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My chiller not powerful enough...


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hi folks just wondering if it makes any sense to run two chillers on the same tank if one is not enough?

basically, i have a chiller which is not powerful enough to cool the tank down quickly so it is on for many hours a day. my options are either to upgrade to a more expensive chiller or to simply add a second, smaller chiller. Suppose I decide not to upgrade and just run two chillers instead, will that be more expensive in terms of power bill?

Any comments anyone? :thanks:

Be teachable always, nobody has a monopoly on wisdom. But learn to distinguish "fact" from "opinion".

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your electrical bill will shoot up if you dun mind that. Some of the reefers here had two chiller but the other one only serve as a back up, kicking in when the primary chiller fails.

Why not you share with us your chiller type and your tank size, lights, pump so we can better help in opnion, cos for all you know it may just need a good gas top up.

But if it's like a CL450 on a 4 feeter with halide lights then of course its quite straight forward, not enough.

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better to have one chiller than two. average cost of running one chiller range from 15 bucks to 30 bucks. so running two would be double of that.

300 Gallon Reef Paradise

6X2.5X2.5 FT Tank : 4x2x2 ft sump : 2x1x2 ft refugim

Skimmer: Deltec AP851

Calcium Reactor:

Lightings: Aqualight T5 Retrofit, 150 watt MH X2

Chiller: Hailea HC-500A model w/ Aquabee 2000

Ozonizer: Hailea HLO-300 Digital ozonizer

Wavemaker: Tunze 6080, Tunze 6060

Return Pumps: Aquabee 5000 x2

Other equipments: Aquabee 2000, Quietone 1200, 5L Co2 Cylinder w/ Dupla regulator

American Marine Wireless Thermometer

Reefing is a dedication, not a competition.

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  • SRC Member
hi folks just wondering if it makes any sense to run two chillers on the same tank if one is not enough?

basically, i have a chiller which is not powerful enough to cool the tank down quickly so it is on for many hours a day. my options are either to upgrade to a more expensive chiller or to simply add a second, smaller chiller. Suppose I decide not to upgrade and just run two chillers instead, will that be more expensive in terms of power bill?

Any comments anyone? :thanks:

Two chiller will kill your pocket

why not go for one a good half horse power and solve it long term

(and never buy second hand chiller even how good the buyer tells u, u never know he is telling all the truth or not.

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Two chiller will kill your pocket

why not go for one a good half horse power and solve it long term

(and never buy second hand chiller even how good the buyer tells u, u never know he is telling all the truth or not.

Agreed on the 2nd hand chiller.

last time when i got the 2nd hand CL650, the seller told me it was serviced and gas top up liao, so commended a higher price. Well.., he look honest to me.., and i also dun wan to be too Kian Si.

2 months later when i had to service it due to poor performance, the technician told me it was never recharge b4 w gas, cos there's no opening made to do it. :angry:

Luckily the tech guy like my face and gave me a good discount :D

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bro hotlemond, do you think i need to service my chiller?

it took ~3 hours to cold down 1 deg with my MH light on. slightly less than 2 hours to cold down at 1 deg when my MH light off. it kicks in at least 2x when my MH light on for 7.5 hours. me set the chiller at 26-27, 3x2x2 with sump.

the capacity of my chiller is 1/2hp with titanium cooling coil (guess over rated). Atman chiller :P

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bro hotlemond, do you think i need to service my chiller?

it took ~3 hours to cold down 1 deg with my MH light on. slightly less than 2 hours to cold down at 1 deg when my MH light off. it kicks in at least 2x when my MH light on for 7.5 hours. me set the chiller at 26-27, 3x2x2 with sump.

the capacity of my chiller is 1/2hp with titanium cooling coil (guess over rated). Atman chiller :P

1/2 Hp? but your cooling period almost similar to mine at 1/4 hp leh. Yah, maybe you guess right, a little over rated :D

Mine is a 3x2x2.5 with sump and 2x150w halide. However, a lot of factors comes into play lor, like:

1. halide distance to water surface

2. # of pump, in sump? external?

3. pump wattage ( my 200W for the beckett is one of the culprit)

4. room ambient temp

5. cooling coil length

However, i still think a 1/2 hp can perform better than my cheapo CL650 :)

I think only the service man can judge if it needs servicing, they have this clamp meter to instantly tell if the gas is low.

PM me if you need his contact.

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