What size chiller do i need?

[PeterCip]

I have a 90 gallon tank that i am having temp troubles with..
I have an A/C in the room, but i'm assuming that it will become realexpensive to cool the room..
So, what HP chiller am i gonna need? any brands to stear clear of?

also, how do you all dump the chiller heat out side?
thanks,
Pete

 

[Mike A]

Pete,

How bad are your temperature troubles ?

Is you tank running over 82-83 consistently ?

 

[PeterCip]

Pete,

How bad are your temperature troubles ?

Is you tank running over 82-83 consistently ?

Try jumping to 90 during the day, when it starts at 78...
I don?t' want these temp fluctuations to stress the fish(let em all get ich and die), and lose all that money. It sucks having a tank full of rocks.
But i am not going to put anything in there, until i keep my temps at bay. I've been there and done that. I can't afford buying 200 dollars of temp fish every month.

So i either need to AC the room, or but a chiller. the AC is costing me 75 bucks a month to run, and my moronic housemates turn it off from time to time, allowing the temperatures to rise out of control.

So any idea of what size I would need? I need a safe 10-degree drop, I don't want to have it only be able to pull 7 degrees... and then have wasted 400 dollars.

think cheap people!

 

[Mike A]

Are there any other solutions available - like if you're running metal halide lighting, cutting down on your photoperiod ?

How about submersible pumps - they also add heat to the water. Are you using any ?

If you are looking at a 10 degree pull down, and you don't want the chiller running 45 minutes out of every 60, then I'd go for a 1/3hp chiller. A 1/4 might do the trick, but may be on way too much trying to bring down the water temperature.

A lot of folks have luck with room AC. My tank always ran hot due to the lighting, and a room A/C didn't help. I am currently running a 1/3hp on a 120 with excellent results.

 

[PeterCip]

Are there any other solutions available - like if you're running metal halide lighting, cutting down on your photoperiod ?

How about submersible pumps - they also add heat to the water. Are you using any ?

If you are looking at a 10 degree pull down, and you don't want the chiller running 45 minutes out of every 60, then I'd go for a 1/3hp chiller. A 1/4 might do the trick, but may be on way too much trying to bring down the water temperature.

A lot of folks have luck with room AC. My tank always ran hot due to the lighting, and a room A/C didn't help. I am currently running a 1/3hp on a 120 with excellent results.

I have no submersable pumps.
All of my lighting is in the form of VHO, I ditched the MHs because of the heat problems..

Did you notice a electric cost spike with your chiller? Did it add a lot of heat to the room? what brand is it?

Is anybody out there selling one? I'm to the point where i want ot sledge the tank... it causes to much grief for not having one living thing in it.

sad part is, before this apartment, it was really nice. But after a heat spike over last summer, everything died.. and i won't have that happen again.

Any body else out there with some advise for a frustrated reefer?

 

[NateHanson]

I'm amazed that you're hitting 90 with AC on and VHO lighting! Do you have fans in your canopy? Do you have a fan blowing across the surface of the sump?

Maybe you can get away with a smaller chiller or less run-time on the chiller if you employ a few other less expensive modifications, like airflow and canopy design.

This is probably all stuff you've already thought of, but it's worth a shot.

Nate

 

[Matt L.]

I have a 90gal system with three, 250W MH lights in a canopy with four, 4" fans. I run a T2 and a T4 with two submerged MAxiJet 1200s in the sump and a Tunze in the main display tank. The tank is by an open window but in a second-story room without air conditioning. The house can get quite hot during heat waves. I use a 1/3hp chiller because that is what I picked up, used. To keep the temperature between 80F and 81F, the chiller cycles about once an hour during peak heat. My guess is you could easily get by with a 1/5hp unit,

Matt

 

[Mike A]

I'd agree with Nate. If you're lighting is in an enclosed canopy, try adding a fan or two blowing across the water. It will help.

If you're set on purchasing a chiller, there are a couple of folks in the equipment forum selling them.

You will see an increase in your electric bill, depending upon how long the chiller runs to bring down the water temperature. My chiller is in my basement, I need to open some windows down there to vent out the heat given off by the chiller. The model I am using is the Red Sea 1/3hp flow through. It has a built in temperature controller and has been working great for me. This will be the third summer I've used it.

 

[nunofs]

In addition to the enclosed canopy question above, do you have your tank covered with glass covers? That's a sure way to raise your temperature out of control...

Nuno

 

[PeterCip]

OK to answer your questoins..
I am going to add fans, but living in boston, near the water.. when the temp outside is 85, its 90 with 100% humidity in my apartment. I've used fans, and plan on adding them again.

Even by floating iceburgs in the sump, i could not get it below 85. (withourt the 11,000 BTU AC)

And to clear things up, the tank stayed steady at 80 when the ac is set to 73F.. But it cost me an additional 75 dollars a month. A 1/3 HP chiller requires a lot less energy to run than a room AC...

I am not using glass tops, i'm putting a 2 fans in the sump, and 2 in the canopy, its just a matter of time.

I'll look around for a 1/5th to 1/3hp chiller. I appreciate your help!

I was extremely frustrated yesturday.. I guess i'll wait to see if a chiller appears in the classifieds..

Thanks,
Pete

 

[NateHanson]

I'd get those fans installed ASAP, even if it's just a temporary job. That'll give you a better idea of how much of a chiller you need, or even if just keeping your AC on will do the trick. With all the evaporative cooling that the fans provide, your AC may run much much less even at the same temp setting, so that $75 might drop significantly with the proper use of fans (IME floating Ice has had far less cooling effect than a well-placed fan).

Do you have an extra window to install a chiller in? Otherwise you'll have to run the AC AND the chiller because of the heat the chiller creates, and that'll get even more expensive.

 

[PeterCip]

I'd get those fans installed ASAP, even if it's just a temporary job. That'll give you a better idea of how much of a chiller you need, or even if just keeping your AC on will do the trick. With all the evaporative cooling that the fans provide, your AC may run much much less even at the same temp setting, so that $75 might drop significantly with the proper use of fans (IME floating Ice has had far less cooling effect than a well-placed fan).

Do you have an extra window to install a chiller in? Otherwise you'll have to run the AC AND the chiller because of the heat the chiller creates, and that'll get even more expensive.

I do have an extra window..
My question is this. when installed in a window, how do you shield it from the rain? do you need to install a fan on the outlet of the chiller?

 

[NateHanson]

Look in the DIY forum for a recent thread by Matt L. about his Window Enclosure for his chiller. That's one way to do it. Another way, that someone mentioned in that thread (Yaktop, maybe?) is to mount the chiller just inside the window, with the air-output side venting out of the room, so it draws cooling air from inside the room and blows it out. That makes it easier to protect the chiller, but might not make sense in a room that has AC because you'd be blowing cool air out of the house.

Nate