Recommendation for chiller needed

[loupgarou]

I need some recommendations for chillers.

these are my priorities.

a) noise

size

c) MUST BE ABLE TO PUT IN CABINET, ie: operating temperature <45 C would be ideal

d) efficiency.

I'm currently thinking of daeil or artica brand 1/4 or 1/3 hp for a 5ft x 2ft x 2ft tank.

anyone has any direct experience of the above brand or recommend any other brands that fit my criteria

[Blenny]

coincidentally I am looking at the same 2 brands too. But the 2 looks quite the same. Talked to a guy in Plantas aquatas, he said that artica is from US and the other from korea. The former only require a 0.3 hp will be sufficient but cost a bomb....more than 2k. I think the other one is cheaper

[CalciumReef]

Your tank is so huge...you will require a 1.25h/p at least.....it will help you save electricity and prolong the chiller's life span

[Achilles Tang]

Well, since you rejected a Ti/RR chiller so-called because of the heat produced, you probably will be hard pressed to find another alternative that is equally efficient vs the price you pay vs heat produced vs the noise.

IMO, the more heat produced means that a good amount of heat is taken from the water, in my layman thinking. All chillers are hot. Putting a chiller in an enclosed cabinet with poor circulation, no matter what brand, means that your chiller will be working very hard because of the recycled hot air.

If you have loads of money ie $4500... a Teco RA2000 would be ideal and even that is just 1hp.

[ah^siao]

i think the korea brand not bad..

[terryansimon]

leave the chiller exposed for better results. if you can afford, get one of those small fans to direct streams of air towards it to cool the surrounding temperature around the chiller. (=

[zero.cool]

u can try JBJ ANTARTICA CHILLER FROM GERMANY FOR A 4FOOTER TANK-5 FOOTER TANK IT'LL COST U ABOUT 1.6-1.8K BUT THIS COMES WITH A2 YEAR WARRANTY..U CAN GET IT AT MY SHOP SURE CAN DISCOUNT...

[zero.cool]

FURTHERMORE,WORDS OF ADVICE IS IF U WANNA GET A CHILLER GO FOR THOSE WITH WARRANTY OF AT LEAST 1YR COZ AT LEAST IF IT BREAKS DOWN U KNOW THAT U CAN HAVE IT REPAIRED...TRY NOT TO GO FOR THOSE CHEAP CHINA OR TAIWAN BRANDS...

[reefer guy]

errrr...u may want to de-caps ur replies.... all caps is screaming/shouting......

[zero.cool]

sorry and for u guys i'm not advertising or anything i'm juz giving info like all the rest of u be it good or bad or dirty ones.....orite...

[loupgarou]

I have a blower and a leave the sliding door a 10-15 cm gap, so that is adequate ventilation under the tank.

in anycase, I'm down only to the korean and artica , mostly because they are smaller as well, the documented specs claim that 1/4 horse power is enough, but I'll probably get a 1/3 horsepower. because specs are specs, if they are wrong I can take them to the small claims tribunal.

[salted fish]

My brother tank is using this BIO Chiller (heard is assembled in Malaysia)

is really slim like CPU. 1/3HP, 400liters, noise - low

[terryansimon]

I have never seen that chiller before.

[davwong]

Hi Salted Fish

What the price of that 1/3hp chiller and do they have 1/2hp

[seamonkee]

Yeah, look like a "Cheong" Chiller...

[terryansimon]

I doubt you'll be able to find the chiller of your dreams that doesn't heat up the surrounding considerably. trust me. my 1.3HP Eido chiller already produces a bit of a ruckus when it kicks in.

[nutx]

u can try JBJ ANTARTICA CHILLER FROM GERMANY FOR A 4FOOTER TANK-5 FOOTER TANK IT'LL COST U ABOUT 1.6-1.8K BUT THIS COMES WITH A2 YEAR WARRANTY..U CAN GET IT AT MY SHOP SURE CAN DISCOUNT...

Is this commercial?

btw, are you sure the chiller is Made in Germany?

[terryansimon]

well he'll tell you that if its commercial, he would post it on the newspapers and he'll even call you a dumb ######. or at least that was what he did to me when I highlighted it to him politely.

[nutx]

well he'll tell you that if its commercial, he would post it on the newspapers and he'll even call you a dumb ######. or at least that was what he did to me when I highlighted it to him politely.

The other issue is whether he really knows abt his product? or typical LFS type of knowledge.

What is the hp of his chiller and efficiency? Price doesn't guarantee can perform.

[terryansimon]

well. I don't know. why don't you ask him? (=

[nutx]

in anycase, I'm down only to the korean and artica , mostly because they are smaller as well, the documented specs claim that 1/4 horse power is enough, but I'll probably get a 1/3 horsepower. because specs are specs, if they are wrong I can take them to the small claims tribunal.

Hi,

I'm using the 1/3hp chiller .

The casing is the square shape, not the tower casing.

The size will be slightly smaller than reef relief and eido (or abt the same???).

Not sure abt teco casing size.

My is 3x1.5x1.5 tank with a sump of similar size, total water volumn is abt 350l.

It will run for 10-12 mins for every 1.5hr (lights off), 10-12 mins for every 1hr(lights on)

temp at 25.5 +/- 0.5.

my lights is 1xMh 250W

noise wise, acceptable (not silence) as the water flowing down the sump piping is louder!

the hot air generated is HOT! (something for you to note)

hope the info is useful for you.

[alanyeo]

Hey guys, considerations on choosing a chiller...

1. preferably have local support...warranty if possible. Most manufacturer claims they provide warranty but what parts are covered, ask them. Do they have a local service outlet here? or got to send back to Korea.

2. make sure someone on this forum has used & tested this chiller before. I used a few brands (local made as well) and some real brands like Aquamedic & Teco. In my opinion Teco still best but pricy. Quiet too.

3. Never buy a chiller designed for European or cool climate use unless recommended. The compressor cannot take our climate condition. If you drive a car before, you'll remember about 15yrs back european cars compared to Japs cars aren't suitable on our road conditions.

4. A friend of mine who used to be an aircon engineer helped me built a home-made one before. It works ok, only thing is not as professional look as those on market. Cheap too, did that abt 5 yrs back and I spent like 400bucks onli. Unfortunately I moved hse and scrapped that one.

Hope this helps

[Blenny]

agree with alan. I am also getting my aircon guy to fabricate one using split unit condenser formy new 4 x 2.5 x 2. Cost is only a fraction of the european ones and if i have any problem he will be at my doorstep within 24 hrs. Currently am using a teco to chill by 6 ft planted tank. found that it is a little noisy and my aircon man modify it with a bigger fan and is quieter now.

If you guys have your regular aircon guys, get then to mod one for you. alot cheaper and support is better. IMO

[Octo]

Friend of mine just got one 1/3hp. The chiller looks like a pc. Heat wise much much cooler than local make ones, as comparable to Teco. Noise level wise also comparable to Teco 680.

But after-sales service wise, uncomparable even to Teco which I felt was by far the best.

The Artica chillers do have local support. The warranty is actually on-site, much like a PC. Meaning if theres anything faulty, the local Dis. will replace the parts available on the spot without much delay. Unless the issue is serious, they will replace the faulty chiller with a one-to-one exchange till the former is repaired and send back to the owner. It covers the compressor and parts. Well, all these is during the 2yr warranty period. You'll have to fill up the warranty card and ,mail it to the local distributor inorder to get the warranty locally, not from Korea.

Glad to find one that offers after-sales service much like a pc.

Though abit pricey but IMO its worth every cent.

[loupgarou]

anyone locally using the artica chiller then?

I want to know whether the artica 1/4 hp can cope with a 540 litre tank + 2x 150W MH + april ambient temperature of 34.