92 Gallon Chiller Question

[kaholic]

I have a 92 gallon corner I just made a cc to sand change on and will be running 2 400W MH and 1 250W MH. Would a 1/4 hp chiller do the job on that or should I go bigger? I was looking at the ViaAqua. I'm already a little hotter than I would like. Not too bad but wth the sump/ref pumps I'm at about 80 degrees. But if I could keep it there with the lights and a 1/4 hp, I would be happy. Any advice is appreciated! :thinking:

 

[wax32]

Should work fine, especially if your room temp isn't too hot. I have a 1/6 hp on my 70 gallon with one 250w MH.

 

[kaholic]

Thanks. I always keep the house cool but I was worried about the 1,050 watts. I made the canopy 15" high so there should be almost 12" from light to water. Hopefully the 1/4 hp will do it. Chillers are freakin expensive!

 

[bigmac]

IMO, your going to need either a bigger Via Aqua or better brand chiller. With that kind of ligting I'd go higher, a lot higher on the cheaper Asian brand chillers, Maybe even a 1/2 hp.
Take a look at the Aqua Logics and or TradeWind chillers. If you look close at the cheaper chillers your going to notice the amp draw on them is less, sometimes a lot less then the stuff made here in the good old USA. That sound great when you see the numbers but when you get it fired up and its runs 24/7 and your tank still doesn't cool down your going to be ticked off.
I use an Aqua Logics 1/3 hp on my 120 with 2x400 watt MH's. This chiller is about as small as I would go and its located in the garage, far away from the tank. The amp draw is 7.2 (around 800 watts) The AL 1/4 hp is about 5.4 amps (650 watts) I can't find a site that list any info on the Via Auqa chillers but I did read on another forum that their 1/4 hp is 380 watts..That sounds about right for these kind of chillers.
Bottom line is you get what you pay for.

 

[murph145]

i agree with BigMAC
i am currently running a aqua via cc-50 the 1/3 hp uniton my 100g reef that has 2-250 MH DE bulbs along with another 180W of PC
now granted i just recently learned that my chiller should be away from the tank prefferably outside

to make it work most effectively since its a heat exchange unit
but my chiller is next to my tank and i feel like it works harder than it should in order to keep my tank at 82.... granted my canopy is lower than yours but your putting a lot more wattage over your tank and i also have 4 cooling fans built into the canopy to help blow out heat and it still works this hard
the japanese ones have a lot less power like BigMac said its actually rated at only 340 watts the 1/4 hp is only 240W u wont be able to keep a sode cool with that on a hot day
just my 2cent id share with u

 

[kaholic]

Awesome! Thanks for the advice guys. I agree you get what you pay for. I was trying to go cheap but it just doesn't make sense to try and save a few bucks when I really need soimething bigger and of better quality. I will look at the Aqua Logics.
So, I have never had or used a chiller so this may be a really dumb question, but how exactly do you plumb it with it being all the way out in the garage? Do you run the tubing through the wall or something? Those Aqua Logics are inline right? I've never done this.

 

[murph145]

yeah if u put it outside your going to have to punc a hole through the wall and seal it up ... im planning on putting mine on the patio and gettting a bigger pump to push it.... remember the further way it is the more powerful a pump u need to push all that water that far....

 

[kaholic]

Cool! Thanks again for the help! Can't wait to get that and my lights!

 

[bigmac]

Originally Posted by kaholic
I will look at the Aqua Logics.

Check out the Tradewind chillers. If I ever had to replace my AL chillers I'd go with the TW chiller. I've heard from a few different experts that the compressor's that TW chillers use are better then the compressors AL uses.
While doing a search last night I found West Coast Aquatics chillers. These use the same Tecumseh comperssor's that the TW use. You might want to check them out as well.