Chiller and GFO unit

capital1983

capital1983

Member
Hi all,

So I just had a quick question about the pump that I am using to feed my chiller and nextreef MR1 gfo and carbon reactor. I have the temp set for 79 but it will never get below 81 or 82. In the afternoon it will go as high as 84. I am using the pump from the mr1 to feed the chiller from the sump and then from the chiller it is going through the reactor. Is the pump too weak for this? What pump would be the best for for good flow through both pieces of equipment.

Any suggestions would be great!


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goma

goma

Well-Known Member
RS STAFF
PREMIUM
It sounds like it is too weak. Each chiller has a recommended minimum and maximum flow rate through it. You need to dig out the manual or do some research to find out what those rates are. Once you have that you can determine the pump you need taking into consideration pipe size, number of bends, head height, etc.

Also for a GFO reactor the GFO should gently tumble so as not to break up and the carbon should not tumble at all.

Most likely you will need one pump to run your GFO/Carbon reactor. And you may be able to use the one you have. Then you will need a separate pump for the chiller.
 
capital1983

capital1983

Member
I purchased a mag 3 in hopes that it can drive both the chiller and the gfo unit. Will let you know the outcome


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DaveK

Well-Known Member
Before you spend any money, how big a chiller are you using? It may be too small. Also, if you are going to feed a GFO / carbon filter and the chiller, from a single pump, valves should be used to control flow through them and they should be in parallel. You do not want the gfo / carbon to restrict the flow through the chiller, and you espectially don't want either material to get into the chiller.
 
capital1983

capital1983

Member
It's 1/13 and it is going to go from chiller to GFo so no material gets into chiller. Spoke with lfs and this is what they suggested


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jrbass

jrbass

Member
capital1983 said:
It's 1/13 and it is going to go from chiller to GFo so no material gets into chiller. Spoke with lfs and this is what they suggested


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Click to expand...

Ok here is your issue. Your GFO reactor has a valve to restrict the flow through it down to usually about 20GPM so as to lightly tumble the gfo. By doing this you are also restricting the flow through the chiller to the same amout 20GPM. Now having said this it is possible to run both off of a single pump and yes you want the reactor after the chiller like you have but what you don't have and need is to put a "T" in the return line from the chiller and then one line to your reactor and the other back to the tank(your unrestricted return from chiller) and then you will need a second return line from the reactor to the tank also(restricted flow through reactor). Now you may need another valve on your chiller return to add just a touch of restriction to force water through the "T" into your GFO due to path of least resistance. Follow?

FYI I just run 2 pumps myself so when I change gfo and close valves for this the is only 1 adjustment to make each time.
 
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DaveK

Well-Known Member
capital1983 said:
It's 1/13 and it is going to go from chiller to GFo so no material gets into chiller. Spoke with lfs and this is what they suggested


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Click to expand...

I'd say that your asking a lot of a 1/13 hp chiller. I use a 1/5 hp on my 125 gal reef, which is not that much larger. Those MHs are throwing a lot of heat into the tank. Depending upon the fixture, adding UV and heat blocking glass may help keep some of the heat out. When I had MH's I used robax glass glass in them to block some of the heat. It works well, but is very expensive.

I agree with the post by jrbass about how the units should be plumbed. As usual, your LFS really doesn't know.
 
jrbass

jrbass

Member
DaveK said:
I'd say that your asking a lot of a 1/13 hp chiller. I use a 1/5 hp on my 125 gal reef, which is not that much larger. Those MHs are throwing a lot of heat into the tank. Depending upon the fixture, adding UV and heat blocking glass may help keep some of the heat out. When I had MH's I used robax glass glass in them to block some of the heat. It works well, but is very expensive.

I agree with the post by jrbass about how the units should be plumbed. As usual, your LFS really doesn't know.
Click to expand...

I also didn't notice his DT size vs. Chiller size. I run a 1/10th on a red sea max 130D it will only run for about 5 minutes to get my temp right in the middle of summer. He may be a little undersized for sure but FLOW is his big problem right now and then we will see if he can hold temps in the winter but summer time may be an issue.
 
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