Chillers - Aqualogic verses Tradewind Info To Share

[meitzler]

Does anyone have experience they can share with the Aqualogic or Tradewind drop-in chillers in the 1/3 to 1/2HP range. Just trying to determine the advantages and disadvantages of the two manufactures.

 

[hopper]

I just purchased a 1/3 hp Aqualogic drop-in chiller that is about a year old. Just got it set up tonight and it brought the temp in my 110 down two degrees in about thirty minutes. I guess it took this long because the coil had to get cold. I purchased the same make chiller, except it was 1/4 hp, for the school my son attends. It is on a 100 gal. FOWLR. They were having terrible heat issues in the tank because of where it is located in the school. The chiller did the trick. Went to clean the tank at the school a few days ago and the AC was not working in the school. Rushed in to check the tank and the chiller wasn't even kicked on and the tank was 79 degrees. It has worked flawlessly for the two months now that it has been in the tank. They are pricey, but well work the investment IMO. If I would have had this chiller last year after Hurricane Rita, I would not have lost several hundred dollars in livestock and corals. Generator is good for power outages, but you have to keep the tank cooled down. Without a chiller you might as well not have a generator IMO. At least where I live at, which is Louisiana.

I can't really compare the two models you are looking at though as I only have experience with the Aqualogic Cyclone chillers. Fairly quiet for a chiller this size. Has a little humming when running but it beats listening to a bunch of fans all day. They are easy to set up and you can get the dual stage controller which I would reccomend. They come with a single stage, but the upgrade to a dual stage is not that much.

 

[meitzler]

Aqualogic Chiller

Did you buy your's mail order or at the LFS? How was that experience and did you shop for best price.

My tank is approx 300 gal. So, I can considering the 1/3 or 1/2. They say you should have a separate electrical circuit. Do you.

Thanks for the input.

 

[hopper]

I bought the 1/4 hp from Drs. Foster & Smith for a little over $800 and this included the shipping. The 1/3 hp I bought from someone locally that is selling their tank. It is a year old and I bought it for $400. I thought this was a good price considering that it is only a year old and retails new for $925 or so. I shopped on the internet and Marine Depot and the Drs. F&S were the best prices at the time. More internet sites are starting to sell chillers though, so you might want to shop a little. Never even considered the LFS because I would not even want to think want price they would want.

As far as having a separate electrical circuit, I would think that it depends on how much of a load you are currently carrying before the chiller is added into it. I just plugged mine into an existing outlet where other stuff is already plugged in and it has been running fine. I am in the process though of thinking out an electrical cabinet for all my stuff to be plugged into instead of having power strips laying around. There is a thread on reefcentral right now in the DIY section detailing this if you are thinking of doing this and need to get some ideas. I am leaning towards using melev's style of cabinet with the DJ powercenters.

 

[meitzler]

Thanks. I really appreciate your input.

 

[SHEETMETALGURU]

Have you considered inline chillers? Whats the volume of your sump?My Pacific Coast 1/4 horse pulled down from 85 to 79 in about two hours.I prefer the inline over the drop in, it does'nt create much headpressure and it frees up the sump for the skimmer, macro and mangroves. TinMan

 

[meitzler]

Yes. Want to reduce the risk of water leakage with extra piping, and I do not need worry as much about of having the right flow or clogging of the input line. What size is your tank. 50 gal sump. probe does not seem to make much room. Both types have their advantages and disadvantages. Plus, I would rather buy american to keep people in the US working.

 

[SHEETMETALGURU]

Yes. Want to reduce the risk of water leakage with extra piping, and I do not need worry as much about of having the right flow or clogging of the input line. What size is your tank. 50 gal sump. probe does not seem to make much room. Both types have their advantages and disadvantages. Plus, I would rather buy american to keep people in the US working.

The display is 125 and sump/refugium is a tall 40. I wieghed all the options in my situation with mangroves and algea. I concluded that, I woul'd'nt drop a heat exchanger directly into a seagrass system, so why would I put one inside my sumpref? TinMan

 

[meitzler]

Well, I made the commitment to a Tradewind drop in. Any one else out there have an experience with them.