AquaDG DC Mini Chiller

[Warm]

I want to know about AquaDG DC Mini Chiller. Is it good for cooling 15 gal tanks? or I should buy another thing compare to Chillsolutions CSXC-1.

[Christopher Marks]

Welcome to the community @Warm! 👋

 

I wasn't aware of the AquaDG DC Mini Chiller, that's an interesting solution! https://www.fish-street.com/aquadg_dc_mini_chiller. Based on the specifications they only recommend it for up to 8 gallons, while the Chill Solutions CSXC-1 is rated for up to 30 gallons. In the end I think it depends on how much of a temperature drop you need to achieve. The mini chiller would make an impact, but it might not be sufficient for your needs.

[Naekuh]

no its garbage... honestly.... 

 

It uses TEC's to cold a plate, im guessing more like plastic in this unit. 

The water gets pumped though the unit and the TEC pulls the heat off. 

 

Now then you need to look at the power rating on the unit. 

It says 24V @ 100W which is another black flag, as TEC's are typically 12V driven, the lower the voltage however the more efficent the TEC is. 

That leads me to think the unit will draw 24V and then step down to 12V for the TEC, which then presents 12V @ 5A  at best 6A which makes it a 60W to 72W TEC.  

~18BTU's  thats very small.  

 

Lastly, you can see knockoff's on amazon like these:

https://www.amazon.com/Happybuy-Aquarium-Chiller-Cooling-Hydroponic/dp/B07DH53B85/ref=sr_1_7?ie=UTF8&qid=1551210160&sr=8-7&keywords=fish+tank+chiller

 

They have very dismal ratings because as i stated they are garbage. 

Your honestly much better off getting plastic reusable ice cubes and dropping them in slowly to regulate a tank that is that small, or invest in a 1/15HP chiller ~ 266BTU, if you need to chill the tank greater then 5C-10C below room ambient temperature. 

[Christopher Marks]

Great insight @Naekuh 👍

[Warm]

32 minutes ago, Naekuh said:

no its garbage... honestly.... 

 

It uses TEC's to cold a plate, im guessing more like plastic in this unit. 

The water gets pumped though the unit and the TEC pulls the heat off. 

 

Now then you need to look at the power rating on the unit. 

It says 24V @ 100W which is another black flag, as TEC's are typically 12V driven, the lower the voltage however the more efficent the TEC is. 

That leads me to think the unit will draw 24V and then step down to 12V for the TEC, which then presents 12V @ 5A  at best 6A which makes it a 60W to 72W TEC.  

~18BTU's  thats very small.  

 

Lastly, you can see knockoff's on amazon like these:

https://www.amazon.com/Happybuy-Aquarium-Chiller-Cooling-Hydroponic/dp/B07DH53B85/ref=sr_1_7?ie=UTF8&qid=1551210160&sr=8-7&keywords=fish+tank+chiller

 

They have very dismal ratings because as i stated they are garbage. 

Your honestly much better off getting plastic reusable ice cubes and dropping them in slowly to regulate a tank that is that small, or invest in a 1/15HP chiller ~ 266BTU, if you need to chill the tank greater then 5C-10C below room ambient temperature. 

Thank you for your suggestion.What about Chillsolution CSXC 12v 12.5a.I just want to cool my temperature down for 4-6 around the day.

[Naekuh]

https://www.chillsolutions.com/products/csxc-1-aquarium-chiller   $219!!  

 

Are they mad?

NO... NO TEC chiller is worth that much when you can get a 1/10hp chiller for less then 100 more... 

 

Find the budget for 100 more and get this if you must get a chiller.

https://www.amazon.com/Active-Aqua-AACH10HP-Chiller-Cooling/dp/B07BHHQLKR/ref=pd_sbs_328_2/143-6543758-2819218?_encoding=UTF8&pd_rd_i=B07BHHQLKR&pd_rd_r=1cb8962e-3a04-11e9-a5d1-a7cecbc1bccd&pd_rd_w=dMdVG&pd_rd_wg=Lzujr&pf_rd_p=588939de-d3f8-42f1-a3d8-d556eae5797d&pf_rd_r=WFB8YYH7W0D1TXA4RT0D&psc=1&refRID=WFB8YYH7W0D1TXA4RT0D

 

However it requires a 400gph pump... that is beyond the capacity of any canister.  Probably even too much for a 15 gallon tank. 

 

I really suggest you just use reusable ice cubes. 

https://www.amazon.com/DINY-Reusable-Cubes-Free-18-36/dp/B07FK5VV7R/ref=sr_1_5?keywords=reusable+ice+cubes&qid=1551212563&s=gateway&sr=8-5

 

Your heater can act as a safety incase it goes down too low, and if you only need it for a couple hours per day, reusable ice cubes + evaporation can get you that 4-6C.  

Evaporation meaning, having a fan blow over your water.  

 

Even freezing a plastic water bottle with water works like a arrowhead water bottle, something which uses thin walls, and not a Gatorade bottle.  

Just make sure you fill it with distilled.  

 

[nanoreeFan]

Its hard  to tell but The aquaDG link photos if it's a metal waterblock, I wonder if that is ok or would leach off for a reef tank?

 

The 1/10 hp chiller on Amazon , the manufacturer says in the Q and A.......

Yes, a small water pump (recommended rate of flow is 132-396GPH) is required to circulate the water through the chiller.

 

Ghl said they were coming out with a chillsolutions type https://aquanerd.com/2018/09/ghl-profilux-temperature-control-2.html

 

 

 

 

[Naekuh]

36 minutes ago, nanoreeFan said:

Its hard  to tell but The aquaDG link photos if it's a metal waterblock, I wonder if that is ok or would leach off for a reef tank?

 

The 1/10 hp chiller on Amazon , the manufacturer says in the Q and A.......

Yes, a small water pump (recommended rate of flow is 132-396GPH) is required to circulate the water through the chiller.

 

Ghl said they were coming out with a chillsolutions type https://aquanerd.com/2018/09/ghl-profilux-temperature-control-2.html

 

 

 

 

 

This actually looks quite interesting.

It seems the heat exchanger is made of V4A which after doing some research is simular to 316L. 

https://anemo.eu/what-v2a-and-v4a-stainless-steel

 

I am currently experimenting with 316L . 

I have brake line made of 316L that i cut up and submerged in a bottle of salt water which i set and forget to see if it rust for a custom chiller i was intending on making for summer. 

My chiller however would be a drop in coil condenser while the Aquanerd uses a heat exchanger directly.  

 

However TEC's are very inefficient unless you down volt them and run them on PWM.  They will lose out to the phase exchange compressors by a large margin. 

They are much easier to fix, repair and work with however, but in a prebuilt system, i don't think you have the luxury to mod it unless you want to lose out on warranty.  

 

But if i had to chose a TEC chiller i would most definitely pick that aquanerd one as it has more then 1 TEC's which can allow them to be downvolted. I just hope they are on a PWM. 

 

However i still don't think they will be cheaper then that 1/10 chiller. And that chiller even has a titanium heat exchanger.  

 

 

[nanoreeFan]

https://www.aquariumcomputer.com/products/ghl-cooling-technology/profilux-temperature-control2/

GHL is saying release date of Q2 2019 I agree it might be very expensive 

[Christopher Marks]

It looks like the GHL Profilux PTC2-2 / 160 W model will be well suited for smaller nano reefs, 9.1°F drop on 16 gallons and 5.5°F drop on 30 gallons. Time will tell as to the affordability! Thanks for sharing @nanoreeFan!

[Tamberav]

My older chill solutions kept my cold water reef 60 degrees for a year but had to run constantly to do it...but hey...it was still impressive for something so tiny.

 

I upgraded to a 1/15 jbj chiller just to be more efficient and being the temp down a bit more to 55.

 

I would think the chill solutions would be able to keep tanks a reasonable temp easy enough. 

 

I have been meaning to plumb my chill solutions into my other chillers line as a backup.....because the fuse would blow sometimes on the jbj and the chill solutions has no such problem.

 

Anywho that's just my personal experience with it. It seems like a powerhouse for it's size though I would love to see the price come down a bit.