Let's talk heat and cold

[FishWife]

We are now managing 300 gallons of water between all its parts, and will add an 80g display soon. How do those of you with larger systems heat and cool your tanks as household ambient air varies so much day to day in spring/fall, and in terms of getting enough heat exchange happening? We know about ACIII, but I'm wondering about the actual equipment you use.

 

Heaters:

 

1. For instance, I saw that Dan (on his tank build thread) seemed to have about 8 heaters encased and wired together... Dan... if you have time, care to detail what that's all about?)

http://farm2.static.flickr.com/1269/144631..._a0b13ac599.jpg

 

2. What brands of heaters work well; which to avoid? Etc.

 

 

Chilling options:

1. Anyone do anything except buy a chiller (like running pipes through cold water in the basement and back up to the tank? Anyone have a line on homemade chillers of any kind?

 

2. If not (sigh) what kind of chillers are best for larger systems?

 

TIA!

Edited April 21, 2008 by FishWife

[jamal]

i have a 300 and a 250 watt heater for my system for heating. i have a 1/4 hp chiller for cooling. the system is about 300 gal. i use ebo jager as my main heater as it comes highly recommended. i have pacific coast for my chiller which is quiet and effective. i know chillers are expensive so if you can run fans or something. i like how stable it keeps my temps since i am doing sensitive fish i dont want fluctuations. i believe dan's design was to heat the the water very rapidly which is why he has sso many heaters. i will let him get into more detail.

[NRehman]

Not dan, but my 2c on heaters. With multiple heaters, the faliure of any one will not be catastrophic on the system due to the smaller impact. A single heater which fails on the switched on or off mode can wipe out your tank.

 

On another side, one temperature probe can also have an impact if you use a controller. A failure of the probe on the low or high side can result in excessive heating/cooling of your system. Having two probes is a safer option. Although, you can mitigate some of this risk by programming lower/upper values for your alerts.

[Rascal]

I have a little more than 200+ gallons. . . currently use 2 x 150W heaters; canopy fans go on w/ MHs, sump fan in basement w/ dehumidifier, and 1/4 hp drop-in chiller.

 

Some thoughts . . .

 

- Redundancy is key. Don't assume any piece of equipment is foolproof. Ex: After a temp probe malfunction on my AC, I now have my chiller plugged into a ranco temp controller which in turn is plugged in to the DC8. Both controllers would have to fail for there to be a problem.

 

- Keeping the house temp as stable as possible helps a lot

 

- My take on "the great temp debate": If possible, find your tank's set point and go from there. In other words, within acceptable ranges (say, 78-82), the best temp is the one that is easiest to maintain without using either your chiller or heaters most of the time. For example, in my house with the temp at around 70, all of the pumps and actinic lighting make the tank's temp around 79-80. So that's where I set my controllers. The sump fan comes on at 79.5, and the heaters if the temp gets close to 79. I don't use the chiller until the temp gets above 80. Most days the chiller only comes on when the MH's are on, and the heaters only turn on when the temp drops at night (having the fuge and frag tank lighting on reverse cycle helps with this too). In the summer the house temp will be around 72, and the tank's "set point" will increase as well. I have a powerful enough chiller now that I could maintain the same temps as now, but instead I will just gradually increase the temp .5 deg / month for the next few months, and then adjust it back down in the fall. This way I use a lot less electricity and it is easier to keep the temps stable.

 

- Get a big enough chiller to do the job, but use sump fans as your first line of defense since they use way less electricity.

 

- Having used both an inline and drop-in chiller, I much prefer the inline for flexibility of installation. The drop-in chillers really need to be right next to the tank in order to work. With an inline chiller and a basement sump, it is also possible to gravity feed the chiller instead of relying on a pump.

 

- Either locate the chiller outside or vent the exhaust. This is critical IMO, especially in an enclosed space like your basement fish-room. If you put a 1/4 or larger chiller in here and don't vent the exhaust, you will turn that room into a sauna.

 

-- Redundancy is key (Hey, I said that twice )

[dschflier]

I agree with Rascal. I have about 360 gallons and I run my system with no heaters or chillers to first see what the temp settles at and if it is reasonable I try and keep it at that temp. I have owned chillers but because I now have descent air circulation in my basment I have never needed it and just have a heater in my sump. I also feel if heat becomes an issue it is easier to use a fan to evaporate more water from the sump then a chiller. I should probbably be using one or two more heaters just for redundancy but never have.

 

That is just my 2 cents. In many cases it is not possible to go without a chiller but I feel if you can run a stable system without one you will be doing yourself a favor.