Aquarium Chiller

By its name its obvious that this device is for chilling down the temperature of water in the aquarium.
Aquarium chiller is widely use in saltwater aquarium although certain  freshwater aquariums will also benefit from the use of chiller.
Aquarium chiller is one big investment in aquarium maintainence, due to chillers are relatively fairly expensive.
many times beginner does not really need a chiller for the aquarium. But as you are stepping  further to upgrade your aquarium then chiller will become one most powerful tool to keep the aquarium environment.


How Aquarium Chiller Works

Aquarium chiller operates with the same principle as refrigerators and air conditioners (AC).  The chiller system works  based on gas expansion and contraction. The gas used is refrigeration gas such as Freon. First, the freon is compressed and ran through a condenser. The condenser is a heat exchanger which removes heat from the hot compressed gas and allows it to condense into a liquid. The liquid refrigerant is then sent through an expansion valve, or capillary tube, where the pressure drops--which lowers the boiling point and makes it easy to evaporate. The refrigerant then goes through an evaporator where it can absorb heat. Tank water is pumped into a chamber around the evaporator allowing heat from the water to be transferred to the refrigerant. The loop is completed when the refrigerant goes into the compressor and back through the condenser where the heat is then transferred to the room air. Please note that the heat is simply transferred from the tank to the air so it is important to provide good ventilation for the chiller to operate properly. Do not ever place your chiller in a closet

Types of aquarium chiller

Thermoelectric chillers

• Thermoelectric chillers consist of a probe submerged in the water, and a fan for releasing heat.
• They are designed for small aquariums with less than 55 gallons of water and a slow water flow.
• They operate quietly and usually require ventilation to disperse the heat.
• Thermoelectric chillers are not effective on large aquariums with a fast water flow.

In-Line chillers

• In-line chillers have cooling coils that cool filtered water before returning it to the tank.
• They are used on larger aquariums with an in-line filtration system.
• These chillers require plumbing, and should be incorporated into the overall aquarium plan prior to execution.

Drop-in chillers

• Drop-in chillers also use probes, but these are installed directly in the wet/dry filter or a sump filter.
• They are used primarily on saltwater reef aquariums
• Require no plumbing,  making them ideal for system with limited space

It is important to note  that whichever type of chiller you choose, the chiller will emit some amount of heat therefore proper ventilation is crucial to avoid any problems with the device.