Krux Posted April 13, 2019 Share Posted April 13, 2019 (edited) Hello all! Wife and I are going to be out of country for a couple of weeks at what will be one of the warmer portions of the summer (first half of July). Last year at the same time there were a few days I needed to drop frozen water bottles into the sump as we do not have central air in our house. I have a portable AC unit that I ran non-stop mid-June through the end of August that took the edge off in the basement, and plan to do so again but it will need to be further from the tank so I can run a direct drain drain line to the shower. In anticipation of needing to have an automated solution the search for an appropriate chiller has commenced. I only need to drop a few degrees (3-5) off of ambient on an approximately 90 gallon system, but want to size appropriately so that the thing isn't turning on and off every 5 minutes, or running non-stop. My uneducated guess is in the 1/4hp range here in Portland, but I am looking for success stories from folks whose summer temps inside hit the mid 80's. I used to run a 1/4hp on my 120 and it worked relatively well. The other option would be to install a central AC unit for the house, but I think that may be more than we need for this particular project. Thanks in advance! Edited April 13, 2019 by Krux Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The ReefBox Posted April 13, 2019 Share Posted April 13, 2019 Krux I think 1/4 is sufficient but I always overdose so me personally I would do a 1/3 because I know at some point I’m going bigger with tanks!!! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
IntoTheMystic Posted April 13, 2019 Share Posted April 13, 2019 Have you considered one of these? https://aqualogicinc.com/product/cyclone-drop-in-chillers/ They can be put on any system when you need it and easily removed when you don't. You'd need a temp controller to govern this component but it's a lot easier and less expensive than some of the other options you mentioned. Drop the coil in the sump (make sure all the metal is covered by water at all times), program the controller and you're good to go. As you probably know, these are professional-grade chillers and they are very well made. Hope this was helpful! 🍻 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Krux Posted May 24, 2019 Author Share Posted May 24, 2019 On 4/13/2019 at 6:38 AM, IntoTheMystic said: Have you considered one of these? https://aqualogicinc.com/product/cyclone-drop-in-chillers/ They can be put on any system when you need it and easily removed when you don't. You'd need a temp controller to govern this component but it's a lot easier and less expensive than some of the other options you mentioned. Drop the coil in the sump (make sure all the metal is covered by water at all times), program the controller and you're good to go. As you probably know, these are professional-grade chillers and they are very well made. Hope this was helpful! 🍻 Found a screaming deal on a used 1/2hp cyclone. Assuming it show us working I think that should take care of this, as well as the next two upgrades. Thanks for the suggestion, I had forgotten about the old cyclones... super easy to put on and take back offline. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
albertareef Posted May 24, 2019 Share Posted May 24, 2019 1 hour ago, Krux said: Found a screaming deal on a used 1/2hp cyclone. Assuming it show us working I think that should take care of this, as well as the next two upgrades. Thanks for the suggestion, I had forgotten about the old cyclones... super easy to put on and take back offline. Nice find! Glad you found something that should work for you. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
xmas_one Posted May 24, 2019 Share Posted May 24, 2019 If you only need to drop a couple degrees, look into fans. I ran two clip on fans on a ~100 gallon system in a hot garage (peaking at 90+ degrees) last summer and was able to keep it under 84 degrees no problem. Helps if you have an Apex to control the fans. 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TaylorW Posted May 25, 2019 Share Posted May 25, 2019 I agree [emoji817]!! I use those little Walmart fans they help a ton. I use the USB ones connected to a timer on a USB power strip. Works great, I ALMOST considered a chiller until I saw others using these and tried it, they had it on sale for $2.99 so couldn't hurt to try... I couldn't believe how much they help! I was hovering between 78-84 at times and was freaking out, those little fans saved me a lot of money lol. I have mine aimed across the tank, some people have them in the sump area if a lot of your heat is coming from pumps etc. I have mine to come on about half hour after my lights come on because my lights emit more heat but some people have them running all the time. Sent from my BLU R1 HD using Tapatalk 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Krux Posted May 25, 2019 Author Share Posted May 25, 2019 Tried the fans last year and still had to throw frozen water bottles in the sump. It helped, but I still got over 81 (my upper limit).Not worth nuking the tank while I am away for two weeks to save the cost of a couple frags...Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Krux Posted May 31, 2019 Author Share Posted May 31, 2019 (edited) @IntoTheMystic thanks again for the tip, the 1/2hp unit from ebay arrived today, is in good condition, and dropped my largest stock put full of 105 degree water to 79 in about 3 minutes during testing. Definitely louder than my old 1/4hp unit, but this will usually kick on mid day when we are at work anyway, and it will live down in the basement. Adventure time ahead, just missing the Trident to be able to fully automate from St. Lucia! Edited May 31, 2019 by Krux 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
IntoTheMystic Posted June 1, 2019 Share Posted June 1, 2019 You, sir, are very welcome! I don't work with many Cyclones but have when I worked at the Teaching Aquarium. Just make sure that chiller coil is submerged at all times or the refrigerant will freeze in the exposed coil and that sucker will run and run. Great life support component for limited (summertime) applications, though. Probably pulls a lot of amps, though, so make sure it's on a circuit without mission-critical components. 🍻 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SuncrestReef Posted June 1, 2019 Share Posted June 1, 2019 Enjoy St. Lucia! Any snorkeling or diving plans? I was there a few years ago but the water was so murky from heavy rain that I couldn’t see a thing when snorkeling. I did, however, see a dead cow floating in the ocean that got swept away by flooding. 😞 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.
Note: Your post will require moderator approval before it will be visible.