MINI In-line Chiller

[jhaber]

Anyone out there have or had any Experience with any mini In-line style chillers? I'm setting up a 10g tank and was wondering what everyone's thoughts were?

Whats good? whats bad? I have seen the mini probe type chillers. Do they really work?

[jservedio]

What are you using it for? Is it to keep it cool during the summer with powerful lights or are you running a coldwater tank? If you aren't running a coldwater tank, you shouldn't need one for a tank that small - even in Florida. It'd be way more simple to run a fan or just drop your room temperature a degree or two.

 

For smaller tanks, Thermoelectric probes work extremely well and don't have any moving parts - definitely the way to go if you need 10F or less of cooling power. Any of the compressor driven chillers are  going to be a big fat waste of money on a 10g tank unless you need some massive cooling power.

[jhaber]

Well having a nano is a new adventure for me. I have had many tanks in the past and  none were less than a 30g. So 10g tank is new to me. ( Im limited on tank size due to where i'm currently living) I know that in the past having SPS in my tanks i have had to run a chiller to keep them cool.... Now, that was with metal halides  though. I plan on going full LED with this build so i might just get away with not having to use one. I just figured with how small the tank is and in Florida in the summer time temps get up in the 90s it might heat up quickly and thus need a chiller to keep it cool. 

 

Are there any other fellow Floridians out there with similar size tanks that have any input on their experiences?

[jservedio]

I'm in NC so not quite as hot and I still need a heater to keep it at 80 with the room the tank is in at 76 using LEDs and and I've got a sump with a decent sized skimmer. Total volume is about 25g and lots of SPS. Unless you keep your house above above 80 all day, you shouldn't need a chiller at all.

 

If you had metal halides in a hood and kept your house at 78, that'd be a way different story. LEDs and an open top would be fine in a 78 degree room.

[banasophia]

Not sure if this is helpful for your situation, but here’s a link to info I posted about a small chiller that is good for a nano if you need one. It’s working great for me so far. 

 

 

[jhaber]

I have looked at that one before banasophia it looks like a nice little unit. How are you liking it? 

[banasophia]

4 hours ago, jhaber said:

I have looked at that one before banasophia it looks like a nice little unit. How are you liking it? 

Works perfectly so far, though I’ve only had it for a month so I can’t comment on long term yet. Totally worth it in my opinion, and now that it has gotten me through the summer I’m also glad I won’t have to worry about overheating if I want to have a fire in my fireplace which is pretty close to the tank. 

 

I was having some issues with cyano and diatoms when my tank was running warmer, and those issues cleared up pretty quickly once I got the chiller. May or may not have been related to the chiller/temp.

 

It would be smart to mount it on the wall with the bracket they sell... Just sitting next to my tank like it is, I have to put a box over it during my water changes so water doesn’t spill into it and I have to remind my daughter not to lean over it with her hair down because it does have a fan that looks like it would tangle long hair... but those issues could be avoided by mounting it to wall.