Pump question..

fdokinawa · 06-09-2005, 07:39 AM

I have a 55gal bow front tank.. Im in serious need of a chiller, living on a tropical island my temps get pretty high if I dont have my AC running all day, and one months electric bill is about the cost of a chiller.

Right now all i have is a CPR skimmer and an external LOW gph filter and 2 1200 powerheads in tank. Im doing a DIY sump when i get my chiller and overflow ordered and in. The chiller that I found for my tank size 1/10 Arctica Chiller good up to 75 gal, min flow 240, max 480. And the overflow that would do around the 6 turnover per hour recomended is the 300 gph CPR CS overflow.

So now all I need is a pump to get the water from the sump, thru chiller back to the tank. I was looking at the Velocity T1.. but that flows 540 gph, way to much for the chiller and overflow. Is there a good quiet pump out there that would only push around 300 gph? Or can I use one of my 1200 Powerheads? Would that be sufficiant flow back to the tank? I would think that if I have 300 gph leaving the tank.. i need something pushing 300 gph back into the tank.

AriZonaD54 · 06-09-2005, 10:48 PM

Any possibility of getting a ceiling fan??? This would help bundles

fdokinawa · 06-09-2005, 11:36 PM

no, wish there was, but I'm renting so I can't put one in. And it gets VERY hot here. Tank temps are getting really high, around 30-32c and its not even summer here yet. My electric bill in the summer months can hit over $500 easy from running my AC 24/7. Not that I dont mind sitting in a cool room.. but when im not home I shouldn't have to have my AC on.

I saw in another post about someone that had a spliter on his return line after the pump so that half the water was going back into his sump.. I'm thinking I can do this. A 540 gph pump split in half should be just right for my set up. this will also help if I decide to add anything else to the system.

xtopher · 06-09-2005, 11:41 PM

EG Danner makes a submersible mag drive pump that might be what your looking for

motorslave · 06-10-2005, 12:38 AM

Or buy a power head that flows midline of what the chiller requires.
Where in Okinawa do you live? I lived there for 4 years.

Robert

motorslave · 06-10-2005, 12:39 AM

With the humidity there a chiller is for sure needed since evap cooling wouldnt be as effective as in a less humid climate.

Robert

fdokinawa · 06-10-2005, 12:51 AM

I live in Awase. Yea, dont have to big of a problem with evaporation. But this heat issue is really bothering me.

I'm just worried about having enough return water to keep the overflow box going, since it is a siphon type overflow. Like I said, I do have a Maxi-jet 1200 powerhead that I guess I could use. Says it flows 295 gph.. that is right around what the overflow is at, so it should be ok.

motorslave · 06-10-2005, 01:05 AM

I wouldnt pull the water for the chiller off of the return if this is your only flow in the tank. Pull from and return to the sump. What kind of flow do you have, i.e. pumps, CLS?

Robert

Krux · 06-10-2005, 01:21 AM

keep in mind that a chiller in the house, cooling the water, is going to heat the air, warming the water... so in effect without adequate room ventilation, you will be running both the chiller and the ac at the same time... though the tank will be nice and cool, the power bill will be going up.

fdokinawa · 06-10-2005, 01:46 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by motorslave

I wouldnt pull the water for the chiller off of the return if this is your only flow in the tank. Pull from and return to the sump. What kind of flow do you have, i.e. pumps, CLS?

Robert

Right now I only have 2 1200 pumps.. one Maxi-jet and one Rio. Both of them are in tank facing one way.

So where should I have the chiller??

Oh, and an FYI.. ive been haveing a hard time keeping corals alive. probably lost about 6 of them in the last year. Only ones I can manage to keep alive is a leather and a bubble.

motorslave · 06-10-2005, 01:59 AM

Well I havent got mine up n running yet but if I remember correctly you pull from the sump where the tank drains in or if you have a temp probe for the chiller place it there, and returnsomewhere down stream of that but before the skimmer if possible (?) better double check on this one. As far as placement for the chiller itself it nshould have ample room for the air it expells to get away from the unit and tank. It will create heater air as an exhaust so you dont want it enclosed. mine will be in its own cabinet with plenty of room and ventilation.
Check around on where to set the plumbing as I dont know for sure yet and dont want to steer you wrong.

Robert

fdokinawa · 06-10-2005, 02:12 AM

Thanks for your help so far motorslave... but, yea, would like more clarification on how the pipeing should go with a chiller. Was just going to have the return line to the tank go thru the chiller.

motorslave · 06-10-2005, 02:41 AM

If you did that, wher would you return the water from the chiller? If you put it back to the sump then I dont think it would be very efficiant. Seems like you would have a small loop stuck in the sump area with less of the chilled water going directly to the tank. I think it would be important to make sure the water got skimmed also so that part of the equasion didnt get to be less efficiant. Hmmm, someone told me how but I forget. Youll get an aswer here soon Im sure. Sorry I couldnt give you a definate answer.

Robert

fdokinawa · 06-10-2005, 02:48 AM

mm ok.. think were confuseing each other here...

tank>overflow>sump(w/skimmer)>pump>chiller>tank

is that what your saying the flow should be?

motorslave · 06-10-2005, 02:53 AM

I dont know if the water should come straight from the chiller to the tank, this could cause a cold spot that might not be good if it hits a sensitive coral. Im thinking tank, sump, chiller, sump, skimmer, pump, tank.
You might be able to feed the chiller off of the drain from the tank if you Td off of it. Then the chilled water could return to the sump right before the skimmer so no water missed being skimmed. Does that make sense, seem effective?

Robert