My Tank is Hotter Than Your Tank

Thanks for the simple reminder. That thought didn't cross mind mind this evening though I'm sure it would have come to me eventually. Unfortunately, I don't have the controller working my @#$% lights yet :-[

I do have a fan running so I'm not sure if I have much more to gain there. I was hopeful that I'd be able to run this tank without a chiller but I can't claim to be suprised that I need one. If the tank go this warm in November, it would get really warm in August.

For those of you running chillers, how noisy is yours?

 

I have an equipment closet and ran into the same thing at first. You did a good job on your ventilation so that is saving a lot. If you get a chiller, all it is is a heat pump, and that heat has to go somewhere. If you put it in your equipment room, chances are it will not perform very well without ventilating it.

In your tank room, the chiller will just reject it's heat to the room and your ac will remove that heat. In you equipment room, chances are you will heat it up pretty good and that will just heat the system in there. So you will need to consider that.

My chiller was not any louder than my light fans. Not bad, not annoying. It was just a 1/3 hp though. I finally did away with mine by reducing as much pump heat as possible, moving lights, and finally using a fan. This Summer was unseasonable cool though, so I am hanging on to it for next Summer.

 

84 degrees will simply kill sps. lps, softies and fish will survive. But a steady 84 degrees will stress em and be the cause of their death.

ive heard great things about jbj arctica chillers (jbj doesnt make em thats why their so good )

But lets be realistic fans would definitely help out your situation. But noise....

With a tank of your caliber and all the money you have put in...... Theres no reason why not to invest in an awesome chilling system. Remote condensor to cut all noise out. The size of an arctica chiller will cause unwanted noise. So Remoting the condensor would eliminate noise in tank area. Food for thought on your research.

 

I think that I will need a 3/4hp or 1hp chiller. In the 1hp size I may see if I can find one to mount outside. Actually, I need to find a water cooled chiller a' la my geothermal heat pumps.

 

You sure are quick to judge on something you have no experience with or dont own. JBJ is one of the best on the market. I own one and so do alot of people I know, so before you bash a product on a friends experience, do the research as I did before I bought one. I am not saying there could not have been a bad one, no one is perfect, But don't bash the whole line. In short, I would highly recommend them. Also, mine is extremely quiet.

 

maybe remoting a condensor would be completely over kill.... ha ha ha I was just thinking of my dream tank.

 

Hey I've been watching your build quite impressive to say the least. I used to live in RVA btw I went to UR I used to stay over off 3 Chopt... What area do you live in? You got a nice setup to say the least.

Short term get some fans running across your sump and top of the display (LOL you might need a single engine cessna to get adequate airflow tho) and turn the thermostat in the room to 68/70 whatever you can comfortably stand and that should at least get you down below 82.

You should find a good chiller though, I dont know anything about them except they are expensive, I imagine one rates for 700+ gallons is going to set you back and you havent skimped yet, and put this much work in might as well do it right. Maybe you can squeeze it in your fish closet.

Seriously tho awesome build... Kudos on the dedication effort and greenbacks you've put in... I think a safety switch that cuts the lights off is a great idea when you get the chiller if temps get above 85.

 

I've been doing some searching online. I originally was thinking about TradeWinds but I found out that aqualogic makes some water cooled chillers. I'll try to track down some more info about these tomorrow when I can get someone on the phone. The water coolled option would be nice since they are often quiter and definately put less heat into the surrounding air space.

 

water cooled..... now your talking.... Being part of the refrigeration and hvac trade I could appreciate such mechanics

 

haha, thanks! Ill be here waiting on it.. BTW you still offer free shipping right...