How to plumb chiller?

[weaglereefer]

Picked up a 1/4hp chiller yesterday, and while I wait for the needed part to arrive, I thought I'd figure out the best way to plumb it.

My current return pump is a Mag 9.5 on my 90g, which currently T's off to feed a refugium. I will be redoing my setup when I install the chiller to fit most of the equipment in the stand. I will be ditching my standalone refugium so I can fit a CA reactor, CO2 tank, and kalk reactor inside the stand, as well as finally plumb my external skimmer externally (it currently sits inside the sump). The skimmer will sit outside the stand on its own table next to the tank, plenty of air/room around for good ventilation.

First question, should I plumb the chiller's return directly back to the tank through the return, or should I have it dump back into the sump? My thinking is that if I dump into the sump, the chiller will cycle on/off more frequently (bad I would think).

I would like to have a manifold to allow me to feed off my return line for my CA reactor and skimmer, and allow space for two probes inline. If I run the chiller's output back through the tank's return, should I put the manifold before or after the chiller? Does it matter?

The chiller recommends flow between 100gph and 400gph, so I'm thinking with 5' of head pressure, plus a T for the skimmer (currently running off its own Mag2 and I think I've got it dialed in where I want it) and CA reactor feeds, the Mag 9.5 will be sufficient, right?

Thanks!

 

[budsreef]

I can't answer questions on the best way to plumb one, but if this is a used chiller, make sure you clean it well before hooking it up to your tank. Maybe even run it with some vinegar water, bleach water and/or fresh saltwater for a while. You probably already know that but someone recently lost a lot of livestock by running one with some old water in it that must have turned bad.

 

[misu]

I had vinegar water running through it for a few minutes but clean it again by all means

I think it was set up to feed from one side of the sump using a mag12 and return close to the return pump also in the sump

 

[weaglereefer]

It's fully taken apart, have washed all the dust and debris out of the vents. I had to take the covers off anyways to get to the temp probe. I'm contemplating painting it black so it fits in a little better.

I was going to hook it to a Mag5 tonight and run it with vinegar/water for 24 hours, then bleach/water for 24 hours, then water for a day, empty, then water for a day again (I've got the time, gives me something to do...), so it should be good to go as far as cleanliness. I'm also trying to figure out if I can get an air filter in front of the air inlet to help with cleanliness. I'm also going to blast the whole unit with some pressurized air to hopefully get any dust out of there.

 

[cr500_af]

Jeff, I can't say whether it is the "right" way to do it or not, but my chiller pumps from the sump and returns to the sump "upstream" of the pump... in other words, the chilled water goes right by my temp probe. It is set up this way for ease of fitting the equipment in, not for functional reasons. I should</em> be a poster child for rapid cycling of the chiller, but I don't get that at all.

 

[weaglereefer]

After researching on RC and other places, I think it will work best to have it inline to the return. I'm trying to figure out exactly how much head pressure it will add to determine if I'll have enough leftover for running a T to the skimmer or not. Best estimate currently is I'll have appx 300gph running through the sump and thus running through the chiller, and if I rob any more of that for the skimmer, it will make water flow too slow through the chiller.

I'm thinking about upgrading to a Mag 12 which I'm sure will be enough, if I can get a deal on one. I'll have a Mag 2, 5, and 9.5 to bargain with in trading...

 

[acroholic]

Have it inline in the return unless you are cooling more than one tank with it.

when I only had my 210 and a sump. I plumbed an Oceanic 1/4 horse chiller inline. I had dual overflows/returns, so I had a ball valve on each return line to balance the flow between the returns (one thru chiller, one straight back to tank). If you have dual returns, you will probably need to close the one not going to the chiller to bias a bit more flow to the chiller side to equal it out because of the increased head pressure thru the chiller.

 

[skriz]

Plumb it inline and put it on the same circuit as your return pump. You want the chiller to shut down when flow shuts down (to prevent damaging the chiller).

 

[weaglereefer]

Skriz;532319 wrote: Plumb it inline and put it on the same circuit as your return pump. You want the chiller to shut down when flow shuts down (to prevent damaging the chiller).

Ahh, now I didn't think of that! I will definitely do that.

Just received confirmation that the part I need to fix the chiller has just shipped (assume it was earlier, just now checking e-mail). Went and picked up some hose from Home Depot, and the black hose was $5 cheaper than the clear, which is perfect! But I forgot the Krylon Fusion :doh:.

So got a pump, clamps, and hose and will have it cleaning tonight. Hopefully the part is here in a week or so, and after some quick testing to make sure it's cooling the water and doesn't need a recharge or anything, I'll have it installed. Already started drawing up sketches for the new return manifold, and how I can make the whole setup even cleaner (seems to get more streamlined every time I do this, might actually be getting good at it...)


Oh, and I'm still trying to figure out how to use it with my controller, not sure if the settings save when it powers off. I'd really prefer my Reefkeeper controlling it, vs. the internal thermostat.