Please help in picking a chiller

[scuba_steveo]

Please help me in deciding what chiller to get. The only thing I know about chillers is that I need one. First let me describe my setup and my problem. I have a 215 in wall with a 75 gallon sump and a 100 gallon refugium. So there is about 360 gallons of total water but the lights are only over the 215. I just use home depot shop lights above the refugium. The 215 had 4-400 watt 14k bulbs running on PFO HQI ballast. I have fans running across the water and the temp would get up into the mid 83. I just added my VHO’s the other day and now the temp is getting up to 85.3. I have an 8,000 BTU window unit AC pointing directly at the back of the tank just 8 feet away but the temp is still high. So I know how chillers work, either in line or in sump but that is all I know. I have never needed one before and now I need to get educated fast. Here is what I need to know.
1. Which is better, in line or in sump?
2. How big do I need? I am thinking 1/3 HP but maybe 1/2 HP.
3. What is the best brand?
4. What brand is the best bang for the buck?
5. What brands have you had bad experience with?
6. What will the noise levels be on the different chillers? Please do not tell me in decibels. Quite, almost quite, a little noisy, or very noisy.
7. What chiller do you recommend?
8. Do you know about Victor’s Aquarium water chillers? I hear they are nice. Will it be loud though? They say the 1/2 HP is 50 dba. Is that loud?

Thank you for all the advice on this matter that I know nothing about.

[Jimnorris]

IMO the best inline chiller is the Fritz. Very, very very quiet. The 680 will work great for you system. I also had a drop in chiller once that work really well! But was very noisey. I cannot remember te brand name--sorry.
Jim

[RobertG]

Steve upgrade your A/C unit, cost about 400$ for a big 18K BTU. Your room is alot smaller than mine & I have no issues with heat. Also is there anyway to relocate your ballast out of the room? I did this & noticed about a 2degrees difference. Also when your in the room it will be nice & comfy..Just my thoughts.. Good Luck !

[scuba_steveo]

http://reefcentral.com/forums/showth...hreadid=455768

what about this? he emailed me an offer of 475.

[Tim Marvin]

How well is the room ventilated? What pumps are you using? You may be able to cure the problem by changing pumps. Jim's was an AquaLogic titanium drop in 1/3 horse chiller with a dual Medusa controller. I sent it in to the company to have it repair right after I got it and they went completely through it and said it was almost like brand new. The controller went out shortly after and I bought a brand new one. Jim ran this for less than a year and Allard bought it. Allard is selling it now or may have already. It probably has less than 1.5 years of use so it should have a long way to go if you are interested in that one. Otherwise I'd go with Jim's Fritz suggestion. The aircondition choice will work also, but will probably corrode out eventually from all the salt air. I had a small Fritz chiller and it work well, and was very quiet, almost silent.
I hope this helps a little.

[scuba_steveo]

But the prices on the Fritz...wow

what about this one

http://reefcentral.com/forums/showth...hreadid=454786

[Tim Marvin]

That looks like a good deal.