Jbj 1/4 chiller set up question

Eggpaul · Sep 19, 2020

Just got a JBJ 1/4 chiller for my 150. Using a Sicce 4.0 pump (lowered the flow a few clicks). It's taking about 1 hour to lower 1 degree. Room is a little warm, so after an hour or two the temp rises again and chiller starts again. Is my set up the problem? I have the outgoing and returning hoses in the same chamber. Can that be the issue? Should I put the Sicce flow at 100%, or lower it? . In picture the vinyl braided hoses are for the chiller, they are in the same chamber. Maybe I should move the return hose forward in the sump?

wcharon · Sep 19, 2020

Sorry to say but that is the timeframe. I have the same unit on my 125 and 55 gallon sump so roughly i have around 160 gallons if i discount rocks and equipment and mine take from 2 1/2 to 3 hours to lower 2 degrees depending on the time of the day.

I am thinking to move up to a 1/3 hp as the electricity expense here in PR is expensive.

Sdot · Sep 19, 2020

Eggpaul said:
Just got a JBJ 1/4 chiller for my 150. Using a Sicce 4.0 pump (lowered the flow a few clicks). It's taking about 1 hour to lower 1 degree. Room is a little warm, so after an hour or two the temp rises again and chiller starts again. Is my set up the problem? I have the outgoing and returning hoses in the same chamber. Can that be the issue? Should I put the Sicce flow at 100%, or lower it? . In picture the vinyl braided hoses are for the chiller, they are in the same chamber. Maybe I should move the return hose forward in the sump?

Id say one of two issues. Not enough flow or the chiller is undersized. I have a JBJ 1/3 for roughly 300 gallons and mine runs for a few mins about 4-5 times an hour. It literally takes a few minutes for to drop the temp...now i think the 1st time it ran maybe 15 minutes..

wcharon · Sep 19, 2020

Sdot said:
Id say one of two issues. Not enough flow or the chiller is undersized. I have a JBJ 1/3 for roughly 300 gallons and mine runs for a few mins about 4-5 times an hour. It literally takes a few minutes for to drop the temp...now i think the 1st time it ran maybe 15 minutes..

At least i have try lowering and upping the flow and it is the same. Remember that the 1/3 hp is 4,000 BTU vs the 1/4 hp is 3000. I have to say that the 1/4 is rated for 260 gallons on their conditions and also i have the unit for several years and it works great.

zeroc0o0l · Sep 19, 2020

Ran into the same issue - this is your problem "I have the outgoing and returning hoses in the same chamber. Can that be the issue? "

You need the return to be back into the tank , you are only cooling down whats in the sump more or less. You should try plumbing in this order

Sicce pump to chiller out into tank - chiller will take some time on that first cool down but will run MUCH less

Each time the unit run its produces heat too - something to think about in a smaller room.

vetteguy53081 · Sep 19, 2020

zeroc0o0l said:
Ran into the same issue - this is your problem "I have the outgoing and returning hoses in the same chamber. Can that be the issue? "

You need the return to be back into the tank , you are only cooling down whats in the sump more or less. You should try plumbing in this order

Sicce pump to chiller out into tank - chiller will take some time on that first cool down but will run MUCH less Each time the unit run its produces heat too - something to think about in a smaller room.

They have to be seperate. I have three sections. Intake in the second section and outlet line in first section.

excell007 · Sep 19, 2020

I am using a 15 year old JBJ on a 90 gallon tank with 20 gallon sump, chiller is 1/5hp. It takes 25 minutes to lower the water by 1 degree, then it will be off for 2 hours. Water from the chiller goes to the tank and not back to the sump.

Eggpaul · Sep 21, 2020

Hello, I set up the chiller on Friday evening, and on Saturday my anthias was acting wierd, just sitting on the sand for a while. The swam a little, and now I can't find it. Also, lost our cleaner shrimp yesterday. And today lost my diamond goby. it was upside down breathing really hard.

Most of my fish have been in the tank for about 2 years. I have no idea why this happened. Can it be the fast initial temperature drop (2-3 degrees friday night)? Can it be something else because of the chiller? I did a 55 gallon water change and turned on the carbon . I live where the fires were bad so the air was very smokey for the last 2 weeks. Maybe ash got into the tank?

excell007 · Sep 21, 2020

Eggpaul said:
Hello, I set up the chiller on Friday evening, and on Saturday my anthias was acting wierd, just sitting on the sand for a while. The swam a little, and now I can't find it. Also, lost our cleaner shrimp yesterday. And today lost my diamond goby. it was upside down breathing really hard.

Most of my fish have been in the tank for about 2 years. I have no idea why this happened. Can it be the fast initial temperature drop (2-3 degrees friday night)? Can it be something else because of the chiller? I did a 55 gallon water change and turned on the carbon . I live where the fires were bad so the air was very smokey for the last 2 weeks. Maybe ash got into the tank?

How fast did the 3 degrees drop happen? Did you flush the chiller before connecting it to your tank? Before I install the chiller to my tank, I hook it up to a pump in a 5 gallon bucket and let it run for 1 hour, change the water and run it for another hour.

Dr. Dendrostein · Sep 21, 2020

Spoke to marine biologist that worked or works at a public aquarium near San Francisco and he mentioned all chillers should be outside. And he emphasized whether that's in a commercial building or residential. Bummer

excell007 · Sep 21, 2020

Dr. Dendrostein said:
Spoke to marine biologist that worked or works at a public aquarium near San Francisco and he mentioned all chillers should be outside. And he emphasized whether that's in a commercial building or residential. Bummer

I think the chiller that the OP have is designed to be inside the house. The built in controller will probably be destroyed if left exposed to the elements, rin will also short out the electrical connections inside the chiller( I have opened mine to clean it, it's not weather proof).

Dr. Dendrostein · Sep 21, 2020

excell007 said:
I think the chiller that the OP have is designed to be inside the house. The built in controller will probably be destroyed if left exposed to the elements, rin will also short out the electrical connections inside the chiller( I have opened mine to clean it, it's not weather proof).

Most refrigeration equipment on a roof or outside has some type of canopy you can't let the rains especially have contact with that the equipment. You can't just put it outside without protecting it from the elements there's ways of protecting the equipment. But a chiller is most efficient if it's outside and of course not in direct sunlight. Some kind of protection.

Eggpaul · Sep 21, 2020

excell007 said:
How fast did the 3 degrees drop happen? Did you flush the chiller before connecting it to your tank? Before I install the chiller to my tank, I hook it up to a pump in a 5 gallon bucket and let it run for 1 hour, change the water and run it for another hour.

3 degree drop was about an hour. I didn't flush the chiller. I wish JBJ listed that in their instructions. If it's a dangerous issue they should've.

Eggpaul · Sep 21, 2020

Dr. Dendrostein said:
Most refrigeration equipment on a roof or outside has some type of canopy you can't let the rains especially have contact with that the equipment. You can't just put it outside without protecting it from the elements there's ways of protecting the equipment. But a chiller is most efficient if it's outside and of course not in direct sunlight. Some kind of protection.

Dr. Dendrostein said:
Spoke to marine biologist that worked or works at a public aquarium near San Francisco and he mentioned all chillers should be outside. And he emphasized whether that's in a commercial building or residential. Bummer

But how would any of that hurt or protect the fish.

Adamantium · Sep 21, 2020

Dr. Dendrostein said:
Spoke to marine biologist that worked or works at a public aquarium near San Francisco and he mentioned all chillers should be outside. And he emphasized whether that's in a commercial building or residential. Bummer

I could be wrong, but I have a feeling that's referring to absolute peak efficiency, since a chiller releases heat into the room it's in. Ideally, you'd exhaust this heat outside, but in real world conditions, the chiller is still effective. Maybe just not as effective as it could be.

excell007 · Sep 21, 2020

it depends on the refrigiration equipment, most residential AC units are exposed to the elements. I have one of this JBJ chiller running for 15 years now, it is meant for inside the house.

Eggpaul · Sep 21, 2020

Adamantium said:
I could be wrong, but I have a feeling that's referring to absolute peak efficiency, since a chiller releases heat into the room it's in. Ideally, you'd exhaust this heat outside, but in real world conditions, the chiller is still effective. Maybe just not as effective as it could be.

Yes, that's why I opened the windows before going to bed thinking the smoke had finally cleared. For some reason it settles in the foothills overnight. Possibly got into the tank and hurt some of the fish. I did a large water change and immediately turned on the carbon at full blast. This morning I turned off the chiller, but maybe that wasn't needed? I'm sure whatever was in there got flushed out...

excell007 · Sep 21, 2020

how are the inhabitants now, are they doing better? I hope they all pull thru.

Eggpaul · Sep 21, 2020

I couldn't sleep all night worrying about them. When I got up I imagined seeing them all dead. But when the lights turned on they were all in great spirits, way more than yesterday. They all ate very well. So I lost a cleaner shrimp, anthias (assuming since I always see it out), and diamond goby. Told my wife to add a capful of Prime in the sump (not sure if that's enough for a 150 gallon). Also, I turned the chiller off. Just want to see how things go.