Chiller

[Ben_Qld]

Hello

Im not sure if this is the right place to post, move it if need be

Anyways, I have a 3ft Reef tank in Brisbane, Australia. I think it is about 25 - 30G. And I was thinking of getting a chiller, I have never bothered befrore as they were all $1500+. But i have found a place where the chillers are around $560 for a 1/10hp, and $650 for a 1/6hp.

On the chiller site, it says the 1/10hp is fine for up to a 400L tank, If i got a 1/10hp would it be ok for a 3 (4ft in future) tank, they would only be lit with fluro tubes, no MH ?

The website is http://www.resun.com.cn/product_en.htm and the chiller i am looking at is either the CL-280 (1/10hp) or C -450 (1/6hp) !

has anyone had expereience with this particular brand ?

Thanks

Ben

 

[tangir1]

First of all, welcome to RDO!

Everything is expensive when you use Aussy money...

I doubt that a 1/10 HP is good for a 400L tank. The key pharse is "up to", like "up to 90% off sale!" but if you have low heat input (pump, light, air temp), you may be able to do away with a small compressor.

So what do you keep in your tank with only fluro? Soft corals?

 

[Ben_Qld]

Yeah, although a $550 chiller isnt too bad if you ask me (or $650 for a 1/6hp model)

I guess I willbe fine with both, as i dont have a high thermal load anyways, and i would go a 4ft max tank, so thats only about 200l

i have mainly soft corals, anemones, fish, shrips + other creepy crawlies

 

[Rainman]

I have the Resun 450 1/6 HP chiller that I got through aquariumproducts.com.au

They were fast and efficient. The chiller arrived and was plumbed in about 30 mins. It works perfectly and i haven't had any troubles with it so far.

However, be warned that it is rather noisy when the compressor and fan turn on (mine fires about 5 times a day) to keep the 3ft tank at 27 degrees C.

The thermostat on these models is a 2 degree C one. So, if you set it to 26 it will stay at 27 mostly, and turn on the compressor at 28. You will need about a 1200-2000L/h pump. I got a $20 one from Bunnings.

I would recommend buying this model, I don't think you'll regret it. Before I installed mine, the tank was 32 deg. everyday (as I'm in Townsville) !!! *eek*

 

[Ben_Qld]

Im tossing up betwen the 1/10hp and the 1/6hp, the 1/10 would be ok for my current tank, but i want to set up a 2.5ft x 2ft x 1.5ft custom tank with maybe 1 x 150w MH or some high powered fluros. And the 1/6hp would be much better for this setup, as it would probally strain the 1/10hp.

I live about 30mins from the aquariumproducts.com.au shop, and he said i can have a 5% discount if i pickup !

is the 1/6hp much bigger than the 1/10hp ?

one pet shop here wated over $950 for the 1/10hp model !!!! and another place had a teco brand 1/10hp chiller for about $1500 !!! this resun one looks like excellent value !

Im also looking for decent prices on 10k 150w MH lights as well, as im fully building the new system, doung as much DIY as i can to keep costs down, and i want a 10k MH as i dont think i will need actinics with that which will make design easier, and keep running costs down !

What setup do you have on your 35G reef ?

 

[Rainman]

If you only live 30 mins from there, go down and ask them about the chiller sizes etc...!! They wil be able to tell you everything you need to know, just ask the main dude, not some 10 yr old who will sell you 20 tetras for your reef

As for my lighting, I just (today) received a 250W SE 14000k bulb and ballast from corallights.com, I got a reflector for about $80 from a local hydroponics shop.

You can get 150W set-ups complete for $240 from reefonlince.com.au.

If I were you, I would check out the various threads over at MASA:
http://www.masa.asn.au/rtaw/ubbthreads.php?.

It's an Australian forum with Australian answers (that way you get local knowledge).

This thread in particular...
http://www.masa.asn.au/rtaw/showfla...76436&page=0&view=collapsed&sb=5&o=31&fpart=1

 

[Ben_Qld]

THANKS HEAPS !

those places are HEAPS cheaper than most LFS ! i was 50/50 if i was goin fluro or MH, but if i can get a 150w setup for $230 ! it will cost me that much to set up a decent fluro one ! and MH looks sooo much better !

https://www.corallights.com.au has some good stuff, but the

reefonlince.com.au. site wont work ? i even tried removeg the c in ti as i thought it was a typo. EDIT: I forgot the www in front and removed the c, thats a good site, it will make my new reef heaps cheaper !

Do you need a actinic with a 10000 or 14000 bulb ?

Thanks for the australian forum links, its good to get local knowlege as most LFS that sell reef stuff know Sweet F%$$k all about what they are selling !

 

[Rainman]

That's fine. Glad to help out.

The question of what you 'need' is very subjective (i don't think you'll need actinic with 14000k 250W on your size tank). Some prefer to supplement, others don't.

If you have more bulbs etc... then you have more options (particularly for dawn/dusk settings and so on...), but it also costs more to set-up and more to run, so there are definitely pros and cons.

Many people will ask, "What do you want to keep?", but if you're just getting 'hard-core' you probably aren't too sure.

I wanted to set up a tank that was managable (i.e. not too big), wouldn't kill my bank account, and would allow me to keep pretty much anything that lives in the ocean (within reason). So that's pretty much what I'm nearly at...

 

[Ben_Qld]

I was thinking of maybe a 150w 10k bulb, and maybe a small actinic to supplement and give damn / dusk, its all in the air ATM while i deceide and add everything up. As the running costs will be a big deceider, thats why i want as little amounts of lights as possible, whilst also maintinaing a good reef, I guess with a MH, i will be able to keep some SPS corals near the surface, but i like the LPS corals more

I have also seen people use unltra bright blueish LED's for dawn/dusk, they are pretty cheap, and use very low power !

In the end, I am after a decent size tank, that i can hold a few fish in, and make a nice reef, and i want it to not cost too much (trying to also save for a house) and have low running costs and also be a sinch to maintain !

I have some good ideas, where i can have 3 faces of the tank with nothing on them, and have no pumps visible, and only need 1 pump for the whole system (inc sump) I want to just get a big pump, direct 70% of the flow up to the tank (through the chiller) , which will have 3 outlets to create enough flow around the reef, ad direct the other 30% through the skimmer in the sump.

 

[Rainman]

Sounds like a plan LED are used commonly. Pretty easy to set up too.