Well... I guess a chiller is in my future.

[Ram_Puppy]

The apartment I live in juast has a sucky AC system, it is struggling to keep up with my current setup, and the setup i am planning to build will be even more of a heat pig.

So, one of you geniuses out there, some websites and chillers say 'this chillr is rated for x gallons with x number of degree pull down' others don't, they just say it's this much horse power and so on...

I was looking at some artica ones on MarineDepot...

the tank is a 115 gallon cube

I am going to be running 2 250 watts w/ electronic ballasts (coralvue setups most likely) and a T-5 Icecap retro kit (24" Retrofit: 2-24W T5 HO Fluorescents) from reefgeek.com.

The pumps will be:

2 Reeflo Darts (one return, one for closed loop)
1 Mag 7 (running Skimmer)
1 Mag 3 running a few media reactors (like Phosban and Carbon)

Sump, I am estimating will be around 20 gallons water in it, will talk to Dan about that once I have the stand constructed, and @ the current moment, I am looking at a 55 gallon refugium which will probably be lit by an aqua light, I may go with a small one for just one side of it so the other side can remain cryptic.

So, any thoughts on what type chiller I will need?

Right now my setup is 110 gallons, running 1 Iwake MD70RLT, plus a Mag 3, Mag 7, and Magnum Hot 250, I am only powering on one 250 watt MH (out of the two for heat concerns) and the PC I borrowed from MIsti, which I think is 48" and has 4 bulbs, not sure the wattage though. My water temp has been around 82 to 84, but as the days are getting warmer, it's gone up to 88.5 today (held there for several hours now, so I think that might be the cap... I closed all the AC vents in my house except for the one in the room with the tank and am blowing tons of cold air in there right now.... I am thinking I may have to offload my SPS and drop the MH until I have a chiller.

Man I hate heat... gonna have the apartment complex come out and take a look at the AC tomorrow, see if maybe it needs to be recharged.

[BIGBIRD123]

I have an Aqua Medic 1/2hp on my 135g and it does a super job. I also have a crappy AC unit. I have 1300w MH on my tank and this thing keeps my temps @ 78-80 during the hottest part of the summer. I have a place where you can get this chiller at a VERY good price. (as in $620 shipped to your door) LMK.

Steve

[Ram_Puppy]

Steve, is it quiet?

[NaCl_H2O]

Ram, I had a 1/3HP Pacific Coast chiller (Alex Wolf has it now), and I upgraded to a 1 HP Pacific Coast. I was really happy with the PC, and it ran very quietly except when the fan motor began to fail - which they replaced free of charge after almost a whole year of use!

I had about 200g system, but was only running PCs - It ran very little to keep the temp down around 77-79.

[Richard]

Funny, I just got of the phone with Current USA checking on a chiller for a customer (current usa prime chillers). They say they are very quiet. I asked him alot about noise because I might end up getting a chiller if I keep adding more halides to my tank. He said they are quieter than an air conditioner, quieter than my iwaki pump, and you will usually here the splashing sound of a wet dry over the chiller.

This customer needs to be able to keep a 100 gallon reef tank in a 95 degree room. Long story short, the current usa tech guy recommended their 1/3 hp chiller. He said it would be able to drop the tank 40 degrees. He also said he always recommends the 1/3 hp over the 1/4 hp because it will run less and use alot less electricity and the price difference is minimal.

That's the extent of my chiller knowledge/experience.

[Reef69]

Radio shack fans...lol.

[BIGBIRD123]

Richard,
Not trying to start any arguments, but that rep. was blowing it up your skirt or shorts. There is no way a 1/3hp will drop temps in a tank in a 95 degree room by 40 degrees! I tried that kind of application on a room with temps below 90 and the 1/3hp still had a hard time bring the temps down 10 degrees on my 135g. The chiller ran most of the time, also. I then went with the 1/2hp AM and I don't hear it run at all. A tank above the 100g range with two or more MH should be chilled with at least a 1/2 hp chiller. It works on the same principle as over-driving a bulb or ballast. The harder it has to work, the more chances it will fail to do it's job. I don't know about anyone else, but I have too much to risk on "just enough" chiller. But this is just my opinion.

Steve

Oh, Ram, as I said, "I don't hear it at all".

[GaryP]

I agree with try upgrading your fans before investing in a chiller.

I went from 30 cfm fans to 100 cfm and now I have to run them on a timer because they cool to much. The fans were only $10/ea. A lot cheaper than a chiller.

[blueboy]

hey gary, what kind of fans are you running?and what lights?

[Gator]

i am running a 1/3 hp chiller and am very happy with it

[Jenn]

quote]
I went from 30 cfm fans to 100 cfm and now I have to run them on a timer because they cool to much. The fans were only $10/ea. A lot cheaper than a chiller.
[/quote]

Gary, where did you get those fans from? I am looking to get 4 of them.

[Ram_Puppy]

well guys, i would tend to agree with you as far as upgrading fans go... but see, the thing is this tanks lighting is suspended right now on a skeleton of 1 x 1's. there is no canopy, a cieling fan blows into the tank, and a box fan blows across the top. I don't think upgrading fans at this point is going to do diddly squat when the new tank comes in, of course I will put fans in the canopy, but I can already see it isn't going to be enough.

I also had the apartment complex set up an appointment to have my AC checked out. and they will be leaving extra ac filters with me since I am running it so much as well, that should help a little.

Thanks for all the in put guys...

[Polkster13]

Hey Ram Puppy,

Be careful with your maintenance guys changing out filters.

Horror story: When we were renting a duplex in Pflugerville, while we were on vacation in August, the maintenance guy came by and replaced our filter on the ac unit. He shut it off to change the filter and didn't turn it back on. When we came home it was over 98 degrees in the house and everything in all of my aquariums was "cooked". Complained to the owner and he said he couldn't/wouldn't do anything about it. Turned in my 30 day notice that I was leaving and he would not return my deposit. Said I had damaged several things in the home (had been done by the prior tenant) so I lost my deposit as well. Live and learn.

Next house we rented we documented everything before we moved in and when we moved out I got all of my deposit back.

I have learned the hard way that if I am out of town, I will have someone who knows a lot about saltwater aquariums to look after my charges while I am away.

[GaryP]

Jenn & Abe,

Here is the thread where I discussed this and it contains the link to where I got the fans. I only paid $10 each for these fans. A pretty good deal.

http://maast.org/index.php?name=PNphpBB2&file=viewtopic&t=7268&high light=cooling+fans

I found a puter shop in SA that has some pretty neat cooling fans. They are adjustable so that you can turn them up or down as needed for your cooling needs.

[NaCl_H2O]

Ram, one BIG advantage of a good chiller that hasn't been mentioned is VERY stable temp control. I think all would agree that high temps (83-85) are not nearly as stresful on you inhabitants than large temp swings during the day/night. My system (with Chiler) varies between 79.8 and 80.5 .... 24x7

However, the danger with any "automation" is you can't ignore it. Someday something will go wrong (Blown fuse, pump failure, etc.), so you have to keep an eye on it just like any other equipment, and maintain it regularly.