Project Reef: Ocean's Three

[redmushroom]

Now, the subject of some/none controversy.

My new aquabee 5000 which will serve as the new return pump for my main tank.

[redmushroom]

Here's the specs of the aquabee 5000.. for those anxious to find out more.

Its quite good i heard, and widely used among reefers here. Quite low power consumption too for a powerful pump like that...

[redmushroom]

Now guys, here's the piping that i had problems getting my tank maker to agree to adjust for me.

Eventually got it fixed up by myself. What needed to be done was to shorten the length of the pipe to fit the rest of the return piping, as the height of the aquabee outlet was more than that of the hydor.

Glad that everything works out fine now.

[redmushroom]

Me fixing up the aquabee return pump today. Finally got it up and running.

My tank was devoid of turnover during the time that i had the pipings detached.

Hope there are no casualties in the LR.

[redmushroom]

Next it was time to set-up my chiller.

Converting the Hydor L45 into the feeder pump for my Artica.

That's me wrapping some white tape around the outlet to prevent leaks in future or the rubber hose detaching.

[redmushroom]

Once again, figo keeping a watchful eye over the proceedings.

[redmushroom]

Sorry guys, couldnt resist posting this up.

Figo just had to have a part in everything i was doing.. so i am now giving him some recognition for his total interest in my set-up.

My keen supporter who's there 24/7! :lol:

[redmushroom]

My gf helping to carry out a 20% water change for my tank and at the same time siphoning out detritus in the sump.

Once again, am so glad and fortunate to have somebody close who shares the same interest as me.

[redmushroom]

A picture of the chiller before i fix it up and connect the rubber hoses.

Like the small footprint and CPU- lookalike design so much.

[redmushroom]

[redmushroom]

Finally got it fired up and running at 12midnight just now.

At last, my tank has got air-conditioning.

The chiller will be resting on a temporary wooden chair now till i find a proper cabinet to place it, and to also house a refugium.

Getting so excited just thinking about possible future expansion/improvement plans.

[redmushroom]

After all the equipment has been set-up, in went the Aquapharm PUR-II.

Told myself to put it in only after i decide to introduce livestock and not run it during the cycling stage, so nows the time!

[redmushroom]

Ok thats all for now, will post more updates when i can.

Time to sleep!!

[Underwater]

Quite surprised to hear tt from such a reputable LFS and after u ve bought so much exp stuff from them. Perhaps Steve has his own reasons for not helping...

Anyway, good to put all these aside and what's more important is to enjoy reefing w yr GF. Time to add livestock liao and keep us posted yr new purchase. But go very slow in stocking though...

[redmushroom]

Hey guys,

a kind bro informed me that the flow rate for the L45 (3300l/h) might be too high for the chiller and might result in the chiller kicking in too often.

Would a 2000l/h pump help to improve this potential 'problem' and make the chiller more effective?

Would like to get some bro's input or experience to help me in deciding if a change of pump is necessary.

[southpaw23]

Here's another alternative for you to consider. Keep the L45 but T it off so that you can run your FR with the same pump.

The FR should take up anywhere from 600 to 1000lph from the pump and with minor headloss etc...the 2000plus litres that goes into the chiller should still be fine for it to function.

I'm not sure who told you about the chiller but a highler flowrate doesnt make the chiller kick in more often. It just makes the chiller less efficient due to the lack of dwell time within the chiller. In fact what it might do is make the chiller run a lil longer than usual to chill the tank. This especially applies to less efficient chillers like the resun etc whereby too high a flowrate doesn't work well with the chiller. (Mind you i'm not here to put down resuns)

However on the Arctica, they handle higher flow rates much better. On their website, it states that the recommended flow rate for the 1/5 power chiller is at 8 gallons per minute. Working out to 1800plus litres per hour. Note that Arcticas operate at much higher flowrates than other chillers.

One question to ask before i give you a final solution on this. How is the chiller return plumbed? Is it directed to the main tank or back to the sump? And if in the sump from which compartment to which?

The most ideal situation for you is to have the chiller pump sit in the same compartment as your return pump and plumb the return right to the main tank. That way chilled water goes directly into the main tank and you have your backup redundancy of a second return pump as well. If you go this route, you may even opt out of Teeing off the chiller pump to the FR as the headloss would make up for the excess flowrate from the L45 and provide close to ample flow rate for the chiller. But also in saying that, even with the T-off to the FR, it should still work fine.

Unfortunately from the looks of your setup and planning, it would seem you didn't factor in room for a second return to the main tank in your overflow compartment. That being the case you're left with two options, to return the chiller output back to the sump or to externally plumb a second return that runs at the back of your tank to the main tank (best option IMO).

Good luck with it...i find this whole setting up phase the most fun part of the hobby Ask questions if you have queries....else, have fun

[redmushroom]

I'm not sure who told you about the chiller but a highler flowrate doesnt make the chiller kick in more often. It just makes the chiller less efficient due to the lack of dwell time within the chiller. In fact what it might do is make the chiller run a lil longer than usual to chill the tank. This especially applies to less efficient chillers like the resun etc whereby too high a flowrate doesn't work well with the chiller. (Mind you i'm not here to put down resuns)

One question to ask before i give you a final solution on this. How is the chiller return plumbed? Is it directed to the main tank or back to the sump? And if in the sump from which compartment to which?

The most ideal situation for you is to have the chiller pump sit in the same compartment as your return pump and plumb the return right to the main tank. That way chilled water goes directly into the main tank and you have your backup redundancy of a second return pump as well. If you go this route, you may even opt out of Teeing off the chiller pump to the FR as the headloss would make up for the excess flowrate from the L45 and provide close to ample flow rate for the chiller. But also in saying that, even with the T-off to the FR, it should still work fine.

Unfortunately from the looks of your setup and planning, it would seem you didn't factor in room for a second return to the main tank in your overflow compartment. That being the case you're left with two options, to return the chiller output back to the sump or to externally plumb a second return that runs at the back of your tank to the main tank (best option IMO).

Good luck with it...i find this whole setting up phase the most fun part of the hobby Ask questions if you have queries....else, have fun

Yes what i am trying to achieve is to get the chiller to run for as little time as possible, as this would aid in reducing electricity bills. However, what i am trying to find out is if that reduction in time will be significant enough to warrant a change in feeder pump.

The chiller return is currently plumbed directly back to the sump, and the chiller pump is indeed sitting in the same compartment as the return pump.

However, i have considered the option of plumbing the chiller return directly back to the main tank, but it is not viable as i have not incorporated a second return to the main tank in the overflow compartment. In doing so it will make the removal of my hood difficult, thence the decision to scrap the idea and tee the return to the sump instead, making it look more neat.

Thanks alot for spending the time to elaborate and explain on this southpaw23.

I will monitor and modify if required, and hopefully gain some joy in this process..

[southpaw23]

Just be mindful of one thing...a common mistake made in most chiller setups. If your chiller input pump is in the last chamber and the output goes to the chamber before last...what you're effectively doing is just chilling the sump water.

And what'll happen here is the you take water from the last chamber, chill it and dump it back in the previous chamber that eventually flows into the last chamber. This makes the chiller think that it's being more efficient that it really is because it will note a quicker drop in temperature but that temperature is only accurate for the sump tank while the main tank isn't getting all cooled as fast as the sump.

This eventually causes the chiller to frequently kick in and out because it'll run for a short while and stop when it's hit it's lower preset limit but the effective main tank temp hasnt reached this limit, only the sump tank has cooled essentially. And as the turnover continues from sump to main tank vice versa, the temp will quickly rise again in the sump causing the chiller to kick in again when the upper limit is hit.

IMO this is the most ineffective configuration for a chiller. I suggest you seriously consider plumbing the return of the chiller back to the main tank if it's lowered electricity cost you're looking at as well as redundancy reassurance. Else the cheaper and simpler solution is to swap the position of the chiller pump and place it in the chamber before last and have the output of the chiller go into the chamber where the return pump is.

Hope that helps...

[jasment]

i think southpaw has given plenty of great and good ideas above.

of course, the best way is to have the chilled water back directly to tank.

anyway, see if you can fixed this cos i fixed it myself..

alternatively, as southpaw has mentioned, about chilling the tank water instead of the sump water, separate as much as possible, in the last compartment, the chiller pump and return pump, put the out-put of the chiller pump directing it towards the return and it will definately help a little.

as for the T-off, i guess you should look into it cos you'll save on 1 pump/space..

just that i think you should look into the best config rather the slightly more kick-ins cos the increase in cost is rather minimal compared to a not efficient

set-up=waste of time and money and effort..

[Underwater]

What Bro Southpaw said is very true.

If your chiller pump sits with the return pump, and the output is to the sump tank regardless of which compartment, then yr chiller will kick in and out very often, wasting alot of electricity.

You shd try Southpaw's suggestions of pumping into main tank, or put the chiller pump on the 2nd compartment & output at the last compartment/return pump. Or some reefers use external temp probe but i'm not sure how it is set up.

[redmushroom]

i think southpaw has given plenty of great and good ideas above.

of course, the best way is to have the chilled water back directly to tank.

anyway, see if you can fixed this cos i fixed it myself..

alternatively, as southpaw has mentioned, about chilling the tank water instead of the sump water, separate as much as possible, in the last compartment, the chiller pump and return pump, put the out-put of the chiller pump directing it towards the return and it will definately help a little.

as for the T-off, i guess you should look into it cos you'll save on 1 pump/space..

just that i think you should look into the best config rather the slightly more kick-ins cos the increase in cost is rather minimal compared to a not efficient

set-up=waste of time and money and effort..

haha hello jasment,

i agree with what you ppl have said, but since i am still using the hood on my tank, unlike yours, it will be quite unsightly to channel a chiller pipe return over the hood and into the main tank since i did not incorporate this design in from the start. Moreover, it will make the removal of the hood inconvenient.

For now, the feeder pump for the chiller is in the same (last) compartment of my sump. However, i have placed the output of the chiller directly in front of the aquabee (main tank return) so that chilled water is pumped immediately into the main tank. Hopefully, this way, i can maximise the cooling down effect and also an even distribution of chilled water in the tank, without compromising on the aesthetics.

As for the tee-off, i will see what i can do about that. Am considering adding a refugium in due time, so maybe i can tee off some of the flow (from the chiller feeder pump) to the refugium, or just use it for the FR.

Anyway bro, thanks alot for the input!

[redmushroom]

Anyway, i have finally added in some livestock into the tank as of last night.

Will post up some pictures when i get home to show you guys my new inhabitants!!

[southpaw23]

i agree with what you ppl have said, but since i am still using the hood on my tank, unlike yours, it will be quite unsightly to channel a chiller pipe return over the hood and into the main tank since i did not incorporate this design in from the start. Moreover, it will make the removal of the hood inconvenient.

There is a really simple solution for this my friend. Just remove the hood and cut a groove at the bottom of the hood to facilitate for the return piping from the chiller. Then lay the piping and place the hood over the return pipe where the groove has been cut. To be aesthetically pleasing you can consider using hard piping for the chiller return. It's simple and fun DIY...and you will thank yourself for doing this in the unlikely event that your return pump ever fails *touch wood*. Plus more flow back to the main tank never hurts as well.

[redmushroom]

There is a really simple solution for this my friend. Just remove the hood and cut a groove at the bottom of the hood to facilitate for the return piping from the chiller. Then lay the piping and place the hood over the return pipe where the groove has been cut. To be aesthetically pleasing you can consider using hard piping for the chiller return. It's simple and fun DIY...and you will thank yourself for doing this in the unlikely event that your return pump ever fails *touch wood*. Plus more flow back to the main tank never hurts as well.

hehe point noted. Will see what i can about that when i am free la.... thanks southpaw23!

[ClOwNy_LoVeR]

nice tank:)must read my pm.hehe.