Aqua Logic Chillers

[Max]

Hello all, been lurking for a while, first post. I've got a 125 gal reef my roommate and I started about 4 months ago now. Last month we upgraded to MH lighting (christmas ) and now we need to get a chiller as we're having a hard time keeping the tank at 80 even with the lights almost a foot above the water and the tank is open top. I've been looking at the aqua logic chillers, more specifically the trim line. Probably more the inline model than the drop in. I wanted to see if anyone on here has them and how your experience has been. Thanks

 

[stubbsz]

Have you installed any fans to help with cooling?
-Adrian

 

[Len]

:welcome:

I have an Aqua Logic (have had three in total over the last 15 years). They are built as reliable as chillers come.

Here's the deal though: if you're planning on running the chiller in your house, be aware it is both noisy and emits a lot of heat. If you have can plumb it outdoors or to another (unoccupied) room, you are in fine shape. But if your chiller is in your living room, bedroom, etc., the noise and heat will frustrate you

You may want to first install fans as Adrian suggested. A few fans can drop your temp by more then 5 degrees.

 

[Max]

I've got a fan blowing in the cabinet with the sump and fuge, but it's still hard to keep the temp down. Besides it's in the 60's -70's outside right now (I'm in Florida), there's no way I could get by with fans during the summer. Unfortunately right now we're in an apartment so the chiller will sit inside. Do you know if the trimline is quieter than the other lines by aqua logic or if another brand is quieter? I'd still rather have the better chiller though even if it means a littler more noise.

 

[Len]

Max, it's the same compressor technology, so there's little chance it will be significantly quiter. The only quiet chillers I know are the "peltier" type heat exchangers, and they simply won't have enough power to cool a 125g.

It may be cheaper (electricity costs taken into account) to simply A/C your apartment.

 

[Max]

Sometimes one compressor is quieter than another, is what I was wondering. I know none of them will be quiet, but I'd like to have better control over the temperature and I'll probably be moving to a house in a few months so I'll be able to put it in the garage then.

 

[Len]

I've never encountered a quiet compressor-type chiller. They all sounded roughly the same volume to me. Of course, I haven't encoutnered them all either, but I've owned at least 4 brands to my recollection

The heat issue is unavoidable though. Chillers will heat up rooms VERY quickly. There's just no way around this as it's a law of physics/energy.

 

[Anonymous]

If you put the chiller in the same room as the tank and you have no method of cooling the room, ie, AC, then what is the point? Its taking heat from the tank and putting it in the room which will then act to warm up the tank.


What is your temp during the day and during the night? Like how big of an increase is it?

 

[Max]

We have a/c, and the room is pretty cool (low 70's) but the lights still heat the tank up. I know that it will put heat into the room, but I'm less worried about having the a/c running than the tank being cool. We can't keep the room at 65 to keep the tank cool though. It heats up to 80-81 right now, I want to keep it at 76 though.

 

[Len]

Give the chiller a shot. If you can't use it now, you can always save it until you move. But I warned ya about the heat and noise I'd try fans across the top of the tank first though. Evap cooling really is more impressive then most people give them credit for.

80-81 is actually perfect, BTW. But I understand your concern about possible summer temps. Perhaps you should wait until summer to see how high it goes. Anything up to 85 is just fine IME.

 

[Mihai]

Max, try a couple of fans over the surface of the tank all the time. For my 90 it decreased the temperature a lot (6F I think). Just give it a try before you go for the chiller.

One more thing: although my sump is in an unheated crawlspace the difference of temperature in tank between summer (90F) and winter (40F) is only about 2-3F.

Mihai