400g system from scratch pictorial

[pclausen]

Chiller up and running!

Chiller up and running!

The chiller came in today, so I got busy getting it hooked up. Here is a shot of it on the shelf with the return from the sump running through it.

Detail of the electrical connection, which in turn goes to a 20A x10 relay on a separate 20A circuit from the other two.

And a shot showing the door to the fishroom. Notice that I installed a 12" x 12" vent in the door. It pulls air into the fishroom which is then pulled out via the exhaust fan to the outside.

And finally, a plot of the temp dropping steadily since I got it online around 4 this afternoon. I have it set to come on at 81.3 degrees and cut off at 81.0. The duty cycle is looking to be around 1 hour on/ 1 hour off.

I also got my evap rate dialed in. I'm loosing 4 gallons every 24 hours, so my dosing pump has a 1 gallon "spare" capacity.

 

[nbd13]

Are you going to run your reef at 81 degrees?

thanks!

Nick

 

[jarhed]

Man, that setup is just SMOKIN!!! VERY nice work!

 

[Bax]

Nice detailing Peter, real nice

You have avery patient significant other

 

[pclausen]

Thanks guys and yes, I definitely do have a very understanding wife!

Nick, I'll likely run the reef at 81 degrees for a while to see what the duty cycle of the chiller is like. Today I left the house a/c @ 78 degrees, and put the canopy on the tank for a stress test of just how much the chiller will need to run. I want to avoid having it run all the time. I'm shooting for a duty cycle of no more than 50%, so it might be that 82 degrees will end up being my summer temp instead of 81 or 80.

The room that the chiller is located in is getting pretty warm now, so I might look into adding some ventilation there as well and/or improve the ventilation in the fish room. The chiller room also houses the 3 MH ballast that have 2 fans blowing across theml, not to mention all the HT equipment, so venting this room will more than likely end up being necessary.

I'm kind of surprised that a 1/3 hp chiller as to work as hard as it does to pull the temp of 400g of water down just a couple of degrees. I suspect that if I can drop the ambient temp around the chiller it will make a big difference. That sucker sure is putting out some heat and I'm very glad I didn't go w/the drop-in version located inside the fish room!

 

[dcoufal]

After a few days of running, the duty cycle should drop. Maintaining a temp is much easier than dropping the temp initially.

Dwain

 

[Karl K]

Keep in mind that the condensor on that chiller (the radiator), will have 100F refrigerant running through it. Therefore, the air coming out of there will be about 95F. That will raise the temp of whatever room it's in.

IMO the best way to have a chiller is to have a titanium heat exchanger for the tank water to go through and a standard water cooled condensor from a water source heat pump. This will take the heat out of the tank and put it down the drain. If you set it up right, you can use the waste water from your RO/DI system to run through the condensor and down the drain. There is a pressure sensitive valve that regulates the amount of water that flows through the condensor. This is to keep the condensor temp at about 100F. Keep in mind that all these temps are for R22 refrigerant. This will also keep the noise down as the condensor doesn't need a fan.

Just an idea. Sometimes I just think as I type, so I hope it makes sense.

Karl

 

[pclausen]

I definitely need to do something. Granted today is a hot day w/ temps in the 90's and I left the house A/C at 78, but the poor chiller has been running non-stop since the halides came on around 8:30 this morning. For now I changed the target temp to 82 degrees.

Water cooling the condenser is an interesting idea, and could possibly eliminate the need to do something about venting the relatively small hallway the chiller is mounted in. However, I think a much easier solution will be to just vent the exhaust from the chiller to the outside, which would be the other side of the wall onto which it is mounted. I'm thinking that a 6" hole through the (concrete filled) cinder block wall should suffice. I'd then duct the hot air from the chiller to the outside.

I say 6" since that is the largest size core bit I can rent around here. If I rent one, I'd also drill a second hole for the fish room exhaust as that fan is currently reduced down to a 3" hole that was originally intended for the bathroom fan (which is currently disconnected).

Today marks the 1 month anniversary since adding the live rocks to the tank. 2 more weeks and I plan to add my first fish (the 2 clowns that have been in qt for 1 week so far). This hobby sure is trying my patience!

Once the clowns vacate the qt tank, I plan to stick 3 Yellow Tangs in there. 3 small Yellows will be fine in a 55g qt for 4 weeks, right? Speaking of the clowns, they are being fed flakes in the mornings, and in the evening I rotate between frozen foods, namely Formula One, Brime and Mysis shrimp. I plan to make my own foods once I get a little further along. I feed the main tank a little of the frozen food a couple of times a week to keep the banded coral shrimp and cleanup crew happy.

The sea hare ate all the algae in the main tank and he is about half way done with the algae in the fuge (only been in there for 2 days). Quite an amazing eater.

Soon I'll finally get to start looking at what corals to put in the tank! I still have a lot of research to do on that front, but I really want to nail the mechanicals first and I think that once I get the chillier working properly, I'll be real close.

 

[gumbybc]

reefboy1: how is it that you use and air pump as a top off pump? (sorry to jack your thread for the moment)

 

[WILDTHING]

I

Once the clowns vacate the qt tank, I plan to stick 3 Yellow Tangs in there. 3 small Yellows will be fine in a 55g qt for 4 weeks, right?

What other fish are you thinking about getting? I ask because if you are planning on getting any shy/less aggressive fish you would probably want to add them before you add the tangs. Actually I'd probably add the tangs last no matter which other fish you plan to add. The tangs once happy and settled tend to view the entire tank and all the nooks and crannies as THEIRS and may harass a newly added tankmate.

colleen

Yes 3 small YT's in a 55g as a QT should be fine, just add some pvc pipe so they have some places to hide and feel safe.

 

[scotty1234]

The sea hare ate all the algae in the main tank and he is about half way done with the algae in the fuge (only been in there for 2 days). Quite an amazing eater.

They are an eating machine. Now would be a good time to stick a good size piece of Nori in the tank on the bottom somewhere and see if he eats it.

Soon I'll finally get to start looking at what corals to put in the tank! I still have a lot of research to do on that front, but I really want to nail the mechanicals first and I think that once I get the chillier working properly, I'll be real close.

That's great that you're doing it correctly, no need to rush it! Make sure you get your alk and ca dialed in properly and you'll be set.

Your Tangs will be fine in that tank.

 

[pclausen]

I'll hold off on adding the tangs. After looking into it further, I think I'll stick to one YT and get 1 or 2 additional different tangs so that my total will be 3. Still researching what additional fish to get prior to adding the tangs.

I did my usual water tests this morning, and this is where I'm at right now.

pH is quite steady around 8.1 and as before Nitrates and Phosphates are not detectable.

I went ahead and plumbed in the calcium reactor and I also got a ozonizer hooked up. I'm not injecting CO2 just yet as I'm still waiting for my 2nd Ph probe to monitor that aspect of my setup. Anyway, here is a shot of all the "dosing" equipment:

My main objective this weekend is to get the chiller operating properly as well as providing adequate ventilation for the fish room. So I decided to provide dedicated ventilation to the outside for both the fish room and the chiller. So I'm going to drill a 8" hole to the outside for both. I rented this sucker today to drill the holes in my concrete filled cinder block walls.

Here is how I plan to duct the chiller to the outside:

Unfortunately, that is below the dirt line, so I had to dig a hole into which to fit the 8" core drill. In this shot you can see the pilot hole that I drilled from the inside.

And I had to bust up the lattice below the deck to reach this area in the first place. You see an empty can of Raid since I had a LOT of bees to content with!

I have a couple of friends coming over to celebrate the 4th of July tomorrow night. Little do they know they will be assisting me w/ drilling 2 8" holes in my cinder block wall. I have to drill fastener holes into the wall in both places to hold the drill jig.

Anyway, here is what the 180 looks like at the moment. Front shot:

And a shot from the side. Running both carbon and ozone, the water is crystal clear.

 

[jarhed]

Wow!! You are really serious!!! Thats a perfect idea drilling an exhaust hole for the chiller!! Genious!! I've heard way too many times about the heat buildup from those things!

 

[dcoufal]

Here is how I plan to duct the chiller to the outside:

That door on the right appears to open into the chiller.... Do you ever plan on opening it?

Also, you may want to insulate the duct on the chiller. Insulation is cheap and it certainly wouldn't hurt!

Dwain

 

[baja_hammer2003]

great set up

great set up

nice

 

[pclausen]

Thanks guys!

Dwain, you're right about not being able to open that door any more. Fortunately, the only thing in that closet is my well pump pressure tank and whole house booster pump. A single zip tie holds the duct against the chiller, so all I have to do it cut it and the whole "L" comes right off. The shelf itself is notched, allowing the door to open about 60%, which gives me enough access to service the equipment in there.

I was successful in drilling my 2 8" holes. Here are the "cores". That piece of glass on top is 1/2" thick and 3" diameter and is from when I drilled the back of the tank for the CL intake.

And a shot from the outside showing both holes. I still need to locate 2 8" wall caps w/ damper flaps and screens. They don't carry anything like that at HD or Lowes.

And finally an inside shot showing the vent mounted in the fish room.

The fish room temp has been reduced significantly and the chiller only ran 8 out of the last 24 hours. Even with no insulation on the chiller duct, the hallway temp doesn't appear to heat up at all with the chiller running. And as you can see from this graph, I'm now able to keep the temp within a narrow range of about 80.9 to 81.3 degrees.

 

[LittleBlueGT]

Looks good. I love when things are done efficiently. All that work will save you much money in the long run.

 

[LoneStarSA]

I must say I am blown away on this project. It helped me endure a 19 hour flight back from Guam to San Antonio, Texas. Please keep us posted with the updated because I look forward to the progress everyday!

 

[Bax]

Man!
I can just see the look on my wife's face when she sees the pile of busted up latice and me and the boys drill'n 8" holes in her house!
Just inspiring as always Peter!!!

 

[Jamesurq]

Peter - sand just shipped