Chiller for Max 250

[dburkart]

We have had som warm weather in the NE, NY area, and I came home to find my tank at 81 degrees. I try to keep it around 78.5 it seems I may need a chiller any recomendations ? I have switched the pumps putting the larger one on the right, will this change the installation of a chiller ?

Thanks, Dave

 

[tnwillia]

The right chamber is smaller & tighter than the left. Actually, I'm surprised you got the stock left side pump in that chamber although I never tried it. Good luck!

 

[Paragon]

I don't envision a need to change. I live in IL on the second floor, and my place gets pretty darn toasty until I turn the air on. The temp of 81 itself isn't necessarily disconcerning, but if you anticipate it will continue to climb as external temps climb it may be useful. I knew when I bought my 250 that I faced this issue, and I bought the chiller right out of the gates. It has been a very good investment for me. Various members deal with this situation differently, but in my experience the one time investement offset a lot of sleepless nights. My family is away from the home very frequently, and the consistency of the chiller is a big advantage.

Para

 

[dburkart]

What pump do use in the 250 to get the water to the chiller. I am keeping an eye on
things and hope the temps stabilize, as I would prefer not to start the A/C yet.

Dave

 

[Oxylebius]

I am in the same situation as Dave, and looking to add a chiller. Not sure what brand yet. My tank has been around 82 degrees by the end of the day and ~80 in the mornings after the lights have been off all night.

 

[RedSea Aviad]

Hi,
One word of advice if I may.
Changing the pumps left and right would reduce the skimmer’s efficiency.
Pump #1, the left one is the one pulling water from the overflow trough the skimmer’s chamber and on to the other chambers.
When less water flow through the skimmer’s chamber less water are being treated.
All the best,
Aviad

 

[lethal]

I'm running a Hailea 1/4hp chiller which has been fantastic, I would be in serious trouble without it. It is a cheaper alternative to the big name brands and it has been running like a clock for over 2 years.

 

[nanoreefing4fun]

80-82 imo fine... even 83

most of the oceans corals come from temps in this range & even up to 85

but a chiller is a nice addition

 

[Oxylebius]

I'm just nervous with the fluctuation of temp and instability of it based on warmer vs cooler days in the house.... I'm planning on adding Pocillopora, Polyphillia, Seriatopora, Seriatopora, Stylophora, Montipora coral species over the next couple of months and don't want to have to deal with loss due to temp issues.

 

[nanoreefing4fun]

mine (no chiller) swings between 79-81 nights to days... the heater helps... but we have outside temps to 110F here & run the air keeping our home at 73F... and the rear cooling fan 24 x 7

A chiller is a very nice addition !!!

 

[whippetguy]

I've been considering getting a chiller as well. Not only for the safety of not having my tank get too hot, but if I had a chiller, I may be able to get rid of the extremely loud rear cooling fans. Can someone with a chiller comment on how loud they are. If it's just as loud as the rear fans, I'll pass for now.

 

[nanoreefing4fun]

John with a chiller you could do away with the rear cooling fans for sure ! and... you will top off about 50% less... another really nice feature !

on a sidenote these fans should not be very loud, they are the same as the hood fans... both my vortech and my skimmer hum louder than my fans... I do clean then regularly as they pick up lint & dust... this can cause them to get a bit more noisy

 

[dburkart]

Aviad,

The reason I swapped the pumps was I was unable to rid myself of mb no matter how many times I cleaned the skimmer and adjusted things. I will try swapping the pumps this weekend and see if the mb issue resolves itself. I went through all the suggestions in the stickies and what you had suggested to no avail, prior to switcking the pumps.

Dave

 

[tnwillia]

Hey Dave, every time you clean the skimmer body (if that's what your doing) it has to break in all over again as a possible cause of the MB, Have you powered down each pump one at a time to find what is causing the MB. You could also have a small air leak on a hose. I'm also assuming your MBs are getting into the DT and not just in the rear chambers. Good luck with it!

 

[dburkart]

The MB's seem to be coming from the skimmer, the left hand pump pulls the MB's from the skimmer. I have waited a day or two and the pump still puts MB's in the DT. I will give it another shot this weekend. I had th.e MB problem early on and thought I had it solved. Thanks for suggestions, I will give them a shot.
Dave

 

[PSBoston]

Im in Boston and have the same concerns my tank was close to 83 luckily I already had a JBJ 1/10 chiller (bulk reef supply recommends it) ordered for my 130d. we don't have central air so I knew i had to get one before it gets hot. Can't wait to kill the fans!

Im hooking it up tomorrow and will post how it goes!

 

[Oxylebius]

PSBoston - looking forward to your post on how hooking up the chiller went. Looks like the JBJ 1/10 recommends a flow rate of 240/960, so I'm curious if you will use the RSM250 pump which has a flow rate of 300. Or did you use some other internal pump or external pump. I like the idea of hooking the chiller up directly to the RSM250 pump, but wanted to hear more about what has worked for folks. Thanks!