Chiller and cooling adventures

[Mihai]

Hello ,

I am looking for a chiller for a 250 L system(sump + aquarium). I live at the upper levels and from experience it can get very hot. For a hot summer I am expecting room temperatures of 27* C plus , even in the night time. I am planning to take a multi prong approach - 2 AC units in the house (one in the aquarium room)- already have , GHL controller + fans controlled (already have)- but as both fans and AC cannot and should not work 24/7 a chiller is needed to get me the extra safety and longevity. All the pumps in the aquarium currently they raise the temperature of the water 2* C above the temperature of the room. Apart from that I do not plan to keep the corals in the middle of summer at 25* . Currently they are at 26.5-27 and in summer I want to have that rise to a maximum of 28* water temperature. To keep it at 28* C or under a chiller is needed...

I would like to ask your input on the topic of chiller and setup.

1.What chiller would you recommend me for my tank ? For me reliability is important as well as noise level , size(space is limited) and power consumption. Currently I am looking at Teco TK 150 , too bad it does not have the more efficient R290 gas.

2.How to best set up the cooling circuit ? Let me explain : I have a sump and cabinet but no space for the chiller there. It needs to be at the exterior of the cabinet (hopefully the noise is not too bad). The sump is small and it is already full. My return system is 25 mm and the chiller in/out is 12mm. Is it possible to set up a single circuit ? I want to avoid adding another return pump ( more heat , more space that I don't have, noise and more power consumption) , ideally I would like to set 1 return pump only . After reading your reviews I found out more water velocity means better cooling but does that not mean that the chiller has more stop/start cycles?

3.How to set up all the cooling hardware to operate? I expect in summer to have 26* C 18h a day in the room with spikes of maybe 28*C+ in some especially hot days(that would mean about 28* C tank water...not considering heat spikes in the middle of the day). I have 2 options :

a. Keep the AC going most of the day (unfortunately as the walls get hot and keep heat even into the night).The advantage is that the aquarium cooling gear is rarely in use. The AC position is such that it send cold air directly at the tank and at the lighting.

b.I can use the AC from time to time and keep the water temperature down with the specific gear. My thinking is :

- Set the AC to start auto when the temp in the room exceeds a maximum threshold , lets say 27* C.
- Set the chiller to start at 27* C and then set the GHL controlled fans to always run at when the tank is over 26.5*
Or would it be better for the fans to start at 27* ? The problem is I also don't want to be the prisoner of the RO water container as I would need to replace 10L daily.


4.Is it normal for all the pumps (recirculation and flow) plus lighting to increase the temperature of the water with 2+ *C ? I have 5 pumps in the aquarium( some very small Sicce Nano-2000 and 2 big Rossmont) + in sump 1 1000l pump + return + power filter 22W/h + filter bed pump. Do you advice that when it gets hot I should stop or remove some of the heat generators or even stop the lighting ? Currently have 4 24W T5 and GHL Mitras 7602 led.

Thanks and btw great review on the Teco TK 150. It was really useful for me!

[Danireef]

Hi Mihai, happy to hear you again.

Hello ,

1.What chiller would you recommend me for my tank ? For me reliability is important as well as noise level , size(space is limited) and power consumption. Currently I am looking at Teco TK 150 , too bad it does not have the more efficient R290 gas.

Maybe the TK150 is enough, but I would prefer the TK 500. Much more efficient, so less heat in the room. And, from my point of view, no fans at all. Only for emergency situation.

2.How to best set up the cooling circuit ? Let me explain : I have a sump and cabinet but no space for the chiller there. It needs to be at the exterior of the cabinet (hopefully the noise is not too bad). The sump is small and it is already full. My return system is 25 mm and the chiller in/out is 12mm. Is it possible to set up a single circuit ? I want to avoid adding another return pump ( more heat , more space that I don't have, noise and more power consumption) , ideally I would like to set 1 return pump only . After reading your reviews I found out more water velocity means better cooling but does that not mean that the chiller has more stop/start cycles?

From return pump to chiller to tank. Plain like this. I do in this way. Much more velocity, more efficiency, great result. The only problem is just a little less flow due to small pipe of the chiller.

3.How to set up all the cooling hardware to operate? I expect in summer to have 26* C 18h a day in the room with spikes of maybe 28*C+ in some especially hot days(that would mean about 28* C tank water...not considering heat spikes in the middle of the day). I have 2 options :

a. Keep the AC going most of the day (unfortunately as the walls get hot and keep heat even into the night).The advantage is that the aquarium cooling gear is rarely in use. The AC position is such that it send cold air directly at the tank and at the lighting.

b.I can use the AC from time to time and keep the water temperature down with the specific gear. My thinking is :

- Set the AC to start auto when the temp in the room exceeds a maximum threshold , lets say 27* C.
- Set the chiller to start at 27* C and then set the GHL controlled fans to always run at when the tank is over 26.5*
Or would it be better for the fans to start at 27* ? The problem is I also don't want to be the prisoner of the RO water container as I would need to replace 10L daily.

If you plan to maintain 27,5°C max on aquarium I would do:

1) chiller on at 27,5, it functions until 26.5 is reached.
2) fans at 28° until 26,5. Only for emergency situation. So no evaporation at all. Great thing let me say!
3) AC at 27° in the house, maybe 27,5. Until one degree less.

4.Is it normal for all the pumps (recirculation and flow) plus lighting to increase the temperature of the water with 2+ *C ? I have 5 pumps in the aquarium( some very small Sicce Nano-2000 and 2 big Rossmont) + in sump 1 1000l pump + return + power filter 22W/h + filter bed pump. Do you advice that when it gets hot I should stop or remove some of the heat generators or even stop the lighting ? Currently have 4 24W T5 and GHL Mitras 7602 led.

Thanks and btw great review on the Teco TK 150. It was really useful for me!

I think it's normal, 2-2,5°C more than house temperature. My calculations are the same. No, don't stop anything, with chiller you can!

[Mihai]

Hello ,

1.What chiller would you recommend me for my tank ? For me reliability is important as well as noise level , size(space is limited) and power consumption. Currently I am looking at Teco TK 150 , too bad it does not have the more efficient R290 gas.

Maybe the TK150 is enough, but I would prefer the TK 500. Much more efficient, so less heat in the room. And, from my point of view, no fans at all. Only for emergency situation.

First of all ty for the quick reply and piece of wisdom. Related to chiller size I am inclined to get the 150 if compared to TK 500 the result is just a question of efficiency because :

smaller size ; less power consumption ; less noise ?! ; half the price and also I don't need to keep the temp at 25 and I think the 150 can keep my tank at 27*C even if the room is at 30. Am I missing something ? The 500 has some advantages in the sense that the air flow can be redirected and it includes heating as well + bigger pipes (16 mm as opposed to 12mm). Also my aquarium is 250 but after displacement from rock/sand and equipment I think I am closer to 150 then 250 L.


I think we and especially me here are very lucky that you are a hydraulic engineer as I would like to explore a bit more the one circuit scenario. Specifically is it safe and practical to link a 8000 L/h pump(controllable) to a circuit like this through a 12 mm hose ? Would that not put a lot of pressure on the circuit , especially the 12mm hose ? To help you answer the question let me give you some context:

My current return pump Sicce 3.0 has to pump water trough 2 45* elbows to a height of about 1.7 m , then the flow is split in 2 via a T section and then multiple 90* elbows to the 2 returns in the tank( the returns have variable flow as the nozzle spins). Because of the complexity of the return I have not measured the real flow but I would bet it is under 1000l/h. In the future I really want a DC pump for the noise factor as well as more flow and I also have problems with the water level ...it changes without any addition of freshwater so I suspect the pump performance varies for some reason(maybe because of nozzle spinners changes). A 8000 l/h 5m head pump would be ideal at a quick glance considering the added chiller circuit if completely safe. A flood would be the absolute worst scenario.

[Danireef]

First of all ty for the quick reply and piece of wisdom.

You was been lucky I was on the forum when you wrote...

Related to chiller size I am inclined to get the 150 if compared to TK 500 the result is just a question of efficiency because :

smaller size ;

true

less power consumption

This is false... you have more power consumption in a time, but to lower the temp you spend almost half, because is much more efficient.
If with TK150 you need one hour (150 watt), with TK500 you need 20 minutes (240watt/hour=80watt), with new r290 you need 15 minutes and 50watt. More or less.

; less noise ?! ;

From my measuration, 51,6 dB the old TK500, and 41,4 the TK150. But with first aquarium much more noisy. Anyway many noise for sure.

half the price and also I don't need to keep the temp at 25 and I think the 150 can keep my tank at 27*C even if the room is at 30. Am I missing something ?

Yes sure and you have the fans too.

The 500 has some advantages in the sense that the air flow can be redirected and it includes heating as well

The new one has not heating thermo.

+ bigger pipes (16 mm as opposed to 12mm). Also my aquarium is 250 but after displacement from rock/sand and equipment I think I am closer to 150 then 250 L.

ok.

I think we and especially me here are very lucky that you are a hydraulic engineer as I would like to explore a bit more the one circuit scenario. Specifically is it safe and practical to link a 8000 L/h pump(controllable) to a circuit like this through a 12 mm hose ? Would that not put a lot of pressure on the circuit , especially the 12mm hose ? To help you answer the question let me give you some context:

My current return pump Sicce 3.0 has to pump water trough 2 45* elbows to a height of about 1.7 m , then the flow is split in 2 via a T section and then multiple 90* elbows to the 2 returns in the tank( the returns have variable flow as the nozzle spins). Because of the complexity of the return I have not measured the real flow but I would bet it is under 1000l/h.

A lot less... if you use this automatic calculation, sorry it's in italian for now, but it's easy to change the values to understand what I mean: https://www.danireef.com/2017/04/21/cal ... -risalita/
You have hald that value. About 600 l/h. I use my hydor seltz dc6000 inside my tk500 with no problem at full power.

In the future I really want a DC pump for the noise factor as well as more flow and I also have problems with the water level ...it changes without any addition of freshwater so I suspect the pump performance varies for some reason(maybe because of nozzle spinners changes). A 8000 l/h 5m head pump would be ideal at a quick glance considering the added chiller circuit if completely safe. A flood would be the absolute worst scenario.

No flood I hope

[Mihai]

Dani do you know if the new iterations (the ones with R290 gas) are available for sale in EU ? I looked on both Teco US and EU websites and both have the old versions only. I cannot find the specs for the new versions but I know they are sold in Australia (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5eAlrPxt68Y). The marine retails I usually shop from only have the old versions , do you know an Italian stop that sells the new versions?

[Danireef]

I know in Italy all selling the new one. In Europe I don't know. Keep in mind the new one doesn't have the heater.

[Mihai]

Grazie ! Will look for a online shop in Italy than.

[Danireef]

Let me know!

[Danireef]

But the TK150 has not the new R290 gas.

[Mihai]

I am looking at the tk 500 version but it's a pain to find suppliers. In Italy no online retailer sends in EU and in EU(DE prefaired) so far I found just one with the 2019 version at the decent price but requires 150 euro for transport . In Romania they only sell the old version. And I don't even know the clear specs for tk500 as the Teco website only shows the old version of their product. It's an adventure...