Chiller vs Mini Split AC

[kkiel02]

Ok orginally I was planning to just run a mini split to the fish room but have now been thinking about just running a 1/2 hp chiller and not just the mini split.

Pros and cons:
Mini Split- Help keep humidity down in fishroom, keep whole room cold, energy effecient vs traditional ac units(not sure about how energy effecient they are vs. chillers though)

Chiller- Im guessing more energy efficient as it is actually cooling the tank vs cooling the air to cool the tank, space saving even though a mini split doesnt take up much.

Now I have never run either so take that into account. Both would be easy to put outside to dump the hot air. Ask any other questions I have not answered but which do you think would be the best bet in the long run.

[ErikH]

If you can, exhaust the heat to the outside. A chiller will perform better in a colder room. You can put it outside under shade, but even under shade, in Texas, it gets blistering hot :whew:

[CoryDude]

Kevin, how is the fishroom setup? Does it receive airflow from the house, or is it a stand alone room isolated from your home's hvac?

Mine is separate from the house. I use a vent fan to pull in outside air, but even that can't keep the room from getting pretty hot (+90F) when the halides kick on. I run a 1/3 hp chiller that's plumbed outside, but it runs an awful lot during the day since the ambient fish room temp gets pretty high. It handles the heat load pretty well, but I'm thinking about adding a window unit or mini-split to cool the room during the day. That way the chiller would run less.

My thinking is that since you have a set heat load in the room , you can either have your chiller do all the work, or the mini-split do all the work, or use both to share the load.

[CoryDude]

From reading your post, it sounds like the room is separate from the house.

I think you'll be happy running both. Both would end up running less then either one alone, which saves you on the monthly cps bill, and will also extend the life of the chiller and ac unit since they'll have less wear and tear as the years go by.

[ErikH]

.....and redundancy to some extent.

[kkiel02]

Kevin, how is the fishroom setup? Does it receive airflow from the house, or is it a stand alone room isolated from your home's hvac?

Mine is separate from the house. I use a vent fan to pull in outside air, but even that can't keep the room from getting pretty hot (+90F) when the halides kick on. I run a 1/3 hp chiller that's plumbed outside, but it runs an awful lot during the day since the ambient fish room temp gets pretty high. It handles the heat load pretty well, but I'm thinking about adding a window unit or mini-split to cool the room during the day. That way the chiller would run less.

My thinking is that since you have a set heat load in the room , you can either have your chiller do all the work, or the mini-split do all the work, or use both to share the load.

It will be stand alone once the stand is skinned. At least that is the plan.

As of right now Im really leaning towards trying a chiller. Like Erik said it would be shaded and outside. I am also going to have a controller on this system so I will also copy Erik and will turn off the halides along with turning on a fan if it gets too hot. This would also be nice if the chiller ever breaks on me.

Cory- I still need to come over one of these days to check out your fish room. Im guessing humidity is pretty high in the room?

One more think which I am hoping will help alot is the large amount of water the tank system will have vs. the pumps/lights used. Plus an ATS will be used so hopefully the evaporation from that will help cool the tank.

[robalv]

If cost is a factor the chiller would be the way to go, A mini-split will run yo @ 3000 - 4000 installed heat-pump or a straight cool for about 2600 - 3600 also depending on SEER rating. If you don't have enough room on your main panel you would need to upgrade your service to a 200 amp service.... Lot of variables.

[alton]

Unless you have a way to cool your room I would go with mini split plus heat for the winter.

[kkiel02]

I am still weighing it out but leaning back to a mini split I believe. That way I can just keep that small room cold to keep the tank cool. This will all come after the stand is skinned(which will be my final wall).

[robalv]

if you would like some help with a mini split let me know.

[kkiel02]

Will do. I recorded a show about installing them on DIY network but will probably have questions Im sure. I was trying to catch our AC guys at the house but they hooked up the unit for the house the only day I didnt go this week. Just my luck.