Chiller Questing

[dznuts007]

So Spring / Summer coming up soon, meaning hot weather. This time I won't go without a chiller.

Have a 115 gallon tank. What hp chiller is recommended for that size?

 

[Konadog]

David, it depends on how hot your room gets that has the tank, and how many lights you have over your tank, but somewhere between 1/4 to 1/2 should be fine for your tank. I would over size it a bit so it doesn't run all the time when the room is at its hottest.

 

[raskal311]

Yeah a 1/4 should work fine, a 1/2 would be over kill unless you plan on a bigger tank later on.

 

[GTR]

Be ready for the heat the chiller produces in the room.

SteveU

 

[coralGoodie]

This might help you if you're looking for a JBJ chiller like me:

http://www.jbjlighting.com/prod_chiller_size.as

 

[coralGoodie]

I wonder whta if one of the pumpes, let say return pump breaks...how can you control the water flow? Do I need a sshut off valve? is it gonna be automatic?

 

[dznuts007]

115 gallon, 2 x 250 W MH's, 4 maxijets, 2 Mag12 return pumps...

Hrm...last summer, tank once went to 87Ã"šÃ‚°. Turned off the lights and added ice bags to the sump immediately. Nothing died, no ill effects, but this year I wanna play it safe.

The room does have 3 windows that I can readily open to allow air to circulate, but of course during the daytime in Summer, doesn't help much unless at night.

Looks like 1/4 HP seems like it can do the job (hopefully)

 

[GTR]

I used a 1/4 JBJ on a 110 tall with 2-250 MH and 2 110 VHO. It ran for much longer than I'd like to see each cycle. If I was going to buy for that tank again I'd go with at least a 1/3 and maybe a 1/2. I'm inland and it's hotter but we run our AC a lot now that our kids all moved out. :lol:

SteveU

 

[dznuts007]

Hrm...maybe I'll go for bigger one then. Still have to do some research.

 

[diddye]

my lights turn on at dusk/nighttime and are left off during the day(hottest time). This way, it minimizes the amount of time my chilller has to work

 

[dznuts007]

I'm doing the same...lights go on in evening. That way I have something to look at when I come home from work.

 

[tjh]

dznuts (havent said that since highschool, still cracks me up)

i think you should call deltec and try that ecochiller, it works amazing and the power consuption is nil.
mine has the cooling power of a 1 horse chiller and only uses 44 watts. major overkill but youll never need another and it should pay for itself pretty quickly. jmo