Hailea HC-100A for 1ft tank

[catohcat]

Hi,

I'm intend to get a chiller Hailea HC-100A for my 1ft ( 30cm x 17cm x 23cm ). From the spec, the chiller need a flowrate of min 200L/h, I'm using Eden 501 (max 300L/h). However, the chiller requires volume of 50L-220L while my tank volume should be ~ 10L.

May I ask if there is any problem running this chiller with 10L of water?

[eeeeemo]

what will happen is that your tank volume is too small to sustain the chilled water for long, meaning if u set it at 24deg.. due to small volume of water = heat capacity of the volume is low, v little energy is needed to heat the tank up.. the tank returns to the ~26deg(-2 of ambient) really quickly, causing your chiller to kick in very frequently...

even though it cools fast since the volume is little.... but from my experience with chillers.. having a "LONGER TIME BEFORE THE TANK HEATS UP" saves more money than having a "VERY FAST CHILLING TIME" as the latter often means a high frequency of kick ins.

[catohcat]

thanks eeeeemo for your valuable advice... as the electricity here is not a prob to me, I'm just concern about the negative effect to the chiller/and the CRSs if it run under its min water capacity. Wil there is any advice on that?

[torque6]

Its a challenge trying to keep CRS much less shrimps in a 10L tank. Mine was a failure since I began in Sep. Small water volume = large changes in water parameters, since shrimps are more sensitive to fishes, they will get heavily impacted if these happens. My shrimps didn't last me 2 months.

The problem is most LFS are displaying their CRS/shrimps in small tanks, so therotically it means if they can do it so can i, sigh.. I was wrong though.

For chilling, we usually use fans to cool nanos to around 25 degrees, its more efficient, 4.5v fan vs a 75w chiller, both achieving the same effects, but for fans, you have to top up at least 3.5L of water per week, i stand by 2x 2L of coke bottle so i can do these with ease while i aged a 10L pail of dechlorinated water for about 7 days; weekly WC.

You may want to upgrade to a 2FT tanks as advise by some people here when i ran into problems in Jan, it was termed -> more stable. However, you can certainly give it a shot and update us how you progress.

[catohcat]

thank you for your advice. Will keep updated. The A & S grade are doing well except one half-tiger tooth seems not like to eat.... It just doesnt moving at all for whe whole day.

My room size are not allowed for 2ft at the moment... Hope the shrimp can survive... .. Anyway, the chiller kick in for 5 mins then stop for 5 mins and kick-in for 5 mins again...

[eeeeemo]

let me do a calculation for you.

one day 24hours.
60mins x 24 = 1440mins
1440mins / 5mins = 288times
288times / 2 = 144times

that means your chiller kicks in approximately 144x a day. and rests for a total 144 5min intervals.

like u sed, it runs for 5mins each time it kicks in.

144 x 5mins = 720mins ~ 12hours

you chiller RUNS for around 12 hours a day.

if you are using a standard 1/10hp chiller of 300Watts.

your daily consumption of electricity in kW is:

0.3 x 12 = 3.6kW

i do not know the current tariff rates.. but lets assume it is 0.1888 (it was 0.1888 quite a few months back).
your bill per day is:

$0.1888 x 3.6 ~ $0.68

so your bill per month for chiller alone is:

$0.68 x 30 = $20.4 (calculations based on old tariff rates)

[eeeeemo]

the problem with the frequent kick ins and out is...

say the chiller kicks in when there is a 1deg difference and cools the water to 1deg below the set temperature.

imagine the weather in spore.. rises to 31degrees in 5mins and drops to 29degrees the next 5mins.

not sure about you.. but il fall sick sooner or later..

that is why ppl recommend bigger tanks when it comes to operating with chiller..
not only saves money but the conditions of the tank doesnt change to drastically..

more water volume also means more room for mistakes.

[torque6]

Its not a choice since even t5 lights, hangons, and basic stuff like chiller are solely design for 2FT, its much easier to get accessories for this larger tanks than nano tanks. I even had problem getting a nano internal reactor with 100L and had to DIY my own, including fans.....

Alot of people ask me to upgrade to larger tanks to accomodate the chillers but it will set me back hundreds just for the cabinet

[catohcat]

Thank eeeeemo for your advise, I'm also worry that the shrimp will not feel well since the temperature is fluctuating between 24-25 in 5 mins (Hailea chiller cools the tank till 0.1 degree less than the set temp).

Today I cover 3 sides of my tank with insulation foam. Guess what ? Now the Chiller is running for 5mins then rest for 15mins! Hope that the shrimps can do well now.

[torque6]

Its a creative idea insulating both sides of the tank with foam if you don't mind the look. Probably an interim solution but it will work for now.

[shrimps&chips]

Hello catohcat!
how much does Hailea HC-100A cost? and where did you get it?
i am considering of getting one for my 40cmX26cmX30cm tank.

[williamng]

Wow! What temperature did you set? On and off every 5 minutes?

[catohcat]

Hello catohcat!
how much does Hailea HC-100A cost? and where did you get it?
i am considering of getting one for my 40cmX26cmX30cm tank.

It costs SGD300 for brandnew, you can buy it at Nature Aquarium or Midori. Mine is a 2nd hand, bought at $120, 3 months old.

[torque6]

ya, catohcat had benefited alot since coming to this forum, lots of great deals at b/s. Wished i had done this half a year ago, would have saved more $$

[Aquaculture]

For a 1ft tank, a fan would be good enough to cool it down. As eeeeemo has already highlighted the potential issues you would be facing and the solution then would be to install an external thermostat.

[shrimps&chips]

It costs SGD300 for brandnew, you can buy it at Nature Aquarium or Midori. Mine is a 2nd hand, bought at $120, 3 months old.

When your hailea chiller kicks in, is it noisy?

[catohcat]

it's as noisy as my DIY fan... but not as noisy as my portable aircon.. so I give it a thumb up =)

[torque6]

?? DIY fan shouldnt be noisy. Im using the thermaltake 12cm 1225, about 15db on 9v as requested by the kind uncle at sim lim square. Silent and good at keeping my tank at 26 degree most of the time.