Pump outlet diffuser

[tllyjst]

I need to add a chiller to my new 110g saltwater aquarium. I live in Pensacola, FL and am gone 12 days or so in a row. It makes sense to set the home A/C at 82 degrees or so, and with lights on my 110g setup seems to run 3-4 degrees above ambient.

I bought a 1/8 HP Teco chiller:

SeaChill TR10 1/8HP Aquarium Chiller - SeaQuestMarine.com

I'm trying to hide it under an adjacent counter laying on it's side... but with heat issues it appears the BEST spot is on top of the hood. I figure I can hide it one way or another. It would be easiest to drop a pump into the aquarium then pump water to the chiller on top and back into the aquarium. I can hide the pump with a rock or two, but is there an attachment I can use to the 3/4" hose return line back to the aquarium to diffuse the return? Should I even worry about diffusing it?

I could also run the supply and return all the way down to the sump, maybe 7 foot of head if I do that.

Any opinions on the best set up?

Thanks,

Jim

 

[Ziggy953]

A couple of things.

The chiller needs to be in the open air of the room it is in. Sealing it off in a cabinet or sitting it on its side can cause it to work a lot harder then it should. The chiller works similar to that of an ac unit in that it blows air across the coils to cool them and thus transferring the heat form the water to the air. If it is in an enclosed space the air will stay warm and the chiller will not function properly.

I believe it is best to pull water from one area of the system and pump it back to another area. You don't want the water going into the chiller be in the same area you are returning it. I don't think it will matter much if you diffuse the return.

Make sure to match the pump with what the chiller recommends. You need the correct amount of flow through it for the chiller to work properly.

 

[tllyjst]

Ziggy,

Thanks,

I'm afraid of a siphon in case of a power failure.... Correct my logic. If I want to draw supply water from one place but put it to another...

The pump should go in the sump (4' lower than the aquarium, 8' lower than the chiller when I put it on top of the hood), and the return into my built-in drilled overflow box or the aquarium itself. And that return end in the overflow box or aquarium should be at a level just an inch or so below present water level)

I use a Hofer Gurgle Buster (without the bell, it seems to do nothing) so the water level in my overflow box is just an half inch or so below the aquarium level.

Any preference as to overflow box or aquarium?


Thanks,

Jim

 

[Ziggy953]

I use Eshoppes for my overflow boxes and am very pleased with them. I have a perfecto 120g 48x24x24 tank.

I'm not 100% sure how the best way to plumb a chiller is. I have not yet had a need for one so I haven't done enough research on them.

For my logic I would think that the pump would go in the sump that supplies the chiller and the return line would be put in the display. I do know that some people plumb them into their return lines from the main pumps (with valves to reduce the flow) so the water is pushed through the chiller and then put into the display.

What ever you do make sure that it meets with what the chiller manufacturer suggests.

 

[tllyjst]

Just for information...

I first put the chiller in an adjacent enclosed cabinet very near the aquarium sump and plumbed the supply to a stand alone pump in the sump, and return to the sump as well... In 6 hours the temperature of the water did not change, but the cabinet temp got to 90 degrees.

Then, I put the chiller on the floor in front of the cabinet , plumbed the exact same way. In 2 hours the water temp went down 2 degrees and it wasn't much more than warm around the chiller.

So I'm pretty sure I'll hide the chiller on top of the wooden hood.

Still dumb, but trainable...

Jim