How often/how long does your chiller kick in?

[comycus]

Trying to check the chiller's efficiency of everyone here... my Teco seems take forever to chill my tank. I know there are many factors not stated here like chiller power, tank size, type of lighting, number of pumps etc... But pls take the poll! at least everyone has an idea of how 'efficient' their chiller might be compared to others. Thanks!

[albinosage]

There are many ways to increase the efficiency of a chiller. Can insulate all hoses to make sure there is no unnecessary heat gain, use an external temperature probe for more accurate in-tank temperature readings etc.

I selected "every >1.5hr" for kick in and "45min-1hr" for chill down (actually it's about 40 minutes) by the way

[stevenkoh08]

I GOT two tank for the three feet it cool down by teco ra680 from 28.7 to 27 in an hr time as for my 4ft it cool down by a DIY chiller from hendry(marineLife) took 37min to cool down from 28.5 to 27 both only cut in three time a day so my electricity bills just increase about $25 including water change

[albinosage]

both only cut in three time a day so my electricity bills just increase about $25 including water change

Your chillers only kick in for 3 hours and less than 2 hours a day respectively? How do you achieve that?! Is your house air conditioning on constantly?

Must teach us your power saving methods!

[stevenkoh08]

I don't have A/C in my living room hee hee

For what i've discover that a flow of 1700-2200l pump is a idea one after i've tested alot of pump even a 3000l

and for most of us on the chiller and the pump very constantly as this will also generate heat so what i do is i use timer to on the pump and chiller together. As i monitor the temp closely for almost 2 shaight month to know the raise of the temp and set the timer accordingly that the trick

done a research on the net even for coral (except sps) reef tank also can go up to a temp of 29 so don't worry of at a temp of 28.5

as for the lighting if you only uses T5 4 tube try just on it at the evening time after 4-5pm at a six hr duration only this also will help to prevent at least 0.5 of temp raise

the timer i set at 8am to 9pm secondly at 3pm-4pm then there after 9.30pm to 10.30pm each time when it on the temp at most will be 28.8 for sure i have set the chiller to cut off at 27

one more thing my 3ft have no bedding so sometime it took longer to cool down compare to previously i have sand bedding

my 4ft have a 3inch bedding so the effect will be better as sand bedding will have a cooling level example hot air raises cool air drop

[albinosage]

Thanks for the tip! Anyway, does anyone know where to buy those black insulation foam for the hose?

[comycus]

wow! bro Steven really spend alot of effort to tweak your efficiency! didn't know having sandbed helps in cooling too, makes me feel better for spending $$ on live sand!

just wondering, is 6 hours of 4Xt5 light time enough for non sps tanks? Based on my research, for soft corals and LPS, recommended photo period is 8-10 hours.

[albinosage]

recommended photo period is 8-10 hours.

8-10 hours is arbitrary la, they never say torch light or 250W MH hahaha . Depends on a lot of factors like the PAR value of your lights and depth of your tank, how far from the surface is your corals etc.

Personally I think 6 hours is enough, that's how long I on my lights too - sandwiched between 4 hours of blue light to simulate low light conditions. If you were to stand out in the open, do you really think the sky will be cloudless and the sun is directly above your head for 8-10 hours?

[mitlancer]

Thanks for the tip! Anyway, does anyone know where to buy those black insulation foam for the hose?

Bro, u can buy from those air-con factories, you can check this link out:

http://www.northeast.com.sg/products/01_in...lex_class0.html

Armaflex is so-called branded ones and are Class 1, fire resistance. I got these from the link above for my car modifications as well.

Cheers

[comycus]

If you were to stand out in the open, do you really think the sky will be cloudless and the sun is directly above your head for 8-10 hours?

true true! hahaa i stand corrected

maybe I should consider getting some insulation for my tubings. Wonder if these insulation will look unsightly...

[stevenkoh08]

the look will be fine. indeed it will do some goods for it which i thought before also but after considering of the flow of water back to the sump or tank the different is very minimun so if your pipe to the chiller back to your tank is not as long as 6-10 meter away there's isn't a need for that. same goes to car or house A/C you need a wide hose/pipe for your high pressure gas to pump to the valve and then it'll generate into vapor in a faster speed but ofcourse the shorter the pipe the faster the cooling

[comycus]

After observing my tank for 2 nights, my notes read:

1) 30/40min to cool tank by 0.5 degrees with lights off/on (4x39W)

2) approximately 2-2.5 hours in between kick in (i.e. for temperature to increase by 0.5 degrees)

Speechless. I'm happy with 2 and not happy with 1. Will continue monitoring this long weekend. Any Teco users out there care to verify my numbers?

[stevenkoh08]

Sound funny u mean you set the temp to kick in after increase of temp by 0.5 what is the lowest temp u set to cut off

[stevenkoh08]

by the way what chiller you using teco got a dozen of model care to share

[albinosage]

That's actually a pretty darn good result

Maybe you can try a 1 degree difference and see if it can last even longer than that haha. My tank takes about 1 hour to rise by 0.5 degree, but probably it's a higher ambient temperature and bad ventilation la.

[comycus]

by the way what chiller you using teco got a dozen of model care to share

I'm using Teco tr15. For the last 2 nights, I have been setting temperature at 27.5 degrees. Chiller will cool till 28 and stop. Then kick in at 28.5 and stop at 28 again.

[comycus]

That's actually a pretty darn good result

Maybe you can try a 1 degree difference and see if it can last even longer than that haha. My tank takes about 1 hour to rise by 0.5 degree, but probably it's a higher ambient temperature and bad ventilation la.

Yeah bro I will do that this weekend. Like I said, very happy with the kick in period. I always thought the ventilation in my house is v. poor, coz always so hot! But seems like my tank thinks differently from my skin

According to distributor, they claim that the chilling time will shorten, so will monitor again for this weekend Btw bro, which Artica chiller you using?

[albinosage]

I'm using Teco tr15. For the last 2 nights, I have been setting temperature at 27.5 degrees. Chiller will cool till 28 and stop. Then kick in at 28.5 and stop at 28 again.

Oh no wonder so long haha. The closer to the ambient temperature it is, the slower it takes to regain the heat. How come it chills to 28 degrees when you set it at 27.5?

Edit: I'm not using Artica, no money bro.. Haha. Using a Resun 280 with in-tank temperature probe and controller.

[stevenkoh08]

ya true as the smaller the tank the temp will rise fast as what u said bad ventilation ''binosage''

comycus what is the gallon of your tank and how many pump u use?? u may try to set the temp to different by 1.5 to cut in if your target is to get a result of 27 means max 28.5 that will take longer for the chiller to cut in another thing is that condition of ur chiller example is the fan still fast enough to cool down the condenssor or is the condenssor dirty even the frt ventilation of the chiller is it block with thing??/

[stevenkoh08]

comycus you may wanna try an ext temp controller for better result set the temp 27 and cut in at 29 that will be better for you best is to connect the pump together as well for longer kick in period

[comycus]

ya true as the smaller the tank the temp will rise fast as what u said bad ventilation ''binosage''

comycus what is the gallon of your tank and how many pump u use?? u may try to set the temp to different by 1.5 to cut in if your target is to get a result of 27 means max 28.5 that will take longer for the chiller to cut in another thing is that condition of ur chiller example is the fan still fast enough to cool down the condenssor or is the condenssor dirty even the frt ventilation of the chiller is it block with thing??/

My tank is 3x2x2, total water in tank is approximately 76 gallons. I meaured it myself

I only have 1 pump in skimmer (Aquabee 2000 for a Deltec MCE600), and another pump for my canister filter (Eheim 2075). Total wattage from both is 20+16 only. Chiller is new. I have callibrated my chiller with my 2 external thermometers le

Think I will follow your suggestions and monitor again this weekend. Hope its not a chiller problem, just my settings problem.

Edit: pipings run from tank to canister filter to chiller to tank. All powered by the canister pump@~1250L/hr.

[stevenkoh08]

then what pump u use for your chiller

[stevenkoh08]

My tank is 3x2x2, total water in tank is approximately 76 gallons. I meaured it myself

I only have 1 pump in skimmer (Aquabee 2000 for a Deltec MCE600), and another pump for my canister filter (Eheim 2075). Total wattage from both is 20+16 only. Chiller is new. I have callibrated my chiller with my 2 external thermometers le

Think I will follow your suggestions and monitor again this weekend. Hope its not a chiller problem, just my settings problem.

Edit: pipings run from tank to canister filter to chiller to tank. All powered by the canister pump@~1250L/hr.

seem like under power for ur chiller though the water come out is cooler but it dispes very fast as the flow is slow i may susgest you try to input a Rio pump 17 or 20 for your filter and you chiller though it will be a waste for the build in pump but if you wanna to achive better result that may requirer more time and money

[comycus]

seem like under power for ur chiller though the water come out is cooler but it dispes very fast as the flow is slow i may susgest you try to input a Rio pump 17 or 20 for your filter and you chiller though it will be a waste for the build in pump but if you wanna to achive better result that may requirer more time and money

Distributor assured me that the chiller can work optimally up to a flow rate of 300L/hr. Anyway, after monitoring over the last 3 days, here are my numbers. I think it is more or less in line with the ppl polled here.

Average time taken to cool from 28.5 to 27 degrees: 90-100min

Average time in between kick in at 28.5 degrees: 3.5-5.5hrs

Which means my cooler kicks in an average of 4x/day, total of ~6hours of cool time.

[Hehe]

hmmm. a qns:

comparing 2 chillers of the same brand but diff hp, let say, 1/4 vs 1/2,

which will be more efficient and cost effective in the long run? lifespan & electricity consumption?