Question: More chiller Q's- how to setup?!

[chemgrl08]

OK, so I took the plunge and bought a nice, $200 chiller. (used from ebay.) Seems to be in good shape, so to try and make sure it works, I went to set it up. But wait, it doesn't pump by itself?! Oh. So my question is: how do I know what size/power of pump to buy for it? I have the tubing and it appears to be chilling, but its not moving any of the water. (I fill it with water through the tubes and the temperature indicator says its cooled, but it does me no good if it just stays in there!)
Anyone have experience setting this up? I have no problem with leaks, just need to figure out what size pump to get.
Specs for my setup: 29 gallon tank, Prime mini chiller (as shown here: Chiller from Marine Depot) 1/15hp, flow rate is listed as minimum of 5 to max of 10 GPM (is this gallons per minute?) Using 5/8" internal diameter plastic tubing from the plumbing section of Home Depot.
What to do, what to do?

 

[michael]

You need to get an in tank pump that pumps 5 to 10 gallons per minute and hook it to your chiller.

 

[chemgrl08]

LOL OMG how could I be so silly?! DUH. it says "use a pump with 5-10GPM." So just get a pump 5-10GPM. I'm so embarrassed! :blush: haha Sorry for wasting time!

 

[blackdog]

What sort of filter do you have?

if you have a canister filter you can probably just run it in line with that.

Filter intake - filter - filter output to chiller intake - chiller output to tank

Bren

 

[Aimzs Lotties]

Hey there Bren, how much exactly are chillers and are they the only way to go here in Aus? I've heard of people attaching fans to there tanks.. does that work?

 

[Kaysie]

Chillers can run anywhere between $100 and $1000, depending on size, brand, whether or not it's used, etc. Fans will cool the tank up to 3C. If you have a tank that will be consistantly hot, say 28C, a fan will not cool it down to an appropriate temperature. So fans can work in certain situations, but others need a chiller.

 

[blackdog]

Guppy’s Aquarium Products Online

I got a haliea chiller from there.

The halieas are an entry level chiller, mixed reviews if you google around, but i've had mine going for about 12 months no probs.

yes, in my humble opinion i reckon a chiller is the only way to have peace of mind in Aus.

Bren

 

[chemgrl08]

I got the pump attached, but now I'm at a different problem. The pump is pumping the water through the chiller, but temperature doesn't seem to be decreasing. If I turn the pump off, the water within the chiller does cool down. But while it pumps, I'm not seeing any decrease (stays at room temperature.) Does anyone know what might be wrong? Do I need a faster or slower pump? Hrm, how frustrating!

 

[Kaysie]

Sounds like you need a slower pump. The water isn't staying in the chiller long enough to be chilled before being pumped back into the tank.

 

[michael]

If you have the proper rated pump you should just be able to set the thermostat and cool up to about a 50 gallon tank.

Maybe if the pump is used their is a problem with it. Did you get a guarantee?

 

[lea]

@amizs....I agree with blackdog. The only way to chill a tank in our climate is to use a chiller. I think I have tried just about everything to keep my tank cool during summer and somethings worked others didnt. It wasnt until I got a chiller that I realised how much time and worry I was putting into my tank. When I did up my 5ft tank a bigger chiller was the first thing I purchased(after fixing the tank of course). I bought 1 from the weekend shopper and the other one from ebay.

 

[scooty16]

Sorry to kinda jump and hijack the thread a bit but does anyone in the UK know where I can purchase a cheap but reliable chiller? I know they are pretty exspensive, but I'm just wondering where the cheapest might be....