Dan08R1 Posted February 28, 2013 Share Posted February 28, 2013 Hey everyone.. been on the site for a while but never joined... just got my chiller the other day and figured I would post some pictures and info Recently I custom retrofitted my Biocube 14 hood with LEDs.. 8x Cree Royal Blue XT-E 8x Cree Cool White XP-G 2x 3-Up Royal Blue XP-E 3x UV 410nm (not on in the pic) 3x Moonlight LEDs (also not on in the pic) definitely bright enough... but generated a ton of heat.. i was having trouble keeping the temp down even when toning the ballasts down to 50% power or below. whats the point of blindingly bright LEDs if you cant run them at full power (with the new chiller it keeps the water cool at full power but asthetically i prefer to adjust the ballasts for 100% RB and 60% Cool White) My dad has a 120g tank, his refrigeration based chiller (arctica) works great and granted its way bigger than the one i would need for this size tank.. i live in a tiny studio apartment in NYC and didn't really want to hear the click on click off and loud hum from the compressor. i had a cool works ice probe on my older 8 gal tank but that was barely able to keep the temp down with just a tiny UV sterilizer and one powerhead, so definitely wasn't going to cut it here. i decided to go with Chill Solutions CSXC-1 thermoelectric chiller I found on eBay: http://www.ebay.com/itm/281068119141?ssPageName=STRK:MESELX:IT&_trksid=p3984.m1555.l2649 Installation was straightforward... cut the vinyl tubing and hooked it up inline with my biocube uv / pump, hooked up the chiller, set the temp (really clean unit, internal temp sensor no wires besides the power cable, plugged it into the power supply.. rated for 12V 10.8A, im assuming the Peltier junction inside plus fan draws close to the rated current making it more than twice as powerful as the cool works IceProbe, plus you dont need to drain your tank and drill a hole in it. Here are some pics, temp stays parked exactly at 77.7 even with the lights on full blast. Unrelated question... how do stop these red mushroom corals from splitting they are taking over the tank! Link to comment
disaster999 Posted February 28, 2013 Share Posted February 28, 2013 seems like a nice package...but i cant tell what type of material is the heat transfer blocks made of. chances are its not made from titanium, and mostly aluminum which will corrode over time. Link to comment
Dan08R1 Posted February 28, 2013 Author Share Posted February 28, 2013 seems like a nice package...but i cant tell what type of material is the heat transfer blocks made of. chances are its not made from titanium, and mostly aluminum which will corrode over time. the aluminum heatsink that you see is not in direct contact with the saltwater, there is a ceramic thermoelectric element in between the block is made of HDPE, high density polyethylene. The thermoelectric element is ceramic. The thermistor is encapsulated in teflon. All three of which will definitely be completely immune to attack by saltwater Link to comment
disaster999 Posted February 28, 2013 Share Posted February 28, 2013 so basically the peltier cooler comes in direct contact with the water? i wonder if the "water block" is channeled inside to better direct the water flow so that it has maximum contact time with the peltier. Link to comment
Dan08R1 Posted February 28, 2013 Author Share Posted February 28, 2013 yea, i looked inside and see the white ceramic face of the peltier so that is what directly cools the water. i honestly dont know if a channeled block would make that much of a difference considering water's high specific heat capacity and thermal conductivity.. and relatively low amount of heat being transferred out of the water, not sure if it is worth the pressure drop. i decided to see if this thing has enough power to pull the tank temp down (i already know it can hold it within a tenth of a degree of 77.7 when the lights come on).. so i unplugged it and let the lights heat the tank to 81 and then turned the chiller on and within an hour it was parked back at 77 and change... actually quite impressive Link to comment
Grimmpls Posted July 9, 2013 Share Posted July 9, 2013 I just ordered one of these! If you don't mind could you answer some questions about it. How do you like it overall? Is it really as quiet as they advertise? what are the dimensions? Thanks for you time and help Link to comment
kristonenicolas Posted September 16, 2013 Share Posted September 16, 2013 bump, would also like to know how's this holding up for you. just ordered mine as well. gimmpls, have you received yours yet? Link to comment
markalot Posted September 16, 2013 Share Posted September 16, 2013 Original poster hasn't been active since he posted his "review" of the chiller. Maybe that will bring him back. Link to comment
namxas Posted September 16, 2013 Share Posted September 16, 2013 I can't speak for that particular unit, but the only noise involved would be the fan...Peltier junctions are solid-state, and you can't hear electrons. Link to comment
Arkayology Posted September 16, 2013 Share Posted September 16, 2013 Can't you all just hook up a $5 fan from Target to cool the water in your tank? I have a cheapo fan above my 40 and it is able to keep the temp below 79 no problem. Link to comment
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