Recommendations for Aquarium Chillers

[Ed Chan]

I have a 150g tank and my temps are on the higher side (82-83). Fish and corals are doing fine, but wanted to install a chiller to reach the more ideal temps of 78-79 degrees.

I'm fairly new to the reef game and wanted to see what all of you are using.

I'm looking for something reliable and of value.

Thanks in advance!

 

[Daniel@R2R Verified Admin]

Hmmm... I've never used a chiller, but maybe bumping this for someone else with experience will be helpful. Best of luck!

 

[Ed Chan]

Thanks!

I ended up purchasing the JBJ Antarctic 1/5 HP chiller for my 150g tank and so far it's been working great! After calibration, temp is at a steady 78 and is super quiet.

Hmmm... I've never used a chiller, but maybe bumping this for someone else with experience will be helpful. Best of luck!

 

[Daniel@R2R Verified Admin]

Thanks!

I ended up purchasing the JBJ Antarctic 1/5 HP chiller for my 150g tank and so far it's been working great! After calibration, temp is at a steady 78 and is super quiet.

Great!! Glad it's working for you!!

 

[coseal]

teco! i use a tk1000

TK-1000

Chiller Only Unit for standard systems & aquariums up to 200 gallonsClick Here for info on a model with a built-in heaterThe new TANK® chiller line is the next generation of TECO's flagship SeaChill™ aquarium chillers—used by consumers and professionals for over a decade. The TECO TANK is the re

www.tecous.com

 

[bblumberg]

I have 3 JBJ Arctica chillers. One (1/10 hp) is 13 years old, another (1/10 hp) I bought used (it is of indeterminate age) and the other (1/4 hp) is about 3 years old. Nothing but good things to say about JBJ chillers. All of them have been in continuous use.

 

[ca1ore]

I have used a number of chillers over the years; different brands and different sizes. My favorite, hands down, are the tradewinds units.

 

[Dr. Dendrostein]

I have a 150g tank and my temps are on the higher side (82-83). Fish and corals are doing fine, but wanted to install a chiller to reach the more ideal temps of 78-79 degrees.

I'm fairly new to the reef game and wanted to see what all of you are using.

I'm looking for something reliable and of value.

Thanks in advance!

I have 7-10 chillers, and repair for some LRS. I'm HVACR contractor, of all chillers I've owned/built. The Aqua Logic is built like a commercial unit. Pricey but worth every cent.
Next choice Coral life chillers, lightweight for being a chiller. Hope this helps. Comrade

 

[jd371]

What would you recommend for a smaller tank that I'd like to keep more stable? I have a 20g L anemone tank with a 10g sump. The tank is in my workshop that has no AC and also houses the boiler for the house so the ambient temperature gets pretty high, especially during the summer and heatwaves. The last major heat wave was a couple of weeks ago and the tank temp reached 84.8 even with a fan on top. First summer with this tank and on average the daily swing is about 4 degrees. Besides the snails slowing down the high temperatures haven't phased the rest of the tank inhabitants and everything is doing fine.

 

[Dr. Dendrostein]

What would you recommend for a smaller tank that I'd like to keep more stable? I have a 20g L anemone tank with a 10g sump. The tank is in my workshop that has no AC and also houses the boiler for the hiouse so the ambient temperature gets pretty high, especially during the summer and heatwaves. The last major heat wave was a couple of weeks ago and the tank temp reached 84.8 even with a fan on top. First summer with this tank and on average the daily swing is about 4 degrees. Besides the snails slowing down the high temperatures haven't phased the rest of the tank inhabitants and everything is doing fine.

First plan on having the chiller outside the building, if not possible, with what you mention, chiller will operate but will go out eventually. I work with some of the most demanding corals, dendronephthya and scleronephthya colonies. So temps are 76-78. Go with what manufacturer recommends and bump size up. I have one 24 gallon DT, it gets at times 115 here so 1/4hp chiller just makes it. Hope that helps

 

[Danj]

Chiller might be an expensive and complicated solution to a problem that a simple fan might be able to solve. I have a 130g tank that was getting up above 81.5 during the day last week.

I got a $14 Honeywell fan, mounted it to the wall, then plugged it into a port on my apex with fairly simple logic (if temp > 78.5 then ON) and it has so far completely solved my problem. It even passed the wife acceptance test for atheistics.

Edit: if you don't have an Apex, you can achieve the same thing with one of those inkbird heater controllers which are only $35.

 

[Blitheran]

A fan should do the job, it's cheap and can last quite a while very inexpensive. I would also get a temperature controller, either apex or cheaper alternatives like the ink bird or bayite temperature controller.

 

[HB Fisheye]

I have a 120g with a canopy. Temps were getting hot for me as well so I started researching chillers. I decided before I spend the money on a chiller I would try to fan method, similar to @Danj idea. I went with two fans mounted to my light rack. It works perfectly. I have no to plans to buy a chiller at this point. However, tank location and where you live have something to do with it. That's my rant.

 

[jd371]

First plan on having the chiller outside the building, if not possible, with what you mention, chiller will operate but will go out eventually. I work with some of the most demanding corals, dendronephthya and scleronephthya colonies. So temps are 76-78. Go with what manufacturer recommends and bump size up. I have one 24 gallon DT, it gets at times 115 here so 1/4hp chiller just makes it. Hope that helps

Thank you for the information, it helped in my decision. Since it's a 20g I've decided it would be easier to move the tank into the house, just need to find a spot now.

 

[ca1ore]

A fan/evaporative cooling can absolutely work, though it does depend upon relative humidity and the amount of heat to be removed.

 

[Blue Spot Octopus]

JBJ 1/15 should work nicely on that size tank.

 

[Abdullah Al Faruq]

I have a 120g with a canopy. Temps were getting hot for me as well so I started researching chillers. I decided before I spend the money on a chiller I would try to fan method, similar to @Danj idea. I went with two fans mounted to my light rack. It works perfectly. I have no to plans to buy a chiller at this point. However, tank location and where you live have something to do with it. That's my rant.

Please inform us about the temperature drop you have achieved.

 

[HOLYREEFER]

I used to use a JBJ chiller on my 220 and it worked like a charm just got rid of it cuz I went to LED but it lasted easily 10 plus years

 

[14 foot reef]

I'm a dealer for tradewinds, let me know if you want and estimate for a chiller. Head to their site, I have a 2 HP on my 850 gallon system. it is bullet proof.

TradeWind Chillers | Fish Aquarium & Tank Water Chillers

www.tradewindchillers.com