Chiller confusion

[Brian_G]

Okay. In my other thread Yote was saying a chillerwould be counter productive because it pulls out heat and will mak the room 195 deg in 2 hours. Well the windows in the house are open and hot air in physics moves up and cold air down causing convectiln current. The heat would go outside through the upper half of th window.

How else could cool a tank 20 deg?

 

[felix27]

why pay the money for a chiller, I would think a cheap window AC unit would be the best idea, just give your old man a couple bucks for the increase in the electric bill each month

 

[Hornet]

Are you sure you need a chiller? I live in Yorktown, VA just up I-64 from you in Va. Beach and a clip on fan from Wal-Mart blowing across the surface of my tank does the trick for me.

I must say I have Central Air in my house and run my AC throughout the summer. (Cant stand coming home to a hot house). But Yote is correct in saying that a chiller will just add more heat to the room, so why not get a Window A/C if you don't have central air and you and the fishies can be cool :D.

 

[mng777777]

The cheapest way to cool a tank is to place a fan blowing at the water level across the top of the tank. A chiller is better in that it can cool it quicker and it's programmable but it is also substantially more expensive. The key to success with a chiller though is that it HAS to be vented to the outside. You are correct with the physics principles you stated above, but opening a window simply won't be enough. The room will get hotter even with a window open, which means the chiller will have to run longer, which in turn makes the room hotter... and the cycle continues...

 

[vonjankmon]

I think the question that needs to be asked here is why do you need to chill a tank by 20 degrees? What is the temperature of the tank right now, where do you want it to be, and what do you want to keep in it?

Chillers can work and unless the room is closed off all the time the heat a chiller generates will move throughout the house but as has been said you're just moving the heat from one place to another. Plus running a chiller is expensive on the electric bill not to mention the upfront cost.

 

[mng777777]

+1 Von

 

[Rcpilot]

Unless you have 2000w of metal halide on a 75g tank - I seriously doubt you need a chiller.

Move the lights up 3" away from the tank
Float a frozen jug of RO water in the sump
Use a cheap clamp-on light to blow air across the surface of the water - your evaporation will increase - so daily top off with RO will require more water - but RO water is cheap compared to operating a chiller

:Cheers:

 

[dcantucson]

Okay I'm going against the grain by saying this, but Get a chiller and try it for a while. I really don't know why everyone is so against them. In the right situation they are great. Maybe you don't want fans blowing across your tank and maybe you don't have A/C in your house. Yes they put some heat out but it's not like having a heater on. I have been using a chiller for over 2 years now on one of my tanks and have seen no adverse effects.

IMO everyone needs to CHILL out with the bad rap when it comes to chillers. They work and are used by many hobbists every day. Yes they are expensive, yes they put some heat out into the room, and yes they can keep your water at a constant 77*

 

[mng777777]

I think the bad rep comes from people using them improperly and then becoming frustrated that they spent so much money to fix a problem that when all is said and done, still exists. You are right though D, if used properly they can be great. The small freestanding chillers work alright just the way they are, but most have an exhaust hose and time and time again, I see them just laying on the ground next to the chiller. It is so simple to punch a hole in the wall and vent them to the outside that it just seems silly. People spend hundreds on a chiller, but then don't want to spend 50 to have a handy man cut a hole in the wall for them...

Brian, my advice is that if you are going to buy one for the 75, you may as well spend the money to get one that can handle substantially more water volume as the day will likely come that you find yourself deciding to go bigger, plus if you ever decide you want to get rid of it, it will be much easier to resell a chiller for a bigger tank than one rated for a 75.

 

[Rcpilot]

It's not that I don't believe in chillers ......... I just don't know of more than a handful of people who actually NEED a chiller.

The original poster never did come back and say why they need a chiller or provide any details of the tank setup. If we had more information we would be able to help.


EDIT:
Just went back and searched Brians posts and found the thread on the nem. If you're house is 95F then you'll probably need a chiller.

A chiller is just a heat exchanger. It moves heat from point A too point B. As it takes heat OUT of your tank it's going to move that heat somewhere else (out the back of the chiller) and into the room. You would be better off mounting the chiller in the garage or in the basement. If you have a basement that would be the best spot as long as the pump will move the water uphill that far. Why the basement? Because thats going to be the coolest part of the house and the chiller will work more efficiently in a cooler environment. If the basement is not an option - then I'd put it in the garage or on the back porch in the shade.

Keep your chiller clean. There are little coils in there that look like the radiator in your car. Thats the cooling fins. They need to be clean and free of dust and pet hair. The air needs to flow THROUGH those fins - NOT around them. Vacuum the chiller frequently.

You might build a box for the chiller and put a couple cheap furnace filters on the outside of the box. That way the air coming into the chiller is filtered somewhat. That would reduce clogged fins and help the chiller efficiency.

 

[dcantucson]

He discussed his issues on another thread, so some of us already knew the situation he was faced with. He is in VA with absolutely no air conditioning and I believe lives with his parents. I don't think he can change his living environment (i.e. A/C) so he is limited with what he can do, mainly within the tank.

 

[Rcpilot]

Edited my post after reading his other thread.

 

[dcantucson]

Rc that chiller box with A/C filters is a great idea. My chiller has a filter screen but it doesn't really do all that much as far as filtering goes. :bowdown:

 

[Rcpilot]

I don't know how big a chiller is - but I'd be sure and make the box at least 4x the cubic volume of the chiller - give it plenty of room to breath. Those furnace filters will be slightly restrictive, so you want lots of open surface area for good air transfer.

Or you could mount the chiller so the exhaust (hot air) is blowing right out the side of the box. 3 sides of the box have furnace filters. The 4th side is the back end of the chiller where all the hot air comes out.

 

[dcantucson]

For his size tank he'll probably have to vent the Chiller to the outside. It's going to take a pretty large Chiller to cool those temperatures down.

 

[fastrd400]

I have to agree with Dave. I run one, I tried everything else before turning to it. I notice really no heat exchange in my house, and my tank stays right at 79-80. My chiller is in my stand too, right next to the sump, vented out the back. My reason for putting it there was simple. I didn't want a piece of equipment as furniture. Also, it's a drop in, not an in-line so there were no plumbing issues.

 

[Rcpilot]

Then I'd try and put it in a box and keep it protected from the elements as much as possible. Keep it in the shade.

AC units on the south or west side of the house are not the best place to locate them. They sit in the sun and bake all day. It hurts the efficiency.

AC units on the north or east side of the house last significantly longer and are more efficient.

Same would hold true with a tank chiller. Keep it in the shade and give it LOTS of breathing room - you want plenty of good air circulation around it. And keep those coils clean. If the coils should happen to become clogged, you can simply vacuum them with a soft bristle attachment on your vacuum. If they become REALLY clogged you can go to any HVAC supply warehouse and purchase a mild acid to clean the coils. Most of it comes in an aerosol can . You spray it on - wait 30 minutes and then hose it off.

AC units are made to withstand the outdoor elements, so hosing it off is no big deal. They are made to get wet. (never spray your outdoor AC unit when it's RUNNING - there's 220v inside that thing - pull the disconnect or shut down the main fuse panel first)

But a fish tank chiller might not do so well if you soak it down with the garden hose. So if you let the coils get clogged and you end up using a professional coil cleaner - might want to use a spray bottle and GENTLY wash the solvent off the coils with carefully directed squirts and a toothbrush.

 

[Bifferwine]

I don't know guys... If the house is 95 degrees, it's going to cost SO MUCH MONEY A) to buy a chiller that will keep the tank 20 degrees cooler, and B) to run that chiller! That's insane.

To me, this seems like a situation where it's just not practical to have a tank! The temp swings on that thing are going to be insane, and the cost of cooling it is going to be even more insane!

Is there no other option as to where this tank can be set up? Can you not wait to set this tank up until you have a more appropriate living situation?

I mean, come on. If I lived in my car, you guys would all tell me that this isn't the right scenario for successfully keeping a tank. Having one in a 95 degree house is the same kinda thing, IMO.

 

[dcantucson]

Hey! We have a CAN DO attitude! If you were living out of your car we'd find some way to make your tank work! :lol:

Okay maybe you have a very good and valid point. :(

 

[vonjankmon]

If your house gets up to 95 degrees a chiller won't work. If you read up on chillers most have a maximum working temperature of 95 degrees or less, IE if the air around them is that hot they will not function. You'll spend hundreds of dollars for nothing basically. Sorry to be bearer of bad news here, but I checked a couple of different chiller types and all said that had a max of 95 or less.