Wanting to add a chiller

[melanie]

I have a 75 gal with a small sump, 5-7 gal. Don’t really have room in the sump for the chiller, would probably have to get an external. Any advice or brands people like? 

[obrien.david.j]

I've run an external chiller, plumbed into my main sump->tank return loop for years.  Most of the time, it's never turned on, but really helps on some of those hot summer days.   

My chiller is so old, I can't offer any specifics on brands/etc.   But I DO Like your thoughts of going external.   That's my main advice.

[melanie]

24 minutes ago, obrien.david.j said:

I've run an external chiller, plumbed into my main sump->tank return loop for years.  Most of the time, it's never turned on, but really helps on some of those hot summer days.   

My chiller is so old, I can't offer any specifics on brands/etc.   But I DO Like your thoughts of going external.   That's my main advice.

Good to hear! Thank you! It seemed like last summer I had to keep the ac on all day to keep the tank at a reasonable temp which was still higher than I wanted. We’ll see how this weekend goes… haven’t pulled the ac yet so hopefully temp will be okay

[melanie]

Another question, what temp do you guys usually have in the summer and at what threshold do you feel is too warm? 

[chewyblunts]

i dont run one but i have a friend in hawaii than runs it constantly.  he uses the active aqua chiller.  never heard him have any issues with it.  although i think he did have to replace it once 5 years or something.

[Lexinverts]

3 hours ago, melanie said:

I have a 75 gal with a small sump, 5-7 gal. Don’t really have room in the sump for the chiller, would probably have to get an external. Any advice or brands people like? 

I've got a used 1/4 horse power JBJ chiller in my garage that I will sell to you for cheap. JBJ is the best chiller brand in my opinion. Are you coming to the frag show?

[obrien.david.j]

My system is Apex controlled.   I run two different stages of heaters, 2nd stage for when the coldest winter nights hit.  (my sump and frag tanks are in the garage)  Each heater is driven by an inkbird controller, set to 1.5 degrees higher than the neptune setpoint, as a safety net.  That means Neptune is what I expect to be making on/off decisions.   (I also have two temp probes, one in main tank flow, one in frag tank return flow)

Here's my code.   Current setpoints are around 78.0 target.

Heat_Tank

Fallback OFF
If T-Tank < 77.8 Then ON
If T-Tank > 78.0 Then OFF
Defer 001:00 Then ON
Defer 000:15 Then OFF

Heat_Tank2nd

Fallback OFF
If T-Tank < 77.5 Then ON
If T-Tank > 77.9 Then OFF
Defer 001:00 Then ON
Defer 000:15 Then OFF

Chiller

Fallback OFF
If T-Tank > 78.7 Then ON
If T-Tank < 78.0 Then OFF
If T-Frag < 77.0 Then OFF
Defer 001:00 Then ON
Defer 000:15 Then OFF
 

[melanie]

3 hours ago, Lexinverts said:

I've got a used 1/4 horse power JBJ chiller in my garage that I will sell to you for cheap. JBJ is the best chiller brand in my opinion. Are you coming to the frag show?

I’ll be at the show!! That would be so awesome! My fish and corals would be so happy!

[melanie]

1 hour ago, obrien.david.j said:

My system is Apex controlled.   I run two different stages of heaters, 2nd stage for when the coldest winter nights hit.  (my sump and frag tanks are in the garage)  Each heater is driven by an inkbird controller, set to 1.5 degrees higher than the neptune setpoint, as a safety net.  That means Neptune is what I expect to be making on/off decisions.   (I also have two temp probes, one in main tank flow, one in frag tank return flow)

Here's my code.   Current setpoints are around 78.0 target.

Heat_Tank

Fallback OFF
If T-Tank < 77.8 Then ON
If T-Tank > 78.0 Then OFF
Defer 001:00 Then ON
Defer 000:15 Then OFF

Heat_Tank2nd

Fallback OFF
If T-Tank < 77.5 Then ON
If T-Tank > 77.9 Then OFF
Defer 001:00 Then ON
Defer 000:15 Then OFF

Chiller

Fallback OFF
If T-Tank > 78.7 Then ON
If T-Tank < 78.0 Then OFF
If T-Frag < 77.0 Then OFF
Defer 001:00 Then ON
Defer 000:15 Then OFF
 

This looks about where I have my temp set too as well, appreciate you sharing. 
 

I just looked at my parameters on apex and the fluctuations seem big (or maybe the graph make it look bigger than it is?) low of 77.6 to 79.2….maybe need to dial in the heater a little bit more too. Right now I’m running it off the apex and then the heater itself has a setting to be 78 if the apex fails.

Edited May 9, 2023 by melanie

[obrien.david.j]

Here's my trend.  My May 3rd spike is from a hot day, and I forgot to plug my chiller back in after some maintenance this winter.   My Bad.

[Jeff.Tichenor]

Your Temps should not be swinging that much if controlled by the apex. Perhaps you have the sensor next to the heater?

Also, you'd be surprised how effective a small fan blowing across the tank or sump is at lowering water temperature.  You may not need a chiller.

[melanie]

15 minutes ago, jtichenor said:

Your Temps should not be swinging that much if controlled by the apex. Perhaps you have the sensor next to the heater?

Also, you'd be surprised how effective a small fan blowing across the tank or sump is at lowering water temperature.  You may not need a chiller.

Idk last summer I tried without and was constantly 82-84…. Switched to a new tank though that does have built in fan, thanks for the heads up. I’ll try it this weekend!!

 

 

just checked the plug, It’s in the right spot. I thought maybe the heater might stay warm after kicking on? I’ll investigate more this evening.

Edited May 9, 2023 by melanie

[Blue Z Reef]

Do you not have AC in your house? I always ask because everyone wants a chiller when they should just get a window AC unit (or free standing) in the room the tank is in, then the fish AND you get to cool off 🤣 double win!

[melanie]

On 5/9/2023 at 1:51 PM, jtichenor said:

Your Temps should not be swinging that much if controlled by the apex. Perhaps you have the sensor next to the heater?

Also, you'd be surprised how effective a small fan blowing across the tank or sump is at lowering water temperature.  You may not need a chiller.

Thanks for the heads up on the fan, it was really helpful yesterday. All I can figure is the temp is creeping up with the warm weather. The heater is in the correct port and has been off, starting to warm today but not as bad as last week.