Is a chiller worth it for me?

[mtraylor]

@gideon2086

I have to agree with the consensus here. if your house is at 73 and you tank gets to 81.....I would think that something is wrong here and you need to address that instead of investing in chiller. Not sure where you tank is but the chiller is noisey and if its not vented to outside of the house it just warms the house up and kicks on your ac more.

So I have a couple questions.

1. Is the aquarium in question the waterbox 220.6?
2. What type of lights do you have and how are they setup.
3. What type of return pump do you have and how is it plumbed? Internal or External?
4. What type of pumps do you use in tank for flow?
5. How many heaters do you have hooked up on system. Are they controllable? Do you have them backed up on the APex?

If you do have heaters. Have you unplugged them during summer to see if they are on and causing the issues. I know this is crazy question, but sometimes the ones with the thermostat on the heater can go bad and or off a bit and heat the tank. I usually have them plugged into APex and have Apex turn them on/off as well as backup. you can choose which one is primary source for on/off.

 

[Chrisv.]

Another question: you said your AC is SET to 73. Is your house reaching 73, or is it set to 73? When I lived in NC, my ac only kept up for part of the day. By 3pm it could be set to 73 or 53, but that house wasn't below 76.

 

[gideon2086]

Very strange to me that in a house that is 73 that a tank would get to 81. I would start to investigate where all this heat is coming from. T5s, internal pumps. Malfunctions heater,

Wouldn't think it's a heater as they show as off in my apex. I run seven pumps, three of which are return pumps - one normal return, one for UV, another for the CALRX recirc. Four LED Reefi Lights.

 

[gideon2086]

Another question: you said your AC is SET to 73. Is your house reaching 73, or is it set to 73? When I lived in NC, my ac only kept up for part of the day. By 3pm it could be set to 73 or 53, but that house wasn't below 76.

It stays at what I set it to - I recently had two new units installed.

 

[gideon2086]

@gideon2086

I have to agree with the consensus here. if your house is at 73 and you tank gets to 81.....I would think that something is wrong here and you need to address that instead of investing in chiller. Not sure where you tank is but the chiller is noisey and if its not vented to outside of the house it just warms the house up and kicks on your ac more.

So I have a couple questions.

1. Is the aquarium in question the waterbox 220.6?
2. What type of lights do you have and how are they setup.
3. What type of return pump do you have and how is it plumbed? Internal or External?
4. What type of pumps do you use in tank for flow?
5. How many heaters do you have hooked up on system. Are they controllable? Do you have them backed up on the APex?

If you do have heaters. Have you unplugged them during summer to see if they are on and causing the issues. I know this is crazy question, but sometimes the ones with the thermostat on the heater can go bad and or off a bit and heat the tank. I usually have them plugged into APex and have Apex turn them on/off as well as backup. you can choose which one is primary source for on/off.

1. yes
2. 4 Reefi Unos - they're on for approx 12 hours
3. Vectra L2, internal
4. 2x MP40, 2x ReefWaves
5. two. yes. one is on apex, the other is on a separate controller.

 

[((FORDTECH))]

Wouldn't think it's a heater as they show as off in my apex. I run seven pumps, three of which are return pumps - one normal return, one for UV, another for the CALRX recirc. Four LED Reefi Lights.

I guess 7 pumps with an internal L2 I’m sure could make some heat.

 

[mtraylor]

1. yes
2. 4 Reefi Unos - they're on for approx 12 hours
3. Vectra L2, internal
4. 2x MP40, 2x ReefWaves
5. two. yes. one is on apex, the other is on a separate controller.

Ok,
So lets just look at the Vectra L2 first. I have a 255 gallon aquarium with 100 gallon sump and I run a Vectra L2 Externally. I just checked the temps on the pump. The valute is at 80.4 and the motor is at 90.6 degrees. Running externally dissipates the heat outside of the aquarium and not in the water. I'm running the pump at 66% power. Now this pump runs my aquarium, refugium, UV sterilizer, Calcium Reactor, Carbon Reactor and Phosphate reactor. I have no need for any other pumps, and the pump is running at 2/3 power. I have the pump going to manifold which feeds everything.

You can do the same with no issues. What level are you running your pump? Now I read above you are running 2 other pumps for your uv and calc reactor. What brand and model?

If you want to get rid of the heat problem. I think you have some cheaper options here. Lets consolidate the pump issue. The L2 will run everything with no issues and free up some space for you. Now some people dont like running one pump for everything because they say its a single point of failure. Yes it is. That is why you always have a spare in the closet. Always. The bottom line here is if your return pump goes out.....who cares about the uv and calc reactor. Recirculating the water in the sump does no good if its not going to the display. Now there are other ways to get around this, but that is not what this is about.

Since you have a glass sump, you really dont have an option to go external which will alleviate the heat issue you are experiencing so you have 2 options.

Option 1.
On my waterbox frag tank. I have a T off the return that has a screw on it. I use that on my frag tank to run my calc reactor. You can do the same if you have the auto built in T on the return. If yours has 2 then you can use one for uv and one for calc reactor and remove the other 2 pumps and see how much heat reduction you get.

Option 2.
Build manifold for L2 and run the Uv and calc reactor from manifold and remove the other 2 pumps. Probably less that 100bucks in material.

Option 3.
Since you were already looking at a chiller. remove the glass sump and sell, and get a new sump and plumb the L2 Externally with manifold to run the uv and calc reactor and put extra future port on there for future equipment. Sale or use the other 2 pumps for making water etc. Your heat issue will go all away with this option without a noisy chiller heating up the house. This is most expensive

Depending on what pumps you use for the uv and calc reactor. you will get some relief of heat. Not sure how much, but some. Running externally will fix issue totally. Also please check those heaters to make sure they are functioning properly.

 

[mtraylor]

I just pulled up your aquarium from their website. The first thing to do and easiest is to pull those 2 pumps you have for uv and calc reactor and plumb them here and see what type of relief from heat you get.

 

[gideon2086]

Ok,
So lets just look at the Vectra L2 first. I have a 255 gallon aquarium with 100 gallon sump and I run a Vectra L2 Externally. I just checked the temps on the pump. The valute is at 80.4 and the motor is at 90.6 degrees. Running externally dissipates the heat outside of the aquarium and not in the water. I'm running the pump at 66% power. Now this pump runs my aquarium, refugium, UV sterilizer, Calcium Reactor, Carbon Reactor and Phosphate reactor. I have no need for any other pumps, and the pump is running at 2/3 power. I have the pump going to manifold which feeds everything.

You can do the same with no issues. What level are you running your pump? Now I read above you are running 2 other pumps for your uv and calc reactor. What brand and model?

If you want to get rid of the heat problem. I think you have some cheaper options here. Lets consolidate the pump issue. The L2 will run everything with no issues and free up some space for you. Now some people dont like running one pump for everything because they say its a single point of failure. Yes it is. That is why you always have a spare in the closet. Always. The bottom line here is if your return pump goes out.....who cares about the uv and calc reactor. Recirculating the water in the sump does no good if its not going to the display. Now there are other ways to get around this, but that is not what this is about.

Since you have a glass sump, you really dont have an option to go external which will alleviate the heat issue you are experiencing so you have 2 options.

Option 1.
On my waterbox frag tank. I have a T off the return that has a screw on it. I use that on my frag tank to run my calc reactor. You can do the same if you have the auto built in T on the return. If yours has 2 then you can use one for uv and one for calc reactor and remove the other 2 pumps and see how much heat reduction you get.

Option 2.
Build manifold for L2 and run the Uv and calc reactor from manifold and remove the other 2 pumps. Probably less that 100bucks in material.

Option 3.
Since you were already looking at a chiller. remove the glass sump and sell, and get a new sump and plumb the L2 Externally with manifold to run the uv and calc reactor and put extra future port on there for future equipment. Sale or use the other 2 pumps for making water etc. Your heat issue will go all away with this option without a noisy chiller heating up the house. This is most expensive

Depending on what pumps you use for the uv and calc reactor. you will get some relief of heat. Not sure how much, but some. Running externally will fix issue totally. Also please check those heaters to make sure they are functioning properly.

An S2 for the UV and an S2 for the calrx. The CALRX S2 is recirc, I can't manifold that. The UV requires a specific flow, which wouldn't line up with the return volume of the L2.

 

[mtraylor]

What kind of UV sterilizer requires a specific flow? They usually have a range and you select the specific flow rate to kill what you are aiming for. i find it odd that you cant get the flow you need from the L2. I have pentair 40 watt and I can dial it in where ever I want. You can even put a flow meter on from the apex and adjust as needed.

Is there a specific reason you are using a recirculating protein skimmer? A drop in skimmer is usually a better solution and more efficient, but maybe you had a hard time finding one to fit in the glass sump. Not sure.

You have lots of options to stop using all the submerged pumps that may cost around the same price as getn a chiller. you may have to make some changes. Good luck with your decisions and let us know how you proceed. I hope I gave you a couple ideas to ponder.

 

[gideon2086]

What kind of UV sterilizer requires a specific flow? They usually have a range and you select the specific flow rate to kill what you are aiming for. i find it odd that you cant get the flow you need from the L2. I have pentair 40 watt and I can dial it in where ever I want. You can even put a flow meter on from the apex and adjust as needed.

Is there a specific reason you are using a recirculating protein skimmer? A drop in skimmer is usually a better solution and more efficient, but maybe you had a hard time finding one to fit in the glass sump. Not sure.

You have lots of options to stop using all the submerged pumps that may cost around the same price as getn a chiller. you may have to make some changes. Good luck with your decisions and let us know how you proceed. I hope I gave you a couple ideas to ponder.

According to the manufacturer they all do.. I'm using an AquaUV - I adjust the flow based on whether I'm trying to clean the water or purge out microorganisms - usually leave it running a bit higher most of the time as to not wipe out the beneficial plankton.

I do have a drop in skimmer. The recirc pump I referenced is for my CALRX (calcium reactor). As far as I know, this is standard for that type of equipment.

Do appreciate your insight!