Donmarco June 11, 2011 Share June 11, 2011 I'm running a 125G reef tank, loaded with many coral and a few fish. I have a 35G Zero Edge sump with refugium and there are three pumps there, one feeding water to the chiller, one supplying the protein skimmer and one return pump. I have a Current Outer Orbit halide/T5 fixture suspended above the tank. The fixture is 7.5 inches above the tank and there is good air flow between the fixture and the tank. The tank is 4 years old. Until recently, summer and winter, the water temperature was hovering around 77-78 degrees but over the last few weeks I've noticed a significant spike. Today the water temperature is 81.8 in a room with am ambient temperature of 72 degrees. I've checked the pumps and they're all cool to the touch, though I'm sure they are adding some radiant heat (though the pumps are all high-end products that provide output with less power consumption). I unplugged the titanium heater in the tank and removed it a few weeks ago, thinking that might be the problem. Obviously the heater was not the problem. I'm concerned about the spike in temperature. The chiller runs 24/7 now, but the water temperature is not declining. Any ideas what could be causing the spike in temperature and how to correct it? Mark Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
steveoutlaw June 11, 2011 Share June 11, 2011 Could the chiller be bad? If it's running constantly and not cooling the water then it could possible be adding heat to the water. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Donmarco June 11, 2011 Author Share June 11, 2011 Could the chiller be bad? If it's running constantly and not cooling the water then it could possible be adding heat to the water. How might I check that? I cleaned the unit front and back (it wasn't very dirty because I regularly maintain the chiller). Do you think it would be worth turning the chiller off to see what happens to the water temp? Mark Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
F&Fmgr June 11, 2011 Share June 11, 2011 open her up and feel if the piping is cold. if it is then just buy some coil cleaner from lowes. if the pipes going into the cooling chamber are warm then check to see if the compressor/condensor? is hot. also check to see if the cooling fan is working. What brand chiller is it? Sean Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
F&Fmgr June 11, 2011 Share June 11, 2011 i think it would only overheat if the exchange got to hot. Any hvac guys around. my chillers are basically refridgeration parts. the tecos are computerized.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Coral Hind June 11, 2011 Share June 11, 2011 It does sound like the chiller might not be working. Have you double checked the temp of the water with another thermometer as the temp probes can go bad. When they do it is normally that they give a reading higher then actual. I don't think you even need a chilled myself. My tank hits 82F every day this time of the year. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Donmarco June 11, 2011 Author Share June 11, 2011 It does sound like the chiller might not be working. Have you double checked the temp of the water with another thermometer as the temp probes can go bad. When they do it is normally that they give a reading higher then actual. I don't think you even need a chilled myself. My tank hits 82F every day this time of the year. I have a very good, accurate temperature probe I use to manually check. Actually the manual probe is about .6 higher than the chiller. I unplugged the chiller for today. The manufacturer suggests using 3 gallons of fresh water and 1 gallon of white vinegar and then back flushing the unit (for one hour) to clean the titanium inner workings, then to follow with 3 gallons of fresh water (30 minutes). I'll try that to see if it helps. It will be Monday before I can go buy a gallon of vinegar. I checked the unit while it was running and it seemed to be working correctly, so perhaps its just calcium buildup in the unit. Once I back flush (I'll also clean the supply pump while it's out) I'll connect everything again and then check after a few hours of operation to see if conditions improve. If not then the chiller might have a larger problem that just a little build up. Thanks for the advice. Mark Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Origami June 12, 2011 Share June 12, 2011 Check the temperature of the water coming out of the chiller. If it's not cooler than the water going in, you've got a problem in the chiller. If there's no water coming out of the chiller, then it's either clogged with something or the pump driving it is not working. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lowsingle June 12, 2011 Share June 12, 2011 How old is the chiller? It may just need the refrigerante re-charged. If it is the compressor, then you might as well just buy a new one. cheers, Darren Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Donmarco June 15, 2011 Author Share June 15, 2011 Just thought I'd post an update for all those kind people who provided their suggestions. I took my chiller off line last weekend and watched the tank water temperature to see if it would rise or lower. It did neither. It remained at 81.2 to 81.5, a little lower at night and a little higher during the day (not unusual I know). Yesterday I back flushed my chiller following the manufacturer's guidelines, but I embellished a bit, for safety and thoroughness. First, I back flushed the chiller with fresh water for 30 minutes. Next, using a mixture of 1 gallon of white vinegar and 3 gallons of fresh water, I back flushed for 1 hour. Afterward I back flushed with fresh water only for 30 minutes, then changed the water and back flushed again for 15 minutes. Finally I back flushed a third time with fresh water. I left the chiller overnight, while I mixed a sufficient quantity of salt water and thoroughly cleaned the chiller's feed pump. I also (while I had everything apart) replaced the vinyl feed and return tubing and added new clamps. Today when I started up the chiller I piped the fresh water from the chiller into an empty bucket and slowly added salt water to the sump to replace what was being directed to the chiller. Then I turned the feed pump off, repositioned the return tubing to the sump and started up the feed pump again. Lastly I turned the chiller on (I had already cleaned it thoroughly, front and back). After 3 minutes the unit began to function properly. I've monitored the water temperature throughout the day. When I turned the chiller on the temperature was 80.6. Now, about 8 hours later, the temperature is 79.7 and it looks as if everything is working well. That's my tale and I'm sticking to it. Thanks to everyone for the advice. Mark Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Coral Hind June 15, 2011 Share June 15, 2011 What is the unit set at? Unless the tank is currently where you set it at I would have thought a properly sized and working chiller would have dropped the temp more then .9 over 8 hours. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Donmarco June 15, 2011 Author Share June 15, 2011 What is the unit set at? Unless the tank is currently where you set it at I would have thought a properly sized and working chiller would have dropped the temp more then .9 over 8 hours. Oops, I mistyped in my post. The start temperature was 81.6 after restart, not 80.6. The temperature now is 79.5 and the unit is set to 78 degrees. I'll check it again in the morning and hopefully it will have lowered the water temperature to target. Mark Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Origami June 16, 2011 Share June 16, 2011 After 3 minutes the unit began to function properly. I've monitored the water temperature throughout the day. When I turned the chiller on the temperature was 80.6. ...and it looks as if everything is working well. That's great news. I'm glad that it worked out for you. Hopefully, the flow through the chiller is all it should be. Was the flow through it poor at the start? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Donmarco June 16, 2011 Author Share June 16, 2011 The flow was good even when the chiller wasn't working properly. The back flush procedure seems to have done the trick. This morning (8 a.m.) the tank temperature was 78 degrees, now at half past midday it's 78.8 and all seems well. Now I can sit back and enjoy my tank for awhile. My current fascination is the Zenia, particularly two colonies that have attached to the glass and are growing toward the surface. I have 8 large frags (mostly stag, acro, birdsnest, etc.) that need to be relocated from the rack to rock. I haven't any rock now where they'd prosper so I'm aging some LR with the thought of placing it within a few weeks and reallocating a little space. I have two large Frogspawn that I'll either move backward in the tank (I have four large colonies, two on each side of the tank, right now). I'll probably offer two of them to the LFS and if he takes them I'll then have a little more room for the beautiful coral now sitting on the frag rack.Again, thanks for all the advice.Mark Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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