Chiller size- 60g cube with limited electricity.

[Diesel]

Hahaha.
Where you at now bro? Dallas or park city? Is your chiller running?

Been back from PC for a while.
Spend the weekend in Dallas and coming weekend heading to West Tx to the deer lease to get ready for a good year.
And my AC will be running in my cabin there.

Good to see you back at it my friend.

Vanessa, sorry to hijack your thread but Jason was lost in transition for a while.

 

[saltyfilmfolks]

Been back from PC for a while.
Spend the weekend in Dallas and coming weekend heading to West Tx to the deer lease to get ready for a good year.
And my AC will be running in my cabin there.

Good to see you back at it my friend.

Vanessa, sorry to hijack your thread but Jason was lost in transition for a while.

Good to hear man. Was wondering if you’d settled.
Just talked to a friend from alpine and the big bend.


This has been an official thread hijack.
We apologize for any inconvenience.

Lol.

 

[WitsNWrasse]

If I run the chillers on the patio and take an axe to my wall will that work ? SH cube backs up to the wall that goes to the patio, so that one would be close, but the reef is a bit far. Wish drop in chillers weren’t 2k. Lol

 

[Diesel]

If I run the chillers on the patio and take an axe to my wall will that work ? SH cube backs up to the wall that goes to the patio, so that one would be close, but the reef is a bit far. Wish drop in chillers weren’t 2k. Lol

Lovely condo young lady.
The only way to find out is to get one chiller as the one you mentioned to see if you can cool the pony’s down to 72*.
If that works you can get the same or a lesser for your other tank.

 

[saltyfilmfolks]

If I run the chillers on the patio and take an axe to my wall will that work ? SH cube backs up to the wall that goes to the patio, so that one would be close, but the reef is a bit far. Wish drop in chillers weren’t 2k. Lol

Diesel is the contractor , but I think you just need a big drill bit to run the pipes.

 

[WitsNWrasse]

Lovely condo young lady.
The only way to find out is to get one chiller as the one you mentioned to see if you can cool the pony’s down to 72*.
If that works you can get the same or a lesser for your other tank.

Thanks! Been trying to make it look like it wasn’t built in the 60s. Lol. The reef tanks help.

I definitely have a drill bit big enough, and sealing up a hole around a tube is in the realm of my abilities....

is 1/15 the smallest chiller size companies make? Seems to be the smallest I can find.

What’s more efficient- a bigger chiller that kicks on for half as long, or a smaller one that runs more consistently ?

 

[KJAG]

Chillers will be something from the past, not a whole lot of threads are posted about chillers.
IMO your 82* can be brought down with as simple as a fan.
My next question is how come your temps are that high?

Lovely condo young lady.
The only way to find out is to get one chiller as the one you mentioned to see if you can cool the pony’s down to 72*.
If that works you can get the same or a lesser for your other tank.

And here I was waiting to see what you had in mind to cool this tank since chillers are “something from the past.”

 

[Diesel]

Get the one that fits your your tank.
There isn’t really a benefit to get the larger as it just cools your tank faster and sometimes to fast.

 

[Diesel]

And here I was waiting to see what you had in mind to cool this tank since chillers are “something from the past.”

Well I had plenty in mind but if you don’t have a AC you are limited in a lot of options.
20 to 15 years ago it was a common thing to discuss chillers but nowadays you see one or two threads a month and in most cases ppl have a chiller as backup if the AC breaks down.

 

[KJAG]

Well I had plenty in mind but if you don’t have a AC you are limited in a lot of options.
20 to 15 years ago it was a common thing to discuss chillers but nowadays you see one or two threads a month and in most cases ppl have a chiller as backup if the AC breaks down.

Fair enough. I was just waiting for the part where you get a seahorse tank down to 72 in August with some fans.

 

[WitsNWrasse]

The ice probes actually work pretty well, I’ve been very surprised at their efficacy. If you wanted to keep dwarfs in a nano without a chiller and one ice probe, that would be 100% doable. But anything bigger a chiller is a must, or your living room needs to be an ice box. Break out the snow pants [emoji23]

Man does snow sound good right now in the heatwave....

 

[WitsNWrasse]

Get the one that fits your your tank.
There isn’t really a benefit to get the larger as it just cools your tank faster and sometimes to fast.

I’m going to start combing through Craigslist and the FS section around here- maybe I can get a used one.






What about adding insulation to the three visible sides while I’m at work ? Worth it or

 

[Diesel]

The fact I have three AC’s at my house will say enough.
I run my heater of the tank more in the summer than winter.
73* constant temp at my casa is no luxury.

 

[saltyfilmfolks]

I’m going to start combing through Craigslist and the FS section around here- maybe I can get a used one.






What about adding insulation to the three visible sides while I’m at work ? Worth it or

Do you know about SDreefs.com ? its San diegos craigslist for reefers. there is an equipment wanted section.
http://www.sdreefs.com/ lots of hoarders and folks willing to trade for frags.

 

[Diesel]

I’m going to start combing through Craigslist and the FS section around here- maybe I can get a used one.






What about adding insulation to the three visible sides while I’m at work ? Worth it or

Radiant barrier, normally we use it in a attics but in front of windows it will help stop the raidiant heat.

https://www.energy.gov/energysaver/weatherize/insulation/radiant-barriers

 

[Art2249]

A small AC only pulls about 3 amps and since your room temp doesnt need to drop very far it should work well and keep you cool at the same time.

 

[clark griswold]

The ice probes actually work pretty well, I’ve been very surprised at their efficacy. If you wanted to keep dwarfs in a nano without a chiller and one ice probe, that would be 100% doable. But anything bigger a chiller is a must, or your living room needs to be an ice box. Break out the snow pants [emoji23]

Man does snow sound good right now in the heatwave....

What is an ice probe? I have AC but my tank still gets up to 80 in the summer here in Texas. Looking for options.

 

[Jet915]

I live in Murrieta and got a used jbj for half the price of a new. I had the same issue where my tank electronics tripped my circuit breaker (15 amp). I had to get a dedicated 20 amp. You can always get the chiller and see how much power it is consuming. The electrician I had come in used some tool to see how much amps the circuit was drawing when everything was turned on. 2 chillers will really heat up your condo I would guess...

 

[jda]

I would get a 1/10th hp or about 1200-1500 BTU. Short cycling is not efficient, so running for a bit longer is best... but too long is not good and can be hard on compressors. These should be less than 3 amps running, but might be double that when starting up... depending on the model.

You might try bigger fans on the reef... computer fans are a joke next to something like a Vornado. Even with MH lighting, my reef stays cool in the summer here in Colorado with just these fans, but they make a computer fan look like a toy. To get to 72 for the horsies, you are going to need a chiller, IMO.

How many months are we talking about here? If it is more than half of the year, then AC might be better. Everywhere that I have ever lived is only 2-3 months where I have had to even use fans for heat.

Lastly, be smart about how you control the chiller. If they come with an internal thermostat and controller, then make sure that the unit "remembers" the temp setting so that you can use a Ranco or InkBird (or Apex) to control it. You need dual control.

 

[WitsNWrasse]

I would get a 1/10th hp or about 1200-1500 BTU. Short cycling is not efficient, so running for a bit longer is best... but too long is not good and can be hard on compressors. These should be less than 3 amps running, but might be double that when starting up... depending on the model.

You might try bigger fans on the reef... computer fans are a joke next to something like a Vornado. Even with MH lighting, my reef stays cool in the summer here in Colorado with just these fans, but they make a computer fan look like a toy. To get to 72 for the horsies, you are going to need a chiller, IMO.

How many months are we talking about here? If it is more than half of the year, then AC might be better. Everywhere that I have ever lived is only 2-3 months where I have had to even use fans for heat.

Lastly, be smart about how you control the chiller. If they come with an internal thermostat and controller, then make sure that the unit "remembers" the temp setting so that you can use a Ranco or InkBird (or Apex) to control it. You need dual control.

I mean, yeah- if you’re buying some cheap computer fans they are a joke. But if you’re buying something with 2500RPM made for gamers, that will both get the job done and not make your living room look tacky !!! I also have 2 box fans- so if I had any more fans going I wouldn’t be able to hear myself think LOL
The issue is that I can’t get an AC unit that wouldn’t trip my breakers in order to cool 900sqft of an open floor plan. I think running a small chiller might be more efficient since it is cooling a more contained space, but since I have never had one I can’t be sure. I usually start needing some cooling from May/June all the way through September/oct. I think you’re right, either way I’m going to need a chiller for the SH tank. It’s next to a wall to my patio so I’m thinking I can handle drilling a hole to run the tubes through and sealing it up nice and tight around it.

I live in Murrieta and got a used jbj for half the price of a new. I had the same issue where my tank electronics tripped my circuit breaker (15 amp). I had to get a dedicated 20 amp. You can always get the chiller and see how much power it is consuming. The electrician I had come in used some tool to see how much amps the circuit was drawing when everything was turned on. 2 chillers will really heat up your condo I would guess...

I bet I can get one of those on amazon- thanks ! I’m going to look into that.
I wish I was just able to get a dedicated breaker- but the line actually going into my condo can only handle 30amps max- so replacing or adding a breaker wouldn’t do much unfortunately.

What is an ice probe? I have AC but my tank still gets up to 80 in the summer here in Texas. Looking for options.

I got both of mine at BRS on sale for like 90 bucks a few years ago. I used one for a quarantine tank and one for a 24 g tank.

https://www.bulkreefsupply.com/ice...MIovbSkqPm3AIVgUSGCh1opQ1XEAQYAiABEgLZtfD_BwE

I have two on my 60g and it keeps it around 4 degrees cooler than my reef tank (both are cubes with matching pumps and lights). 60g is obviously much bigger than what they recommend, but these work great on larger tanks if you only need a minor amount of temp control. If you have a small tank, you can keep it prettty darn chilly.