I'm looking for opinions regarding chillers

Hi All - As its getting warmer in So Cal I wanted to get opinions or recommendations on a good chiller make/model for my 65 gallon reef tank. I maintain my tank at 78-79 degrees and the main room the tank is in sometimes gets direct sunlight. Your opinions are wanted. Thanks all.

 

I don't know much about chillers other than they are expensive and are electrical hogs!!! You may want to consider just using a fan to accomplish evaporational cooling!!!

 

I have a Pacific Coast Imports CL-650. Its rated for a 10 degree cooling in 180 gallons. Probably overkill for your 65 gallon tank (and my 90) but I got it for a great deal used. You could probably get away with the CL-280. They are a kick in the pocketbook but it saves the hassle and gives you peace of mind. Worth every penny IMO.

 

I too would love a chiller.Here in sub-tropical queensland,our summer goes for 4-5 mnths and the temp range is min.20C-max.30C.The humidity is usually 80%+.With all the electricals this keeps the tank at about 30C.I have the lids off with a fan going but it does Jack-S#*t.I'm steadily loosing coral that would normally handle short bursts of heat but this year it's gone on for too long.Very sad to see old favorites slowly melt.As a result it plays havoc with water quality.Luckily I live on the coast and our ocean water is A1 so I do 25% water changes every 3 wks.I'm glad I don't have to buy or mix salt.The cost would be too much.So I'll keep buying lotto tickets and one day I might have a chiller.

 

Just took these.

 

have a look on ebay dude ..courier delivered ... ive seen some nice cheap ones $ 300 or so check them out ...

 

Hey thanks you guys for your opinions. Anyone else?

 

how much money are you willing to spend? I know its getting hot here in LA! JBJ makes a great chiller and they have allot of options for them. Shearch JBJ for there site or look on reefgeek.com there located in hawthore and greg is a great guy! Like everyone has been saying a chiller is a great investment and will save your fish and coral allot of stress! Good luck and keep us posted on what you decide to go with,
-Jordan

 

I too have a Pacific Coast Imports Chiller. It is the 1/10 hp model and its been doing a fine job for the last three years. It was right at the $300 price range.

 

I got just a Prime Chiller 1/15 for my 50 gallon tank, as my lighting was heating up my water to 86 or on warm days even more. Now I can keep it at a steady 80 and the chiller is standing under the aquarium it is not really noisy. You can here it when you get up in the morning as the house is really quiet but it is not annoying , my air-pump makes more noise.