skuzza Posted November 17, 2005 Report Share Posted November 17, 2005 My tank uses 90L min to 180L of fresh RO water for evap per week.It is around 1900L with rock.Just wondering what everyone else is putting in there tank.I dont have the auto top off system yet but it is going on my new sump as all this water carrying is becoming a pain. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ghostface Posted November 17, 2005 Report Share Posted November 17, 2005 dam thats alot... you could put a lid on tank / sump. i have lid on tank, and partial lid on sump, and it cut my evap by about 2/3. still lose around 1-2ltr a day though Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cracker Posted November 17, 2005 Report Share Posted November 17, 2005 Fluid master cistern valve. however you need an electric auto shut off for RO. makes it easy! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jetskisteve Posted November 17, 2005 Report Share Posted November 17, 2005 You should run RO direct as it doesnt like being turned off & on too much FYI I use a 200L barrel that sits next to my sump a dosing pump on a timer replaces my evap every night with my el cheapo kalk system ie an old powerhead in the barrel Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cracker Posted November 17, 2005 Report Share Posted November 17, 2005 That is incorrect. Anthony Preston supplies units that turn on and off when required. They are based in Howick. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
slappers Posted November 17, 2005 Report Share Posted November 17, 2005 yes i have lids on my sump and tank. there is cap off say 50mls on the tank, but i lose about 10ltrs aweek i can handle that but i only have 500ltrs tank Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chimera Posted November 17, 2005 Report Share Posted November 17, 2005 RO requires constant high pressure, if you can, have the tap always turned on to the RODI unit then have a solenoid on the outlet that controls filling your topup tank (via float switch or similar) then, have a dosing pump on timer (or another float switch) to top up your system - that would be the best scenario IMO. you could always have potential issues with the timer failing, or the float switch getting stuck or similar so it should never be fully automated and checked regularly. options to build redundancy into top up are pretty much endless, you could even go as far as having an intermediary topup tank (of fixed size) between your topup drum and sump with another dosing pump on a timer to ensure you never have a drop in salinity because of a dosing pump or timer stuck on!!! depends how anal you want to be for me, importance is with heat at the moment - i want to add a thermal shutdown to my system so the halides switch off if the tank hits 30 degrees. this is because the room that my in-wall tank sits in will be enclosed soon (alot smaller) i want to add extraction fans on thermal controlled system as well so they will come on if the tank hits 27 degrees. chances are it should never turn on as the chiller should maintain the temperature around 25. thats why i put the sump room and halides on the same RCD circuit, if something in the sump room trips the power, then the lights (main source of heat around the display tank) will go off also. the closed loop is on a separate RCD to maintain circulation. if the power goes off to the whole house, both the room for the display tank and the sump room are insulated so the tank temperature should maintain constant for sometime. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cracker Posted November 17, 2005 Report Share Posted November 17, 2005 Hey Chim...why dont you just throw a big V8 in there too. Im sure you will find a use for it! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chimera Posted November 17, 2005 Report Share Posted November 17, 2005 great idea cracker, i could use it to drive my dosing pump Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brianemone Posted November 17, 2005 Report Share Posted November 17, 2005 which costs more to run? a chiller or a fan??? why not have the fans as first line of defence and the chiller as the backup player? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chimera Posted November 17, 2005 Report Share Posted November 17, 2005 i doubt there is little difference in power costs, the chiller would run for a lot less time than the fans would to produce the same cooling effect. also the fans are for extraction (like a bathroom fan) to take the heat out of the display tank room. i would think even without the halides on that little room might get quite hot so may even have to hook up ups for it Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Feelers Posted November 17, 2005 Report Share Posted November 17, 2005 The bigger chiller that petplanet sells that can drop a 400L 15 degrees is only 400W. Since it would hardly be on it probably wouldnt use very much. I think Ive decided I'm gonna get one for my octo - I'll be running the tank at ~12C. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
slappers Posted November 17, 2005 Report Share Posted November 17, 2005 my tank is in a closed room with lids on the tank and sump was having problems with my MH to start with used to heat up and switch off. so i put a extractor fan in, sucking air in blowing down on the lights problem solved tank stays at 14.8 sump at 13.8 fan is on a timer Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
slappers Posted November 17, 2005 Report Share Posted November 17, 2005 the fan i am using is from bunnings 90$ 55w and quite Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
slappers Posted November 17, 2005 Report Share Posted November 17, 2005 whoops\ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ira Posted November 18, 2005 Report Share Posted November 18, 2005 Nah, the fans would be far more efficient than a chiller. But then there's only a certain amount of cooling you can do with them before you start blowing water straight out of the tank. And it evaporates a lot, obviously. If you have an automatic topoff that's no big deal. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jetskisteve Posted November 18, 2005 Report Share Posted November 18, 2005 Cracker you have a way with words Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lduncan Posted November 18, 2005 Report Share Posted November 18, 2005 The bigger chiller that petplanet sells that can drop a 400L 15 degrees is only 400W. Since it would hardly be on it probably wouldnt use very much. I think Ive decided I'm gonna get one for my octo - I'll be running the tank at ~12C. That's 400 watts of cooling capacity, it's not using 400 watts of electrical energy. General efficiency of heat pumps (which is what a chiller is) is around 400%, so it's probably using around 100 watts of electrical power. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ira Posted November 18, 2005 Report Share Posted November 18, 2005 That's 400 watts of cooling capacity, it's not using 400 watts of electrical energy. General efficiency of heat pumps (which is what a chiller is) is around 400%, so it's probably using around 100 watts of electrical power. Hmmm, I think you have it backwards. http://www.marinedepot.com/aquarium_chillers_titanium_arctica_jbj.asp?ast=&key= Using these numbers I get the cooling amount of the 1/3 HP one is 1,172 watts of cooling. It says it's 7.25 amps though, which would make it about 830 watts of power usage. 1/3rd HP is about 250 watts. Ok, I'm confused... But anyway, I think at 0 temperature difference that 400 watt chiller would be cooling more like 1600 watts, wouldn't it? *Scratches head* Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lduncan Posted November 18, 2005 Report Share Posted November 18, 2005 Hmmm, I think you have it backwards. True, I think I do there. Must be the other way 400W cooling capcaity isn't much. Much more likely to be 1600 watts cooling capacity and 400 watts power consumption. http://www.marinedepot.com/aquarium_chillers_titanium_arctica_jbj.asp?ast=&key= Using these numbers I get the cooling amount of the 1/3 HP one is 1,172 watts of cooling. It says it's 7.25 amps though, which would make it about 830 watts of power usage. 1/3rd HP is about 250 watts. Ok, I'm confused... But anyway, I think at 0 temperature difference that 400 watt chiller would be cooling more like 1600 watts, wouldn't it? *Scratches head* I'm confused there too. None of the numbers are consistant, Don't know where they get that 1/3 HP rating from. More like 1 HP. Layton Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Feelers Posted November 18, 2005 Report Share Posted November 18, 2005 Just looked the model up online and..... "Power Consumption 320W". I thought these things used 1500W - obviously from reading some calculations similar to yours, so I'm stoked my power bill isn't gonna be huge. What would be the best way to insulate the tank and sump? I was thinking about surrounding it with polystyrine except for the front of the sump(and the display obviously). Anyone had an aqua one chiller before? I dont spose anyone can tell me how many btu they are? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
skuzza Posted November 20, 2005 Author Report Share Posted November 20, 2005 Some good ideas there guys. Been away all weekend so i couldnt read it till now.Checked water level in sump last night and it was on min.Going to rig up somthing soon so i can go away for a bit longer then 2 days. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
raeh1 Posted November 21, 2005 Report Share Posted November 21, 2005 my $10 warehouse fan uses 15watts, but a water top up is needed Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
suphew Posted November 22, 2005 Report Share Posted November 22, 2005 Always going to need to top up anyway, arn't you? It's just the amount that would change. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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