Tunze Chiller

At the moment I have a 1/15 hp JBJ chiller on a 50 gal tank with 20 gal sump. It's unable to keep up, and I was looking at the tunze chiller because in around 12 months I'm planning on upgrading to at least a 150 gallon aquarium.

Would the Tunze chiller be far to much for around 60 gallons total water volume?

Thanks
 
Yes it would be if you were going to stay at that size but if you are upgrading then it would be fine for now.
 
Roger,

After looking around I have decided to go with Tunze after all. I am betting on the quality of the unit because that is paramount for me. Every other Chiller I checked out had good and bad reviews...I reallize Tunze is new to the chiller business and reviews are very limited. I am going on your reputation for quality and service.

I will get two units so that I don't overtax one. Is there a recommended set up for two units? Both will draw and deliver to my sump.

Thanks in advance, MCHippo
 
MC hippo, i highly suggest to feed the two chiller separate instead of daisy chain (if you every thought about daisy chain). I am going to split my return pump into 2x1" and feed to the chiller then from the chiller back to the main display. Daisy chain will make one chiller work harder than the other....
 
Thanks Jar*Head. I was planning on separate feeds and returns. I have two BlueLine pumps waiting and have had an electrician run two independent 15 Amp circuits to my fish room in anticipation of the chiller loads. Just need the Tunze's now to complete the setup. M.C.
 
My Tunze Chiller Setup

My Tunze Chiller Setup

Greetings,

Sorry I took so long to respond. I would include a picture of the dual Tunze set up if I knew how to upload pictures. My review of the product follows and is totally unscientific...these are my perspectives and nothing more. Scale is 1 to 5 w/ 5 being the best.

1) Design / Form Factor: 5 (Very cool design with a small footprint)

2) Installation: 5 (Very straight forword; Threaded connections (rather than barbed); Excellent directions)

3) Cooling Power: 2 (Perhaps a bit harse...and I welcome suggestions here to optimize performance...Even with two chillers, they run a lot...almost constantly during the time my lights are on. I have them set for 78 and they are not able to keep up. Tank Temp range before chillers: 80'ish to 90'ish when lights on. Tank Temp range after chillers: 78 to 82'ish when lights on. And there in is the reason for my low rating. I was expecting the two chillers to be able to keep my temp closer to 78. Again, I welcome suggestions for optimizing performance.

4) Heat Release: 1 (Wow! These units put out a tremendous amount of heat. I have them in my 6 X 10 fish room where my Sump is located. They drive the temp in that room up to 101 degrees...So what am I doing wrong. I have added fans (one each on the chillers). I am now contemplating getting an AC for the room...which seems totally rediculous. I am having to fix a problem caused by what was suppose to be a solution. Anyway...I welcome suggestions...

Final Note: I am using Blueline Velocity T4's (one each per chiller) to pump water through...

Again, I am not trying to bash Tunze here...I am looking for suggestions and I want this feed back to be considered by Tunze for suggested improvements. Thanks, Dave
 
all chillers would have the problem you speak of...thats why i install my chillers out side....but many find a simple solution to be to have an exhaust pipe to pump out the hot air away from the units to the outside of your home...this will increase cooling power and eliminate heat from units in the room
 
I think another factor(though maybe not a big one like the closed room), is adding the two T4 pumps to pump to the chillers. These are known to add a good deal of heat and likely bumped you another degree or two I bet with the two of them maybe more. I have read people using a P4 on a 75 getting a 4-5 degree increase for instance.
 
<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=12979128#post12979128 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by shawnz28
I think another factor(though maybe not a big one like the closed room), is adding the two T4 pumps to pump to the chillers. These are known to add a good deal of heat and likely bumped you another degree or two I bet with the two of them maybe more. I have read people using a P4 on a 75 getting a 4-5 degree increase for instance.
Click to expand...


With all the heat issue from the pump can be solve by the Master circulation pump. I love mine :D.... I even challenge all reefers who come to my house. "if they feel the pump running warm at any given time, they can have the pump for free", so far i haven't give away any pump yet :D
 
Keep in mind that chiller work like air conditioners, they are essentially removing and exporting heat, if the room is getting hot they are removing a tremendous amount of heat. I agree with Shawn on the T-4's great pumps due to the silent operation but they add a lot of heat. My experience was they raised a 120 by 6 degrees for 1 pump. In terms of BTU pull down these chillers actually do what they are rated at which is over 5000BTU's you have a combined 10000BTU capacity which is about equal to most 1hp chillers. I would better ventilate the room and be sure the heat of the chillers is not being trapped in a stand or enclosed compartment. I would also reduce sources of added heat.
 
MC also make sure that you have enough flow through the chillers. This can be very tricky, if you do don't have enough flow they will come on all the time because you are short cycling the chiller. The chiller itself will add three to four feet of head pressure, then add all the elbows and actual distance to the chiller and back to the tank or sump to make sure you are in the acceptable range. I can speak first hand about this particular issue as I dealt with it with my last chiller. I was using a T4 pump and it wasn't cutting it. The max head pressure ratings on those pumps is like 12 ft with top flow at 1225 or something like that and the head loss is steep. So just be sure that you aren't short cycling and by that I mean that the chiller comes on, stays on for 10 to 15 min and then back off again only to come back on a few min later.
 
Thanks all for the advise and suggestions. Not much I can do at this point about the T4's adding heat. I have decided to go ahead and install a mini-split AC to cool the room. What the heck...I am in it for more than $20K now...no turning back at this point.

wartskin - Thanks for your warning... The T4's pull from my sump. Tubing length is probably 10 feet. The sump sits about 2 feet higher than the pumps. They push water to the Tunzes (no more than a foot away) and then back into the sump....12 feet or so back. Flow at the return is nice and strong.

Picture posting....I wish I could. When I follow the directions it keeps telling me to upload the pictures first...using the Upload Picture Button. For the life of me, I can't find that button anywhere on the page. I welcome your help.

M.C.
 
When do you expect to have these chillers available for outside the USA or in a 220v versions? I like the look of these chillers and their low horse power.

Brett
 
I have been running my Tunze chiller for several months now. It was a replacement for an old Aqualogic 1/3hp. This chiller has a shorter cycle to cool the same tank. I had not measured actual minutes of chiller run with the old chiller, but I have observed a noticeably shorter cycle time since installing the Tunze.

When you compare with other 1/3hp models, the Tunze does pump out more BTU than its competitors. It is a beefy 1/3hp model.
 
OK, another question: Temperature controller built in, great... What if I want to have an external controller... Will X10 control work (plugged in/not plugged in)? Is there a remote option (ie relay switch or similar)?

Love the small footprint.
 
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