Nano chiller questions

[Dell]

Hey,

 

Looking at getting a chiller for my 20g. It runs about 75 degrees and want to lower the temp at least 5 degrees, ideally more. I've looked at the Ice probe, but my tank isn't drilled, also looked at the micro-ice probe, the hang on the back type which I like but Im not sure it will lower the temp enough. Anybody have any experience with these? I am also looking at the pacific coast chillers but Im not really sure how the plumbing works. When I see the pic it looks like there is just an intake and a return, is that it? It just sits next to the tank and water pumps in, cools and then back out? Any suggestions would be appreciated,

 

Thx

[farkwar]

They make an AC filter type holder for the ICE probe. You can make your own of course.

[Dell]

Thx, I have an AC 50 and 30 not in use right now. Would I just drill a hole in the top and put the iceprobe in? or would I be better off buying it all together?

[farkwar]

http://lmgtfy.com/?q=ice+probe+aqua+clear

[ghostgr]

Thats actually a good temperature. Why lower it?

[disaster999]

Im sure he wants to set up a cold temp tank which needs around mid 60s water temp?

[jservedio]

If you have a 20g an iceprobe will NOT get a 20g tank from 75 down to the mid 60s. Even Iceprobe, with their optimisitic numbers, say 3-4 degrees on 20g. You are going to have to bite the bullet and buy a real compressor driven chiller if you want a temperate tank - a 1/10th HP chiller should comfortably get you down where you want, and if you want more headroom, slightly larger. If you want a temperate reef, you really need a good chiller since it is the backbone of your system.

 

You can mod the iceprobe, but peltier effect coolers, while bombproof, are extremely inefficient - even with huge copper heatsinks. Iceprobes are only capable of getting very small picos down to temperate temperature ranges and are more of a failsafe for high for nano tanks in the 20-30g range.

[Eckozulu]

Csxc-1 from chill solutions. Small and should bring down a 20g 5-8 degrees. Got one for a jelly tank I'm starting. Also have a pacific coast chiller for my seahorse tank and I love it! It replaced a jbj, which kept breaking.

 

And yes you need a pump for all of these. But easy enough to figure out. I use a jbj chiller kit.

[jservedio]

Csxc-1 from chill solutions. Small and should bring down a 20g 5-8 degrees. Got one for a jelly tank I'm starting.

 

The problem with the thermoelectric units is how much energy they use - they are incredibly inefficient and draw a ton of power. Chillsolutions doesn't mention anything at all about the power consumption except that it has a 10amp supply - even if it only uses a portion of that, it is still using way, way more power than an equivalent compressor unit - probably 3-4x (or more) as much power. Considering a comparable a 1/10th HP compressor driven unit only draws around 2.5a, it will pay for itself in energy savings - probably within a year or two. At full power, you are comparing 300w to 1200w.

 

And 5-8 degrees is a very big range considering they don't list BTU - between 820 and 1320 BTU assuming they truly mean 20 gallons of water and not a 20 gallon tank with much lower volume.

 

When you buy a compressor driven unit, you know exactly how much power it'll draw, how many BTUs you are getting, and the power of the compressor.

 

I don't know about you, but even with everything in my tank turned on I am still under 300w and my power bill is probably a good $20-30/month for the tank alone. I bet if I used a thermoelectric cooler for a temperate tank which would be running quite a bit, the tank would cost around $70-80/month in electric or more. Don't forget that factor when buying a chiller.

[diablomaster9045]

This might be a better option for you than the ice probe for a 20g.

 

http://www.fish-street.com/aquadg_dc_mini_chiller

[Dell]

Thx everyone!!