Our 375 Gallon project

Scott, thanks for the very valuable info to myself and others. You have the condensing unit mounted outside, the suction and discharge lines run through the wall to the inside where the chiller tube is mounted, correct?
I live in a colder climate so I think I read were I would need some 'heater' for the condesing unit mounted outside, can any1 confirm that? I have an AC2, so I'm set there.
Scott, do you feel that this was more cost effective to go this route?
Thanks again for the info, especially the links!!!!
 
Yup- condensing unit outside with the lineset going thru the wall- I would recommend not cutting the lineset to make it shorter- just coil what you don't use or something so you won't have to adjust the freon level. As for cost effective- all I can say is I would never do it another way! Check out comparable 1 ton units and you will see the difference- not to mention they are usually not split systems which is a huge advantage- keep the heat outside and the water inside where it belongs :). I put a watt meter on it and it was pulling about 700w and drops the temp very fast for its size. my garage is 120-140 in the summer and I have a sealed canopy with 1000w of halides going and this unit works great. As for the heater in cold weather thing- I am no help there- it hardly ever gets in the 30's here let alone below that in the winter.
 
For yearround operation in colder climates, you will need some form of head pressure control and a compressor sump heater.

Depending on your setup, you may find that evaporative cooling using fans is the best solution for wintertime since the humidity is lower.
 
Yes, cooling the tank in the cooler months should not be an issue. The tank room is in the basement and has a window and a supply/return line to my house hvac. Scott, sorry to derail for a post or two.
 
Sidewinder, I would suggest that you have the excess coiled up lineset shortened. The coils will trap the oil that travels around the system and lubricates the compressor. If the oil is not returned to the compressor, damage will result. I would hate to see the life of that beauty system cut short.

Since you are using a TXV, there is no real danger of liquid flooding back into the compressor from too much charge. And since you have oversized the condensor, the small amount of refrigerant that will remain in the condensor coil will not affect capacity in any way that you would notice.

Don't mean to rag on your work, but I would hate to see it die.

BTW, the HVAC tech that hooked it up should have mentioned this.
 
<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=8104864#post8104864 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by sidewinder770
It really is pretty simple- assuming you have the right parts and hook it up correctly :D. The outdoor unit comes pre-charged with freon so no worries there.
Click to expand...

Awesome! THanks! I have a feeling a 1 tonne chiller will likely be WAY overkill for my 140 gallon tank with around 80-100gallon sump though. :) But I REALLY like the idea of having the split unit dumping the heat outside. I'd love to be able to reduce the amount my central air runs in the summer; the more heat I could dump outside the better.

Tyler
 
DRAINS

DRAINS

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=5262337#post5262337 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by sidewinder770
Well, after much delay, lots of work, a vacation and to many other projects I am happy to say we finally have the sump cabinet finished, the A/C and chiller tube hooked up and water flowing from the sump to the display tank. It's only tap water at this point to make sure my 200+ feet of 2 "PVC didn't leak. To our amazement the hammerhead pump we are using as a sump return pump actually had to be throttled back as it was pumping to much water- we though for sure with the distance, all the 90's and the elevation rise we would loose a lot of pressure. I think we are at about 4200-4400 GPH and I am going to adjust my overflows and do some tweaking to see if we can't open the pump up completely- the dual 2" overflow drains appear to be able to handle it so I just have to get some more flow into the overflow itself.

I still have to install and plumb the remaining hammerhead pump to the skimmer and the other pump to the fuge, chiller tube, frag tank, and mixing tank so hopefully that will be done in the next few weeks but at least the big part is now done. The pics below show the pumps which are all plumbed to the sump but plumbing from the output is only complete on the sump return pump

The air conditioner I installed works like a charm as well. It was actually 104 in the garage the day we hooked it up and with the cabinet doors closed it only took about 25 minutes to cool the cabinet down to 65degrees- it should have no problem keeping it cool. and just in case I have a 1 ton chiller tube hooked up to a seperate A/C system- I'll have to wait till the chiller tube is plumbed into the tank to test that but it should be able to maintain the tank temperature all by itself as well.
sumpincabinet1.jpg

sumpincabinet2.jpg

sumpincabinet3.jpg
Click to expand...

All I can say is wow... Ive been reading thru this whole thread and I must say its an amazing set up.. I have a question about the to bulkheads in the bottom of the sump. I couldnt find in the thread an answer to what their use is. I assume its for water changes??
 
Since sidewinder is on vacation this week I'll take the liberty of answering this question; one of the bulkheads on the bottom feeds the pump for the skimmer, and the other is for the pump which feeds the other tanks in the sump cabinet (frag tank, fuge, mixing tank etc.)
 
WOW :thumbsup: :thumbsup: :thumbsup:

I love the sump and set-up in the garage.

Very impressive!

ps: Found you on reefcast...
 
Wow! That is a beautiful Tank! I know you've probably answered this question, but this thread is huge...what is on the back wall? Some type of foam or something or is it actually rock? May be a stupid question, but I've never seen that before. Thanks.
 
<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=8282744#post8282744 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by sleevasteve
Wow! That is a beautiful Tank! I know you've probably answered this question, but this thread is huge...what is on the back wall? Some type of foam or something or is it actually rock? May be a stupid question, but I've never seen that before. Thanks.
Click to expand...


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