quick plumbing question

[natas]

I have a chiller that uses a 3/4 connector, however the unit I bought was used and the person who owned it before glued a 3/4 to 1 inch connector to it on the in and out.

Anyway what I thinking of doing was using 1inch flex hose (spaflex maybe) from the "out" and then connecting that to a 1inch to 3/4in pvc then go up the tank (return) using the rest as 3/4. Now if I do that, will I get a ton of air bubbles (microbubbles) or anything. The "in" on the chiller I can just use 1inch hose all the way down to my Mag 7 pump (convert down to half inch at the connector.

 

[jdieck]

I really do not understand your description on the second paragraph but understand the issue so:

A) it is recommended that the chiller be installed on the return line (Pump to aquarium) not the drain line (Aquarium to sump)

B) When calculating the pump you need for a particular return flow you need to account for the pressure drop at the chiller. Mag pumps are very affected by pressure drops so using 1" rather than 3/4 will be a gain in that sense. If using 1" is not practical then go with 3/4 but you may need to update into a Mag 9.

C) You need to provide means for the chiller to stay off if the return pump is of or there is not water circulation trough it. THe easier way will be to connect chiller and pump in the same controlled / switched receptacle.

 

[drparker]

Running all of your return through the chiller might be to high a flow rate for it. You could split the return from the Mag 7 and have the chiller return to your sump. Use a T to split the output from the MAG. Put a ball valve on the line going to the chiller to control the flow rate. Or you could get a 2nd smaller pump for the chiller.

If you are going to use it in-line then I would run 1" all the way to the tank before dropping down to 3/4"

 

[natas]

I guess a easier question would be this:

If hooking my mag 7 (which starts out at 1/2inch) up to a 1inch pipe then converting that to a 3/4inch pipe going up cause a problem?

 

[natas]

And just a FYI, I will have this all setup through a Aqua Controller. So I can program it to turn off if Return is turned off.

 

[jefathome]

Re: quick plumbing question

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=13022029#post13022029 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by natas
I have a chiller that uses a 3/4 connector, however the unit I bought was used and the person who owned it before glued a 3/4 to 1 inch connector to it on the in and out.

Anyway what I thinking of doing was using 1inch flex hose (spaflex maybe) from the "out" and then connecting that to a 1inch to 3/4in pvc then go up the tank (return) using the rest as 3/4. Now if I do that, will I get a ton of air bubbles (microbubbles) or anything. The "in" on the chiller I can just use 1inch hose all the way down to my Mag 7 pump (convert down to half inch at the connector.

Translation:
Can I start out with a 3/4in, go up to a 1in, then back down to 3/4in?

Answer... YES
As long as there is nowhere for air to come in, no bubbles.

 

[jdieck]

OK Lets start all over.
What size is your tank and overflow capacity and what is the HP of the chiller?
That will help with an idea of the flow needed, max flow and is you need to split the flow or use it all trough.

 

[natas]

Tank is 90 gallons. The overflow is from glass-holes and is rated at 700gph. The chiller is 1/4hp and - want to run the whole return through it. Its a aqualogic ds3 model chiller

 

[Gold Stripe]

Can we make things any more complicated?

Simple answer:
- Put a 1/2 to 1 adapter on the pump output and run 1 inch to the chiller.
- Run 1 inch from the chiller to the return at the bottom of your tank and put a 1 to 3/4 adapter there connected to the tank.
- A MAG 7 is not too much flow for a 1/4 HP chiller. In fact, you may even need to go up to a MAG 9.5 to get enough flow given the added head pressure from adding the chiller.

 

[jdieck]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=13023804#post13023804 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by natas
Tank is 90 gallons. The overflow is from glass-holes and is rated at 700gph. The chiller is 1/4hp and - want to run the whole return through it. Its a aqualogic ds3 model chiller

For those conditions, just as described above, use a mag 9.5 and pass all the return trough the chiller. Use 1" lines and adapt at the pump and tank return.