Wanting to know about Chillers

So, in the long run i think i will be forced to have to get a chiller for my 46 because, on my puffer's tank with the heater unplugged the tank's temp is at 82. I know for most fish that could kill them, but it does not affect my puffer. But with my 46 if my tank gets that hot i think it could harm the fish.

So my questions. How exactly does a chiller work, I know it cools the tank down but how, how does it attach to the tank, my tank can't be drilled so if it needs to be drilled is there another way that i can run a chiller. I also won't have a sump, or anything like that to hide whatever the chiller needs.

I just bascially need a better understand of how they work, since i think i will be forced to have to get one for the tank

 

Not really sure as i have never needed one, But 82 is not going to kill any fish at all. My tank during the summer runs at 82 almost every day and at night drops to about 78,so if 82 is the highest its gonna get you will be fine.

 

If 82 is the highest you get, you probably won't need a chiller. My tank runs 82-83 right now and everything looks happy and healthy. It is important that the temperature does not go up and down really fast. That will stress your fish a lot more that temps in low 80's.

If you still want chiller info, I'm sure someone else will chime in here.

 

Chiller?

Well, for one, chillers aren't cheap!! Sound familiar? Basically, you'll have to get tank water pumped into a chiller via an intake hose; the tank water goes through the chiller like a radiator or air conditioner and is cooled then pumped back into the tank via an output hose. You use a thermostat that you set at the ideal temperature. When your tank water temp goes above that preset temp, your chiller kicks on.
I had mine (tank) plumbed into the chiller from my sump. My tank wasn't drilled either so I had to use an overflow box......biggest mistake!!
If theres a way or you got the cash, have your tank drilled for a sump and return pump.
Alot of guys on here cool their tanks down with fans blowing off the surface of their tanks, etc. Its a good temporary "patch" but a pain especially when you've got all that livestock riding.
Think it through, ask lots of questions and good luck!!

 

ok thanks for the replies, i think i'll wait on a chiller then, if 82 would be an ok temp without killing anything, and probably look into fans if i have to before looking itno chilllers

 

You could get a drop in chiller, that way you don't have to do any plumping.

 

Just get a small clip on fan and have it aim at the surface of the water and it should drop the temp about 2 degrees

 

Chiller...

Also Puffer, don't forget glass holes.com. You can DIY drilling of most tanks or have a friend(s) help you. You save so much money by DIY. These guys sell drilling kits complete with tables on calculating flow rates and plumbing, bulkhead, overflow sizes, etc. Drilling a tank has become pretty common now with alot of positive feedback on how "easy" it is vs. having to haul it down to the LFS and back or down to the glass shop.
Check it out. This could be your next major tank project.

 

I have used glass holes products, they are great. Drilling the back of a tank is not hard to do at all, if you know how to do it and have stead hands.
As far as 82º temps not killing anything, that is not necessarily true. If a reef is what she is aiming for, and looking at her rockscape it looks that is what she wants, reefs do not do well in temps above 80º. Corals will start to recede and bleach under that temp. Using fans is a low cost option, but on a 46G tank, she will have to use fairly strong fans to cool that volume down, which will lead to accelerated evaporation and salt creep.
That being said, chillers are not cheap. For a ~60G (assuming a sump/fuge will also be used), you can use a JBJ 1/5HP chiller with great success. JBJ chillers go on sale fairly often at Marine Depot and at Dr Foster and Smith. I have 3 JBJs, a 1/15HP on my 20G, a 1/4HP that will go onto my 150G, and a 1/5HP that will go onto my 65G (currently on the 150G). They work great. How a chiller works is that it "removes" the heat from the water and blows it out into the atmosphere as hot air. An inline chiller is simple, just take your return line from your sump/fuge, and plumb it into the chiller intake, then the oulet goes back into your tank. A drop-in is just that, drop it into your sump/fuge and you are done.

 

An $8 WalMart clip on fan is all you need to drop the temperature 5-7 degrees easily. Evaporation will go up but fans work wonders and are much cheaper both to buy and to operate than a chiller. I have both but never run my chiller anymore and thats in Phoenix with a fully enclosed canopy on a 100G with 2x250w MH and 2x140w VHO. All I use is one clip on fan over the sump and two 4" computer case fans, one in each end blowing in and the tank stays 79-81 year round without the chiller. I even shut the canopy fans off when the lights are not on.