How to plumb a chiller?

[BigHildy53]

My display tank (180g) is running about 4 degrees hotter than my sump. My sump is currently 78 degrees and my display tank is 82 degrees. Both readings have been correlated with a NIST traceable thermostat. I have a chiller available. But how do I plumb it in?

Put another pump in the return section of the sump, set the chiller to 76 degrees and put the return in the tank.

Also, does the temperature difference I don't have enough flow through the sump?

 

[ca1ore]

That's a sizable difference. I'm running display turnover on the low side at 3x and have almost no differential.

 

[ispookie666]

What size is your chiller and what flow is going through it?

I just put a Teko 1000, way oversized for my 4 x2x2. Struggled with getting the chiller to cool down, as had been using an Eheim 1000. The chiller was constantly cycling as the flow was not adequate to take the chilled water away.

Now I swapped that to a Jebao DCS 4000, sitting in the first chamber of sump after mechanical filtration and retur8ng it to the return section of my sump. I'm planning to change the Chiller return to DT and wind back my main return pump so that it adds an extra layer of redundancy.

 

[LCC]

My display tank (180g) is running about 4 degrees hotter than my sump. My sump is currently 78 degrees and my display tank is 82 degrees. Both readings have been correlated with a NIST traceable thermostat. I have a chiller available. But how do I plumb it in?

Put another pump in the return section of the sump, set the chiller to 76 degrees and put the return in the tank.

Also, does the temperature difference I don't have enough flow through the sump?

I have my chiller plumbed in the return (return pump, chiller, DT). I used flexible pipe from the pump to chiller then to the pvc return line. My sump is located in the basement so there is a slight temp difference between the two. The room temp in the house is always warmer than the basement, which effects the DT temp.
Your temp difference could also be related to any heat put off by your DT lights.
As fare as your enough flow through the sump goes. I try to run my ghp so the DT turns over at or near 10x an hour. Which is easier to do on a 75 gallon tank than a 180.

The easiest thing to do is turn down the heater assuming your room temp is constant and the temp difference isnt related to lighting. If its related to lighting and you turn down the heater your tank temp is going to drop during the hours your lights are off.

 

[roberthu526]

The most important thing in my opinion is never have a chiller in the same room where the tank is.
The fact that the sump temp is four degrees lower than the tank temp is a good indicator that you don’t have enough flow through your return pump so the cooler water is trapped in your sump. Can you tell us what pump you are using for return and what pump are you using to feed the chiller?

 

[jda]

Temp probes should be in the tank - who cares what the sump temperature is. Chiller output should go into the tank. Tank should have lots of flow to disperse the slightly cooler water.

 

[BigHildy53]

What size is your chiller and what flow is going through it?

I just put a Teko 1000, way oversized for my 4 x2x2. Struggled with getting the chiller to cool down, as had been using an Eheim 1000. The chiller was constantly cycling as the flow was not adequate to take the chilled water away.

Now I swapped that to a Jebao DCS 4000, sitting in the first chamber of sump after mechanical filtration and retur8ng it to the return section of my sump. I'm planning to change the Chiller return to DT and wind back my main return pump so that it adds an extra layer of redundancy.

I do not have the chiller hooked up yet; it's still in storage. I'm thinking of bringing it back if I can't resolve the high display tank temperature.

 

[theMeat]

Weird. Tank and sump should be MUCH closer in temp. Would want about 5x the display tank volume going through sump. 180 x 5 = 900. Don’t forget to figure in head height when determining pump.

Plumbing the chiller into return line is a good option, if the chillers size allows

 

[BigHildy53]

The most important thing in my opinion is never have a chiller in the same room where the tank is.
The fact that the sump temp is four degrees lower than the tank temp is a good indicator that you don’t have enough flow through your return pump so the cooler water is trapped in your sump. Can you tell us what pump you are using for return and what pump are you using to feed the chiller?

I have an EcoTech Vectra L1 DC pump. I do use a manifold for a couple of canister filters (carbon & GFO mainly). According to Apex FMM the flow is routhly 540 GPH back to the display tank. I don't have the chiller setup yet. I'm contemplating it. You think too much water is flowing back through the sump?

 

[BigHildy53]

Temp probes should be in the tank - who cares what the sump temperature is. Chiller output should go into the tank. Tank should have lots of flow to disperse the slightly cooler water.

I have a temperature probe in each. But today I changed the heaters against the tank temperature. The display tank temperature has dropped almost 3 degrees in almost six hours. I think that's the proper solution.