Appropriate sized chiller for 40 gallon reef

[MikeD]

I'm looking for a good quality chiller for use on a 40 gallon breeder reef tank. Hopefully, something that is easy to use and hookup. It's for my classroom reef tank where in the summer, there is no AC and it can get quite HOT in the classroom. The tank is lit with a TekLight T5 fixture (4 bulb). I read that there are drop in models but I don't have a sump so if anyone has any suggestions, that would be great!

Thanks!

Mike

[Jeremy B.]

Hi Mike,

I would take a look at the Pacific Coast CL-280. The unit is inline, but it wouldn't be too tough to put a pump in the tank to get water out and into the chiller, then back into the tank. A drop-in would most likely have way too big of a cooling probe for that size tank, so the in-line would be better suited in my opinion.

Here is a link to the Pacific Coast....

http://www.premiumaquatics.com/Merchant2/merchant.mvc?Screen=PROD&Product_Code=PC-CL-280&Category_Code=

[MikeD]

Would you just use one pump that pumps water from the tank to the chiller AND back? Or are two pumps needed? Also, is the pump small like a powerhead? Or something large? What about external options?

[eclecticvibe]

You could use just 1 pump to push water out of the tank, and then back up. Just make sure you have a big enough pump to handle the head pressure and remember that chillers add 3-4 ft of head themselves. Something like a MagDrive Could work. It's a little bigger than a powerhead. You'll need something that can push between 500 and 800 gph at about 10 ft' of head pressure I'd say. There's really no external option unless you want to use an overflow box and sump.

[MikeD]

So if I used something like a mag950, I should be able to set that somewhere in the back of my tank to push out water to the chiller and back into the tank? The chiller would most likely be either next to the tank on the countertop or over the summer, I could rest it on the ground level. What do you think?

Mike

[Jeremy B.]

Hi Mike,

That would be just fine. Having it up high next to the tank would create less back pressure on the pump, giving you more flow back into the aquarium. Having it down on the floor would just create more head pressure, reducing your overall flow, however with that size pump you would still have enough to run the chiller efficiently.

Thanks,
Jeremy

[MikeD]

Would you recommend that I make some sort of PVC system to connect that mag 950 to the chiller and same with the return? Or just standard hose will do? I kind of want something more sturdy if possible... Should I have perhaps a spray bar or something so it's not too forceful? Any ideas as I plan this out to be a reality for this summer?

[Jeremy B.]

Standard hose would work just fine for you. You could also use pvc, but it's not needed if you don't want to use it.

The flow will be cut down quite a bit on that Mag950 after it exits the chiller. If you don't have a ton of flow already just one single outlet should be fine. If you do have quite a bit of flow you might build the spraybar to mix it up a little.

[MikeD]

Thanks Jeremy... Also, someone was trying to convince me on the jbj arctica systems (1/10hp) do you still think the pacific coast one is better?

[Jeremy B.]

I feel the Pacific Coast is put together just a touch better than the JBJ after seeing them side by side and running them. The JBJ has a little more narrower footprint, and the PC more squared up. Noise levels are extremely comparable to one another, both very quiet!

[MikeD]

Great.. I'm writing up my request for funding now!