Dolphin TEM 789 (2 fan model)

[tanguanh]

Hi everyone,

I am using a DIY PC fan to attempt to cool down my 1 feet planted tank. As the weather has been extremely hot, I am only able to achieve a temperature range of 27 - 28 degree celsius. I am thinking of purchasing the Dolphin TEM789 chiller to bring down the temperature to a more comfortable 26-27 degree celsius range. Please advise whether the TEM chiller is able to achieve my desired temperature as my prime considerations in considering a TEM chiller vs a refrigerant chiller are the electricity bill and heat generated.

Thanks,
Alex

[Panut]

Dolphin is china-made with no guarantee, and cost many more times than your PC fan. I would try adding another PC fan and angle them in such a way whereby it is most effective.

[tawauboy]

tem chiller is less efficient compared to refrigerant chiller. so electricity consumption would be higher for a tem chiller.
tem chiller generates quite a lot of heat. to achieve 26 deg c, the "hot side" (where the heat sinks are) wiil be around 94 deg c. the fan is extracting this heat into the surroundings.
the main advantages are lesser moving parts and noise from the fan only.

[fugu_88]

How does a TEM chiller look like? Any picture...

[torque6]

diy fan for 1ft tank should suffice. i have a 10L tank with a 9cm fan too. Temp maintain at around 27 degrees during the day.

[tanguanh]

Hi Torque6,

Mine is a 27L tank and I am using a 12V 12cm fan to blow directly at the water. I can only achieve 28 degree celsius, fan not powerful enough? Will having 2 DIY fans working together help?

Hi Tawauboy,

Din realise that TEM chiller power consumption bill will be higher...thanks for pointing that out...if i do go for the refrigerant chiller, which model would be good for a 27L tank? will the kick in be very frequent for such a small tank?

[tawauboy]

having 2 fans should help.

for chillers, check with lfs for suitable models. those lower capacity models should be sufficient for you. how frequent a chiller kicks in depends on factors such as surrounding temperature, chiller temperature setting hysterisis, ...

[torque6]

2 fans should help since i believe 27L = cube 30cm ? Weather nowadays get really hot, my temp peak around to 28 today.., even im sweating like a pig.

[Peterfoo]

For a 1 foot tank, two 9cm fans should be more than sufficient. The trouble will only be more often topping up tank water.

Just bear with the heat for another 3 to 4 months, then this temperature issue will be more bearable.