Chiller Selection for 28 Gallon Nanocube HQI

[jonboyb]

I've decided on the 28 gallon Nanocube HQI and I'm going to go ahead and purchase a chiller for it. What's everyone's opionion? I'm looking at the Current and JBJ 1/10 hp models, but what pump should I use for circulation? Thanks.

[dskidmore]

Will evaporative cooling with automatic topoff not work in your situation? (In a humid envrioment the chiller would be better, in an aird enviroment, why waste the power?)

[melosu58]

Moved to General Hardware and equipment discussion.

[jonboyb]

Originally Posted by dskidmore

Will evaporative cooling with automatic topoff not work in your situation? (In a humid envrioment the chiller would be better, in an aird enviroment, why waste the power?)

I honestly don't know, but the humidity here stays pretty stifling during the spring and summer. I also use programmable thermostats in my house to keep the electric bill from eating me alive and it gets fairly warm during the summer days I'm away from home (probably 80'ish worst case). Every LFS I've talked to says I'll more than likely have to have a chiller, as the JBJ Nanocube 28 HQI produces alot of heat on it's own. In fact, the heat produced by the JBJ is by far the most common complaint with the system.

[dskidmore]

Can't hurt to try evaporative cooling out. You probably have a suitable fan around, or can get one pretty cheap. Just aim a fan at the water and see how it does. Your heater should keep the water temp stable while the fan goes at it. I'm currently working on hooking up my fan to an AquaController to reduce energy usage and evaporative loss. (Plus my heater thermostat stinks, looking forward to fixing that.)

If the look of the fan bothers you, you can do fancy stuf to wire fans directly into your hood.

The LFS wants to sell you a chiller. No surpise there. You can always get the chiller later if the fan does not work for you.