# Other Aquarium Forums > Equipment and Accessories >  Hailea Chiller & Canister Filter

## urban.pleco

Hi everyone, i'm planning to get a chiller for a new setup & i found a good deal for Hailea 150A however the canister im using is Ehiem Ecco 2232. The recommended flowrate for 150A is 250-1000l/h & my filter flowrate is 400l/h. 

My question is my filter suitable for this chiller or i should get 100A instead? It will be a 2 feet tank setup. Appreciate the advice i can get as im new to this.

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## BFG

The 1st thing to consider when buying the chiller is to make sure whether your tank size is suitable for the chiller. Always buy a chiller 1 step above the one you really need. If it's a 1/10hp, get a 1/6hp instead. We live in a climate where certain months are really hot and having a slightly over power chiller should help to over come this weather phenomenon. After clearing this hurdle would you go with the secondary consideration of whether your canister filter has the power to push water through the chiller. 

As an added bonus to the question of purchasing a chiller, try to have your chiller modified to have an external temperature sensor attached to it, rather than using the internal temperature sensor that comes in stock configuration. Reason being, and it's a very big one, is that with an external temperature sensor, which will be placed in the tank itself, your chiller is not going to be relying on your canister filter performance or the ability to push a certain volume of water at a certain timing. With an external temperature sensor, the chiller is measuring the exact temperature of the water in the tank that's needed to be cooled. Once the whole tank water volume achieved the desired temperature, the chiller will switched off on it's own and sleep until it is awoken again when the water temperature rise to the cut off point that you set it.

If you use the stock configuration internal temperature sensor, you would have problem in getting the right pump to be used to push water to the chiller. No 2 set up are the same so your equipment to pump the water might not be strong enough or too powerful for the chiller. What will happen in this 2 cases? Simply know that the chiller will frequently switch on and off, on and off again so on and so forth. This will shorten the life span of the chiller. Why this happen, you might ask? It is because of the placement of the internal temperature sensor in the water compartment of the chiller. If the chilling power is faster than the water is able to carry it out of the chiller, due to an under powered pump, the sensor might have detected that the water is chilled and would halt the chiller to chill the water. As the water volume is being replaced by new water pushing in by the pump, the sensor will picked up this new warmer temperature and start the chiller again. The opposite happen when you have a powerful pump, in that the water travel too quickly for the chiller to chill the water, making the water although, slightly chilled but not chilled enough to cool the tank water volume.


Hope this helps! :Smile:

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## urban.pleco

Thank you so much for the advice. Almost took the plunge to get the Hailea 100A but now you mention, maybe have to reconsider...

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## eviltrain

just a question. what dimension is your 2 feet tank?

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## urban.pleco

It's 60x30x38cm

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## eviltrain

its better for you to get A150 or CL 280 instead. You will get healthier monthly bills too.

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## melvin0202

May i know whats the price range for CL280? any recommendation on place to purchase?

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## jeffteo

I am exploring a chiller also and my tank size is almost similar urban.placo. Comparing Hailea and Resun, which chiller brand is more reliable?

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## slimymadness

hi all, sorry to hijack this thread. i am also facing a similar chiller problem, as BFG mention, it's worth getting a high powered chiller rather than underpowering the process. but we know that when the chiller kicks in, it consumes most power. thus as with BFG's theory, am i correct to assume than a chiller with a bigger HP will kick it less? 

EG a 1/2hp for a 2footer vs a 1/8hp for a 2footer, which will kick in more times thus incurring a higher bill? thanks all!

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## BFG

My advise is to get a chiller 1 step higher that what you need for a given tank size. Reason being, it will not have to work too hard when the hot weather arrives on our shores. It might be a potential problem to have an under size or a 'just nice' chiller when the hot weather are upon us as these chiller will have to perform for a longer period to cool the tank during that hot period of the year.

As for the frequent kick in, I have suggested that a chiller need to be modified to have an external temperature probe which will lessen the kick in and out frequency of the chiller due to a lower or over powered pump flow rate.


Hope this helps!

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## HerrGideon

My apologies on hijacking this thread, but I believe I have a similar situation that I need advice for.

I have a 60x30x30 (cm) tank and just got a Hailea 100-A. May I enquire where I can get my unit modified to have the external temperature sensor?

Greatly appreciate the help. Thanks!

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## ZackZhou

sim lim or any place that sells air con.
there is 2 ways. 
1: mod the external thermostat directly with the build in. 
2: external thermostat that only connected to the power on/off of the chiller itself.
 :Smile:

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## HerrGideon

Thanks for your response!

Any idea how I can do the mod or get the thermostat mentioned in No. 2? Is it compatible with the Hailea HC-100A?  :Smile:

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## urban.pleco

Hi giddygid, i bought the Hailea HC-100A & what i did was to buy the external temperature sensor from Sim Lim Tower & connect it to the chiller. This way the chiller will take the temperature reading from the tank instead of in the water reservoir in the chiller. This way it is more efficient & i also do not want to get a more powerful filter as my tank is only 2 feet. 

This is the website link to the shop: http://www.acez.com.sg/index.php

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## HerrGideon

Thanks for your reply urban.pleco!

I bought the external sensor from Acez and tried setting the thing up. Most unfortunately, I am at a complete loss when it comes to electronics, so I decided to send it to Bioplast for fixing instead.

It's my first time there, and the shop owner was kindly and affable. Will be collecting it tomorrow!  :Smile:

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## urban.pleco

Haha, i had the same problem as you but managed to get it done in the end. Great to know that you will have a chiller soon!

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## ladygaga

Better don't drive your chiller through canister.
To use an external pump! Hailea Chiller 500A + Hailea pump HX6540, works great for my 4ft tank.

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## DYLAN

Hi guys urgent advice need. I recently bought a Hailea 300a from a fellow forumer. Initialy the setup was intake-canister-chiller-output but however I thought the output was reduced slightly so i decided to buy a pump.

I then got a Eheim Compact+ 2000 and connected, input-canister-chiller-pump-output. The flow has not increased and instead started producing fine like bubbles in my tank. So I changed it again to input-pump-canister-chiller-output. This time round its worst, the flowrate was worse than before I bought a pump. I noted before I bought the pump, my chiller would kick in for about 40mins and kick out for an hour or so. But with the last setup, the chiller is kicking in like every 10mins interval. Can someone advice what is really wrong with my setup.

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## ladygaga

> Hi guys urgent advice need. I recently bought a Hailea 300a from a fellow forumer. Initialy the setup was intake-canister-chiller-output but however I thought the output was reduced slightly so i decided to buy a pump.
> 
> I then got a Eheim Compact+ 2000 and connected, input-canister-chiller-pump-output. The flow has not increased and instead started producing fine like bubbles in my tank. So I changed it again to input-pump-canister-chiller-output. This time round its worst, the flowrate was worse than before I bought a pump. I noted before I bought the pump, my chiller would kick in for about 40mins and kick out for an hour or so. But with the last setup, the chiller is kicking in like every 10mins interval. Can someone advice what is really wrong with my setup.


Dylan, 

You made a big mistake. You can not run a car with dual engines----that does mean one pump one line, only except there have an override mechanism.
You may 
1) unplug your canister and run with external pump only,
or 2)make a separate line for chiller.

Option 2 is recommended. Since the flow rate is 1000-2500L/H required by 300A, that's a big challenge for a fully filled canister as well will be even worse after a few days running.

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## jeffteo

Try just putting the pump and chiller. As there are media inside the canister and with the dirty build-up, the flow rate will not not really hit max even with an additional pump. You can try cleaning the foam inside the filter to see the difference.

For input-canister-chiller-pump-output, there should be some very fine leak some where and it is sucking in air.
input-pump-canister-chiller-output will have media and dirt restricting the flow. The pump may actually clog up the filter faster. That's why the canister is bigger for higher flow rate filter. Bigger canister will have more surface area on the filter pad to collect the dirt and will take longer time to clog up. Ever wonder why filter manufacturer don't just increase the flow rate of the same sized filter to increase filtration? This is why.
The intake pipe also plays a part. With the same size holes at the intake, no matter how much suction the pump provide, there is a limit.

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## ladygaga

> Hi giddygid, i bought the Hailea HC-100A & what i did was to buy the external temperature sensor from Sim Lim Tower & connect it to the chiller. This way the chiller will take the temperature reading from the tank instead of in the water reservoir in the chiller. This way it is more efficient & i also do not want to get a more powerful filter as my tank is only 2 feet. 
> 
> This is the website link to the shop: http://www.acez.com.sg/index.php


SOOO great you are, Pleco!

Can we be shared with your DIY?
i.e. what's the model of the sensor you used, how you replace and bypass the sensor from old to new, what's the reading and setting after replacement?

I have the idea to update my 500A, just blank in mind.

Cheers with giant thanks !

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## DYLAN

> Dylan, 
> 
> You made a big mistake. You can not run a car with dual engines----that does mean one pump one line, only except there have an override mechanism.
> You may 
> 1) unplug your canister and run with external pump only,
> or 2)make a separate line for chiller.
> 
> Option 2 is recommended. Since the flow rate is 1000-2500L/H required by 300A, that's a big challenge for a fully filled canister as well will be even worse after a few days running.





> Try just putting the pump and chiller. As there are media inside the canister and with the dirty build-up, the flow rate will not not really hit max even with an additional pump. You can try cleaning the foam inside the filter to see the difference.
> 
> For input-canister-chiller-pump-output, there should be some very fine leak some where and it is sucking in air.
> input-pump-canister-chiller-output will have media and dirt restricting the flow. The pump may actually clog up the filter faster. That's why the canister is bigger for higher flow rate filter. Bigger canister will have more surface area on the filter pad to collect the dirt and will take longer time to clog up. Ever wonder why filter manufacturer don't just increase the flow rate of the same sized filter to increase filtration? This is why.
> The intake pipe also plays a part. With the same size holes at the intake, no matter how much suction the pump provide, there is a limit.


A very big thanks to Ladygaga and Jeffteo for your advise. Correct me if i am wrong, the correct setup should be as follows: - intake-pump-chiller-output and a seperate for the canister will be intake-canister-output. Very new in this hobby as this is my first ever tank. A very big thank you in advance.

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## BFG

I would recommend that you modify your chiller 1st. After that, connect it to your canister filter. No need to use another pump and pay more for electricity.

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## DYLAN

Thanks BFG for your advice, currently the chiller is turn off as well as the pump. By just relying on the canister, will my flowrate be still insuficient?

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## jeffteo

The canister pump is design only for the rated flow rate and with all the media in, the flow rate should drop to around 60-70%. If that is within the recommended flow rate of the chiller, preferable in the middle of the range it should be sufficient.

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## ladygaga

The aquarium chiller is a little bit more complex compared with a beer chiller or fridge, since extra heat exchange will be cast between tank/water line and environment.
For a better understanding to setup a chiller, it may simplify the aquarium chiller as a fridge: The higher flow rate it is, the lower running time it will be, no matter where the sensor it is.

Assuming Chiller is running under flow rate of *A:500H B:1000L/H C:2000L/H*, if it takes 1 hour to sink down 1℃ for *A*, happily *B* will take half an hour, *C* will take 15mins only!

On the other words, under situation A, you put a cup of water in a fridge one hour, equal to the cup in fridge B for 2 hours as well as in fridge C for 4 hours. the later will result more temperature drop.

The higher flow rate is up to the designed max limit. Higher flow rate means higher pressure.

Consider the chiller is an electricity monster (1/10-1HP), higher flow rate is always way to energy saving.

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## DYLAN

> The aquarium chiller is a little bit more complex compared with a beer chiller or fridge, since extra heat exchange will be cast between tank/water line and environment.
> For a better understanding to setup a chiller, it may simplify the aquarium chiller as a fridge: The higher flow rate it is, the lower running time it will be, no matter where the sensor it is.
> 
> Assuming Chiller is running under flow rate of *A:500H B:1000L/H C:2000L/H*, if it takes 1 hour to sink down 1℃ for *A*, happily *B* will take half an hour, *C* will take 15mins only!
> 
> On the other words, under situation A, you put a cup of water in a fridge one hour, equal to the cup in fridge B for 2 hours as well as in fridge C for 4 hours. the later will result more temperature drop.
> 
> The higher flow rate is up to the designed max limit. Higher flow rate means higher pressure.
> 
> Consider the chiller is an electricity monster (1/10-1HP), higher flow rate is always way to energy saving.


Thats a very spot on reply and advise. I have finally solved the problem to my flowrate issue. It is due to a clogged fine filter pad in the canister. Thank you all forummers for your advise and replies.

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## jeffteo

You may want to try adding a pre-filter somewhere before the canister so that you can easily clean the bigger debris in the pre-filter. I think Eheim have inline pre-filter.
Please don't go and add a big pre-filter like the Shiruba one as it it will reduce the flow rate significantly.

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## nightscent

Hi all just want to confirm something regarding this topic before I commit to another purchase. I have also gotten myself a Hailea 300 a while back but have yet to setup my tank and was researching when I chanced upon this thread. In short, these are the 2 ways I can choose to setup my equipment since my 2217s will not be sufficient to drive my chiller - please correct me if I'm wrong somewhere  :Smile: 

1) Tank -> Prefilter (to remove large debris) -> Pump (eg. Eheim 1250 which comes with prefilter also) -> Chiller -> Tank
The Eheim 1250 has a flow rate of 1200 l/h and should drive the chlller nicely. However this requires another set of input and ouput pair in my tank, and coupled with 2 x 2217s will this lead to too strong of a current flow?

2) Tank -> Cannister filter(eg. 2217) -> Chiller(Modified with external sensor) -> Tank
Since the 2217 is unable to drive the chiller properly, I should modify the chiller to sense the temperature of the water from the tank itself. _This reduces the number of kick ins compared to a stock chiller in the same setup, as the kicking in is no longer triggered by inadequate flow of water._ (Need some confirmation here  :Smile:  ) However it would still take a longer time to chill the tank compared to option (1) because of a lower flow rate.

I would most likely prefer option (2) as it requires less tubing and inlets/outlets but I would love to hear any comments before I send my chiller off to Bioplast!  :Very Happy: 

Additional Information - Tank size 4 x 1.5 x 2

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## ZackZhou

Hi night scent, what you mentioned above is correct. I suggest you go along with you option 2. 
But first I need to know your tank dimensions. From what I saw I assume your tank is a 3 feet or 4feet? 
If it's 3 feet, go for 2.
If it's 4 feet, I suggest you purphase a pump of at least 1400lph, connect as inlet > prefilter > pump > chiller > output.
Second line is inlet > 2217 (power off or sell away get a big prefilter) > 2217 (power on) > outlet

Like this num 1 will be chilling your tank, while number 2 is slowly building up bb(bb grows better with slower flowrate)

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## nightscent

Yup! tank is 4 x 1.5 x 2  :Smile:  Sounds like a good suggestion haha. Will the 2nd canister be stressed from pulling 2x the amount of media? I have heard some people remove the impeller for their filters - could I run mine like this?

First circuit: Tank > 1st 2217 > inline diffusor for CO2 > Tank
Other circuit: Tank > 2nd 2217 (Removed impeller/OFF) > External pump > chiller(Modify?) > Tank

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## ZackZhou

Can also. In that caseyou pump will be slightly higher flow rate. As a 4 feet, you can look for a 2000lph pump already  :Smile:

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## elements

halo experts...
juz to ask advise here...i have been cycling my 2ft(60x30x35) for 1 mth already...so do i need to do some maintenance on my canister filter too, like replacing the wool?
I'm using TR-5 and 2215...
so far kick-in is abt 20mins and the next will be abt 1hr plus..after some monitoring...

Thanks

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## jeffteo

Planted tank? Any live stock added?
Am no expert but if yours is a planted tank, it will be good the rinse the filter medias in used tank/dechlorinated water before adding any live stock.

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## elements

Ok thxs, planning for CRS.. Will do some maintenance then

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