chillers

[jhampton_wsu]

I'm looking at chillers before the weather warms up. My priorities are noise, size and reliability. Does anybody have any experience with Teco's. I've gotten a recomendation for Oceanic but I can't seem to find a dba rating any where. My tank is a 90 with a 20 gallon sump. Teco recomends the 1/8 for this size set up but I'm thinking about the 1/5th. I've read a larger chiller will run for less time equaling, noise less often and less wear and tear on equipment. Since the 1/8 runs at 200w and the 1/5th runs 350 watts I'm curious if anyone knows which will be cheaper on the power bill? How many people in the Puget Sound Area have a chiller and what are your circumstances for needing it?

 

[fishoutofwater]

well i have an aqualogic and its a drop in chiller. no plumbing and a ranco dual controller. i have a 1/3 running a 50 and this summer will be upsizing to a 150. mine runs very little and is pretty quite. the trimline by aqualogic is smaller and more apeasing to the eye and is also quiter than mine. I would recomend the 1/3 as yes it will run less and if you ever upgrade it can easily handle up to 300 gallons with a 20 degree cool down. hope this helps. check www.marinedepot.com

 

[mfinn]

If noise is going to be one of the priorities, consider buying a inline chiller and placing it in another room.
I have my chiller outside on my patio. No noise.
My main reason for a chiller is I got tired of constantly worrying about the heat.
I have 3x250 watt mh and 4x160 watt VHO. Plus I have 3 Poseidon pumps, that are the absolutely quietest pumps made, but they will add some heat.

 

[Myteemouse]

thats what I gotta decide on also!!
What chiller do I want??
I might have to put it outside to cut down on noise??
But they are SOOOO exspensive!!

 

[mfinn]

Watch the for sale forum. Some great deals have been on there.
I bought mine at Dr. Foster and Smith.

 

[Ricko]

I have a Teco TR20 and is the only chiller i have owned so can't compare to others, but it is very good and no noisier than my skimmer!

 

[jhampton_wsu]

Thanks everyone. I'm also curious if I could put it under the house. It's well vented but I'm not sure how often I would need to access it. Has anyone had any experience with wired controllers maybe I could wire a controller into my stand and just access the chiller for maintenace.

 

[mfinn]

I put mine out of the way, but not so far out of the way that I couldn't see it or tell if there was a problem, like a leak.

 

[mfinn]

But they are SOOOO exspensive!!

IMO
It's one more piece of the puzzle to making a bullet proof system.
And that to me is priceless

 

[The Apprentice]

And that to me is priceless

Finn your so right no more temp swings the tank is a solid temp!!!! I have been running 2 chilers on both my tanks since the fall of 04.
Unit In the house make great heaters in the Fall-winter-spring I move them to the garage during the Summer months

IMO
It's one more piece of the puzzle to making a bullet proof system.
And that to me is priceless