle I ordered in.

I ordered the install kit without the pump, and I wanted to get the smallest "good" pump to reduce the wattage, so I have a sicce nano circulation pump mounted in the top third of the tank so it wouldn't have to work so hard to push the water out. The clear hose from the kit was a bit too bendy and it looked like it was going to kink eventually, so I used black hose I had that is much more firm and is a tighter fit in the in/outlet of the chiller.
Please ignore the crud on the surface of the water, I'm still cycling and have a protein skimmer to still install. I wanted to get this in and working before moving ahead.

 

[Halfaro]

I just saw the other posts, I bought the exact same pump to power the chiller.

 

[immortl]

I installed the CSXC-1 this weekend and it has been working very well for me.

I ended up splitting the output hose on the Sicce Syncra 1.5, one leg goes to the chaeto reactor, the other leg goes to the chiller. I checked and with 2 pumps in the 3rd rear chamber already (and ATO sensor), I don't think a third pump would have fit. The return for the chiller is dumped into the main tank, against the back wall, right next to the reactor return.

In my case, having just done a large water change (23 gallon total water volume in the tank, changed out 18 gallons), the water temp started out where I wanted it, the chiller's task was just to maintain it. The water temperature has not gone more than a few tenths of a degree over the chiller set temperature since it was installed. Previously when I woke up in the morning and checked the tank, the temp would be up around 83 or so. This morning it was right at 80, my set point. I am very happy and excited to not have to toss in frozen water bottles every day.

Thanks,
Joe

 

[Halfaro]

That's awesome!

Mine is just under 74 degrees, it maybe took 6 to 8 hours to get there from almost 77 degrees. The plan is to make this a seahorse tank, so I hope it holds up. So far I am impressed, the fan noise doesn't bother me one bit.

 

[petefish]

How do you clean the heat sink?

 

[reefiniteasy]

How do you clean the heat sink?

Compressed air.