Suggested Chillers?

[kart_racer3]

Summer is finally here, and without air conditioning in my home the water temperature in my reef aquarium is starting to creep over the 90 degree mark (I've had to shut the lights off during the day to slow the increasing temp). The behavior of my fish hasn't been affected yet, but I am going to look into a water chiller. Is there a particular brand or type that you can recommend? I have a 90 gallon reef system with a 20 gallon sump. Are the "refrigerant types" recommended over the regular "fan cooled"? Any input is appreciated, as I have never had to deal with chillers before.

 

[RLG2182]

http://www.captivereefs.com/captivereefs/listcat1.asp?CatID=ch

PM Darin at captive reefs and inquire... I trust anything that he sells.

 

[sdellin]

I have a 55-gallon tank and purchased ViaAqua Polar Bear chiller, model cc-25. Easy to hook up and it brought the temp down from 85 to 78 in just a few days. I set it to cool by two degrees each day to avoid sudden temp drop, but it's been maintaining a temp of 78 for some time now and my house is hot! ViaAqua has a cc-50 unit that is made for larger tanks (up to 120 I think). Info at www.commodityaxis.com.

I paid $320 with shipping on ebay, but it's listed at $450 elsewhere plus shipping. This is an in-line chiller, not in-tank or sump. Good luck.

 

[captivereefs]

go with the pacific coast 1/10 chiller. They are bullet proof and the company stands behind them great!. The commodity axis stuff is basically rio products and i cannot recomend them.

 

[kart_racer3]

I was wondering if the Arctica Titanium Aquarium Chillers are of good quality? They seem to be reasonably equipped for the price range that they are in. For my application (90 gallon reef environment and 20 gallon sump) would you recommend the 1/10 or 1/5 horsepower model? Stats included below:

Model HP Capacity(BTU/hr) Amps Flow Rate
DBA-075 1/10 1270 2.63 240/960
DBA-150 1/5 2400 5.00 480/1320

Between the Pacific Coast chiller and the chiller I mentioned, is there one that you would recommend over the other? Are the both similarly equipped (digital temp setting, etc)?

Thanks again for your input.