Chiller advice

[winnalit]

Hi everyone

 

Its summer now and i think its time to finaly invest in a chiller for my shrimp. I have a 100L tank that i want to keep at 22-23 degrees. Currently choosing between the Resun CL280 and the CL450 models.  The CL280 is probably the perfect size but considering i can get the CL450 for the same price maybe i could save power with the larger unit. However it would be hooked up to an eheim 2213 canister which i believe doesn't reach the minimum flow rate of the cl450. Will this be a problem? 

 

Also the retail price for the cl280 ($599) is more than the cl450 ($439) even though it is smaller which is confusing. Does this mean the cl280 is a better unit?

 

Any help would be very much appreciated!

 

Thanks

 

Winnalit

[jc12]

Hi Winnalit,

I have recently been looking at chillers myself and just bought a Resun CL450 on Saturday. From all the research re: brand, model, flow rate, tank size, etc, I was initially set on a Hailea 150c for my small 38L tank (Aqua One Ecostyle 47). However, the CL450 is a second hand unit and I got it at a great price I couldn't refuse so I cannot tell you anything about retail price. Sorry.

Initially I thought the chiller would be a huge overkill for a 40L tank and the optimum flow rate to run the chiller would turn my tank into a washing machine but thought I'll give it a go anyway.

I hooked the chiller to a Worx 1200 LPH external canister filter (the recent AOA insane deal) and have the spray bar outlet holes facing the wall of the tank. With the media in the canister, the flow rate would be diminished from 1200 LPH but seems like it is still adequate to run the chiller and didn't turn my tank into a whirlpool.

Results:

Ambient temp: 26 D.Celsius

Set temp: 23 D.C.

Chiller kicked in at 25 D.C.

Time to cool to 23 D.C.: 20 mins.

Couldn't be happier with the chiller. I have been having dead shrimps every other day and water parameters seem fine. Suspect it was due to high temp so decided to bite the bullet and bought a chiller as I plan to go down the TB shrimps path. No dead shrimps since. Touch wood.

I have a fairly good insulated house and the chiller kicks in about 2 times a day to maintain temp between 23-25 degrees Celsius.

I read that hailea chillers kicked in at +1 DC above set temp while Resun kicks in at +2 DC above set temp. Don't quote me on this as I have never own a hailea chiller (or any other chiller as this is my first). If you strictly want to keep the temp between 22-23 then you might want to consider a hailea.

Sorry for the long post but having gone through selecting a chiller myself just last week, thought I'll share and hope you could get some info from this for yourself.

Feel free to ask anything and I'll try to share what I know. I'm a newbie too so the pros here please correct me if I'm wrong.

[winnalit]

Oh thanks heaps I appreciate the long writ up :P. I'm also considering the hailea 150a now, I always thought resun and hailea were the lower quality cheaper brands that are basically the same. Can anyone clarify?

[jc12]

Glad it is of at least some help. From what I have read, Hailea is the rebadged of Aqua Medic which is alleged to be a good chiller, if not better than Resun... this was what Google told me anyway. I am keen to hear from experience users too. Thanks! :-)

[jayc]

Hailea's are well supported in Aus. Many locations sell spares at reasonable prices.

The hailea 150a would be perfect for your tank. I think you can get them for $399, so they are not too expensive either.

[Squiggle]

Tecco is another top quality brand of chiller & the price definitely reflects that, but I'm a big believer in getting the biggest & best you can afford. They have recently upgraded their units too, smaller unit, bigger fan & more effective evaporator & condenser, this is probably not helping your decision but it's something to compare with.

[Disciple]

I just thought I would bump this thread as we are heading into the hottest times of the year. Hopefully it will help someone decide on a brand of chiller.

 

I have been worrying about the temperature for my tank and the welfare of my shrimp. I have bitten the bullet and got myself a chiller based on the above posts.

[jayc]

I have been worrying about the temperature for my tank and the welfare of my shrimp. I have bitten the bullet and got myself a chiller based on the above posts.

 

Good reminder Disciple.

 

Which chiller did you get?

[Disciple]

Good reminder Disciple.

 

Which chiller did you get?

 

I got a Hailea 150a. I felt like it was a good overall brand and as you mentioned in a earlier post it is well supported in Australia.

 

Also SKF member informed me that a lfs was having a 20% off sale so I couldn't miss that! Now when I go to work I know that my shrimp should be enjoying themselves.

 

Really happy with the noise level and the ease of use.

[newbreed]

They are a wise investment. After the dollars, time and effort you put into keeping shrimp it's worthwhile having the safeguard in place. It's already hot and jan/feb is when the heat usually kicks in!!

[winnalit]

Hehe ended up getting that chiller as well. I agree with Jay, It just seems safer going with Hailea with all the spare parts available locally. Got one for a pretty descent price an its doing its job fine.

[Disciple]

Anyone have issue with the water going cloudy when first starting to use a chiller?

 

I have had my chiller hooked up the last few days and my water is cloudy now. I checked my water parameters and everything seems ok except my ph has gone up from 6.6 to around 7.2.

 

The shrimp seem fine and I haven't had any losses. I will not feed for a day and see if that makes a difference. Thanks in advance.

[jayc]

Disciple,

I have not experienced that specifically with a chiller. 

Maybe the collective brains on SKF might have.

 

Cloudy water could be a bacterial bloom or bacteria die off.

But this could be the chiller or the pH change. 

(the chiller wouldn't have caused the pH change)

 

Was there a big drop in temperature from before and after the chiller was installed?

 

Reduced feeding is a good step to take, if this is a bacterial bloom due to excessive organic waste.

 

Did you increase water circulation or aeration when you added the chiller?

One possibility is the increased aeration, and cooler water (cool water holds more oxygen than warmer water), has caused bacteria to bloom with the increased oxygen levels. Hopefully this is the cause.

 

In case it's not, and it's a bacterial die off, keep a close eye on Ammonia, Nitrite and Nitrate readings.

Take appropriate action if these increase.

[Squiggle]

+1 agree with jayc, could be either bacterial bloom due to increased oxygen or die off due to reduced temp(talk about putting a bet each way, lol) would be interesting to find out which it is. If you get a spike in ammonia or nitrate then it's most likely the die of but if it clears up with just reduced feeding then it's a bloom, so as mentioned, monitor the WP & get back to us with the results.

[Disciple]

Disciple,

I have not experienced that specifically with a chiller. 

Maybe the collective brains on SKF might have.

 

Cloudy water could be a bacterial bloom or bacteria die off.

But this could be the chiller or the pH change. 

(the chiller wouldn't have caused the pH change)

 

Was there a big drop in temperature from before and after the chiller was installed?

 

Reduced feeding is a good step to take, if this is a bacterial bloom due to excessive organic waste.

 

Did you increase water circulation or aeration when you added the chiller?

One possibility is the increased aeration, and cooler water (cool water holds more oxygen than warmer water), has caused bacteria to bloom with the increased oxygen levels. Hopefully this is the cause.

 

In case it's not, and it's a bacterial die off, keep a close eye on Ammonia, Nitrite and Nitrate readings.

Take appropriate action if these increase.

 

G'day Jayc,

 

Again thanks for the information.

 

I am pretty sure that its is not a bacterial die off (thank god) as I have been testing ammonia Nitrite and nitrate and it has been coming up as 0 the last few days.

 

The temp in my tank when I first hooked up the chiller was around the 25 degrees. and I set the chiller at 23 degrees. it went down to 23 in about 40 mins.

 

I did not increase the circulation I have kept it the same but added the chiller. The Oxyidator was low so I added some more hydrogen peroxide.

 

Maybe the combo of temp drop, oxyidator refill caused a bloom. I has seen a small improvement over the last few days. so I with continue to feed once every two days. I have also added half a packet of fulvic grains to try lower the ph too.

 

+1 agree with jayc, could be either bacterial bloom due to increased oxygen or die off due to reduced temp(talk about putting a bet each way, lol) would be interesting to find out which it is. If you get a spike in ammonia or nitrate then it's most likely the die of but if it clears up with just reduced feeding then it's a bloom, so as mentioned, monitor the WP & get back to us with the results.

 

Thanks Again Squiggle,

 

I will keep an eye on the water parameters but it seems to be clearing and the shrimp are still active and look happy.

[Squiggle]

Great to hear it's clearing up, sounds like it was a bloom, the better side of my each way bet, lol.