Buying a Chiller

[Gauge]

I'm definitely buying a chiller in the next few days. I know that a lot of you think that swamp boxes, fans, etc. are the way to go. I, on the other hand, prefer peace of mind and not having to worry about these things. I live in an apartment and have no easy way to mount a fan on the tank. Even if I did, I can't be guaranteed that I will in the next apartment we lease. I want to just get a chiller and be done with it.

I'm running a 92-gallon tank with about a 13-gallon sump (rough measurement), a 250-watt MH, and 110 watts of PC. My tank usually is about 80 in the morning and 82 in the evening if I don't turn on the MH. If I do turn on the MH it could go as high as 85, but I'm not sure. I don't even use my MH now because I'm afraid of what the temp will do. I keep the apartment at about 75*F, but the room the tank is in tends to be much warmer than the rest of the apartment.

So, having done my best to squash the "put fans on the tank" responses and to give you an idea of my situation, what chillers do you guys recommend and for what reasons? The 1/10HP Pacific Coast chiller is sounding pretty good, but I'm not sure that it would be sufficient in a warmer apartment (which we may have eventually). I'm looking for the ability to have the tank stable at 75*F when the ambient temp is as high as 85*F with the lights on. What do you recommend?

 

[Gauge]

*bump*

 

[morphviper]

to save some money you could do a diy chiller. if you want to know how send me a private message and I will tell you how. Easy and less than a $100 in most cases.

 

[Gauge]

My mind is made up. I don't rellish the thought of spending that much money, but I do rellish the thought of the peace of mind. I'm not looking for a home-brew solution or any way to cut a few corners. I really just want to shell out the cash and then not have to worry about it again.

I'm really just looking for people to post saying, "I have <insert chiller name>, and my opinion of it is <insert opinion>." Every thread I read where someone asks this question, they are confronted with all the reasons not to get a chiller. I just want to know which ones are good buys and which aren't. I'm not interested in how to get around buying a chiller. I'm past that already.

I don't mean this as a flame, and I appreciate the advice. I just want to make clear what info I'm looking for.

 

[Mrbill]

*off topic*

Being from the NY/NJ area, everytime I see the word "chiller" I can't help but be reminded of the Chiller Theater Saturday movies I watched as a kid, with the six fingered hand coming out of the ground.

Chhhhiiiiiiillllllllllleeeeerrrrrrr.

Anyone else remember that?

 

[Phyl]

I have a pacific coast 1/10 hp chiller that I got as part of a really good deal so I couldn't pass it up. Unfortunately I don't have an opinion on it since I haven't installed it. I don't have a heat problem yet but am working on a new canopy that will house my MH lights. I bought it JIC because the deal was just too good to pass up. Just parting out stuff would return more than my investment!

I read a thread on RC about there being a problem with one of their models. If you do a search over there on Pacific Coast (or the model number) you might find what I'm talking about. I don't remember the details.

HTH.