Hailea HC-100A Reservoir Chiller

My review is based on the initial experience of setup and three days of use. I decided to pay significantly more for this chiller rather than buying some cheaper versions with dubious reviews. I also bought a more powerful chiller thinking of a larger tank in the future. My main concerns were: 1. Ease to install 2. Effectiveness 3. Durability 4. Noice level I use it to chill the water in the small hydroponic tank (36l). It is set for 21C. There are two tubes in and out. The in-tube is connected to a pump in the reservoir that transfers water to the unit and returns it chilled. My apartment is very warm, on average 26C. The chiller works well. The compressor kicks in whenever needed to lower the preset temperature. The tubes and pump need to be bought separately. I have a pump from Amazon for around £20. The tubes need to be 12mm (probably the 10mm would fit tightly too). 1. Ease to install - easy 2. Effectiveness - very efficient 3. Durability - needs more time to evaluate 4. Noice level - acceptable in my opinion. NOISE wise. Personally, it is not an issue for me. I can hear the compressor when it works. It reminds me of the noise made by a dishwasher. The noise is significantly lower than my AC unite in the bedroom with a much bigger compressor. All in all, I am please I have this model. My review is based on my perception and I have not been gifted the model to review.

Reliably cools and maintains temperature in my tank. I hoped to be able to use the output from my in tank filter as a pump but I ended up havng to buy a seperate pump (a Jier, sold under the Barst brand on Amazon). As recommended by the chiller manual, the pump I chose has a built in filter to make sure no bits get into the chiller. The chiller very easy to use and is similar in noise volume to a microwave when it is actively chilling then goes silent. My new pump us louder than I would like and I may look at smaller pumps with a filter that are quiter.

This is a really nice, small chiller for an aquarium. I purchased this for my sons Axolotl tank as on the odd warm day in the UK the water temperature was too high for them. I tried the normal tricks such as shutting curtains, putting ice blocks in the water and so on, but these were all a faff and had no effect, whereas this chiller just works. The chiller is pretty easy to set-up though bear in mind you need to supply your own pump and hosing - basically one hose runs from the pump to the inlet valve on the chiller and another hose runs from the outlet on the chiller back into the aquarium. You can connect an external filter inline with this as well if you want, though I used an internal filter and attached the hose from the outlet on the filter to the inlet on the chiller. Once connected, this runs as expected, keeps the water nice and chilled (I normally set to 17 centigrade) on my 150l aquarium. I suspect this chiller would be ok for larger aquariums, being more reliant on the pump you use and how much water you push through the chiller - flow rate is probably more important in this case, Axolotls don't like a lot of flow so I keep it relatively slow, which works well. I'd guess the faster the flow rate the less the chiller can cool the water passing through it, though have no evidence to back that up. A couple of points to note / things that could be improved. 1) It generates a lot of heat while chilling, so bear in mind - I have this in my sons bedroom and switch it off at bed time (see below) and it can get quite stifling and hot in the room 2) a remote control or a way to set up a schedule would be really handle. As it is I switch it on (turn the required temperature down) in the morning when the aquarium is likely to heat up and then turn it off (turn the required temperature up) at bedtime so that heat / noise do not disturb my son. Having a schedule to switch on / off at required times would be really useful. 3) for a bedroom, its probably just a little bit too noisy. Nothing unbearable but in a quiet bedroom its definitely too loud and I suspect if you had this in a living room you would hear it over the TV. Overall a great little unit - four stars only because its quite expensive for what it is, but to be honest all chillers seem to be expensive and this is one of the cheapest that I could find.

We have 2 axolotl tanks, and these chillers are perfect for keeping the temperature just as our water sausages need. My only niggle is the price fluctuates.

A bit disappointed by how loud it is. It does the job though. I'm not at home enough to use frozen water bottles to cool so I guess I'll have to get used to the noise.

the product seems to be good.the order was taken delivery information given but product didnt come..

This product is excellent. I have kept a coral reef and salt water fish aquarium for the last 12 years. Temperature has always been an issue but solved that with air conditioning in that room and can easily keep at 25c. New challenge in a warmer room my wife wants to keep Axolotls. 170 litre aquarium being cycled over last 4 weeks. All parameters good. Even with a fan can’t get the temp below 23c at this time. Without fan went to 26c. Installed this chiller today and already down to 17c. So I now have confidence to introduce an Axolotl in the future. Would also be great for salt water marine but read other posts and the instructions when the product arrives. If the chiller is passing salt water you need an inline filter.

It was great when it was working but obviously useless now