Chiller reviews

[14biocube]

I'm looking for a chiller for my 14g biocube, and I came across this fairly inexpensive one:

Aqua Euro USA Aquarium Nano Chiller CL-150
(I cant post links yet)

Does anyone know about it? Is it a good one? Thanks!

[quader94]

well before spending money on a chiller. have you considered adding fans?

[Neuticle]

Often times, a $20 investment in some fans and an inverter, placed in the right places can knock a few degrees off even a big system. I have three computer case fans that cool a 130gal system with ~600 watts of light and 7 various pumps. My tank never exceeds 83 deg now, and the best part is they only use 10 watts.

[14biocube]

BTW, i dont have my tank set up yet, Im just getting everything ready, probably shouldve said that first
How do you add fans? Ive heard about this, do you put them in the lid? Also, I want to keep it around 75-78 all the time, and I dont have AC, so in the summer my house gets hot...I might just pay for a chiller for the "peace of mind" and for no temp fluctuations. Anyone know of good chillers for nanos?

[Neuticle]

You'll likely need a chiller if you're looking to keep the tank at 75 degrees, double if you have a hot house.

In my tank I have had a few 86 deg days with no lasting ill effects. It did spike to 88 when I added my halides, I saw the bases of a few corals start to whiten and I fixed the air flow. Now I max out at 83 or 84 on warm days, but usually run about 80.

Keep in mind, a chiller uses a decent amount of power and the unit will give off heat. You'll sweat a bit more if you don't have AC.

[14biocube]

Ok, its gonna be in a large room on a metal shelf under a table top, and the metal has holes in it, so it would have alot of ventilation. (Its like a butcher block table top with metal racks underneath)Im looking at the Current 1/15 HP Nano Chiller.

[Fly Guy]

pound for pound the 1/10 aqua-euro chiller I used to use was the best little chiller I have ever seen. And I have used other brands of small chillers including PCI and prime/current. I use a tradewinds now on a larger system and a PCI on a smaller system but still have the aquaeuro on the shelf but it needs a new mother board. It went after 4 years.

The 1/10 Current I used sucked. Granted this is based on only owning one and I may have gotten a lemon, but the thing was near worthless

agree that evaporative cooling can do wonders if planned out though. 2 or 3 good small fans hooked into a Ranco dual stage controller that runs the fans and your heater when needed is a good way to go if you have good fresh air supply and need 5 degrees or less of pull down. Gauge this at worst case scenario though. if you even think that at one time during the year you may need 10-15 degrees, then buy the chiller