Chiller runtime question

mcgrawjt · 03/14/2013, 03:23 PM

Hey everyone -

Just trying to gauge my chillers performance. I know there are a lot of different factor's involved that make every situation unique. Just curious to see what everyone else is seeing.

I have a 210g with a 75g sump. I have a dolphin 6250 main pump with 4 tunze powerheads in the tank. I have an ASM G4+ skimmer with a sedra 9000 recirc pump plus an mj1200 feed pump also I have another mj1200 feed pump to my calcium reactor in my sump. I also have an AquaUV 57watt UV filter. For lighting I have 3 - 400watt MH pendants and 2 - 60" 140watt VHO actinics. The lights are about 16" above the waterline. I also have two cooling fans blowing in the hood at all times. This is all the equipment I can think of that will generate heat. I do not employ a heater as I do not need one where I am even in winter.

The tank is in my dining room and I was able to install an AC duct above the tank blowing down in. The hood has an open top and back for good air flow. I keep my AC running at all times around 77 degrees and I have a ceiling fan in my tank room running 24/7. The room is pretty darn cool.

My chiller is an Aqua Logic Delta Star DC-4 (1/3hp). I use an Apex controller to regulate my temperature. Looking at the past weeks graph the chiller tends to turn on for the first time around 4pm and runs for an hour then its off for an hour. It runs for an hour again then is off for an hour then runs for a third time for an hour. It never seems to have to kick on again through the night. My MH's are on at 2pm and off at 10pm. My chiller kicks on at 80.1 degrees and turns off at 79 degrees. So 3 cycles of an hour with an hour break in between.

I know chillers cycle on and off several times to maintain temperature, but is running for an hour seem long? Especially to drop just over 1 degree? I have already throttled the flow back to the chiller to try to ensure the proper gph and it seems be dialed in to where I see the temp drop the fastest.

I used to have a dolphin 4750 but recently change to the 6250. With the 4750 the chiller almost never turned on. Now with this pump I had to throttle it back some because a little too much flow. It is not getting hot though, I can keep my hand on it all times like the 4750, but it has definitely introduced more heat. The 4750 did not provide enough flow for me as I am building an SPS dominant reef.

How long are your chiller cycles out there and how many degrees are you dropping? I am just not used to hearing it run so much, has me wondering.

Thanks for any input provided.

Take care.
John

03/14/2013, 03:23 PM	#1
mcgrawjt Registered Member Join Date: Oct 2012 Location: Miami, FL Posts: 99	Chiller runtime question Hey everyone - Just trying to gauge my chillers performance. I know there are a lot of different factor's involved that make every situation unique. Just curious to see what everyone else is seeing. I have a 210g with a 75g sump. I have a dolphin 6250 main pump with 4 tunze powerheads in the tank. I have an ASM G4+ skimmer with a sedra 9000 recirc pump plus an mj1200 feed pump also I have another mj1200 feed pump to my calcium reactor in my sump. I also have an AquaUV 57watt UV filter. For lighting I have 3 - 400watt MH pendants and 2 - 60" 140watt VHO actinics. The lights are about 16" above the waterline. I also have two cooling fans blowing in the hood at all times. This is all the equipment I can think of that will generate heat. I do not employ a heater as I do not need one where I am even in winter. The tank is in my dining room and I was able to install an AC duct above the tank blowing down in. The hood has an open top and back for good air flow. I keep my AC running at all times around 77 degrees and I have a ceiling fan in my tank room running 24/7. The room is pretty darn cool. My chiller is an Aqua Logic Delta Star DC-4 (1/3hp). I use an Apex controller to regulate my temperature. Looking at the past weeks graph the chiller tends to turn on for the first time around 4pm and runs for an hour then its off for an hour. It runs for an hour again then is off for an hour then runs for a third time for an hour. It never seems to have to kick on again through the night. My MH's are on at 2pm and off at 10pm. My chiller kicks on at 80.1 degrees and turns off at 79 degrees. So 3 cycles of an hour with an hour break in between. I know chillers cycle on and off several times to maintain temperature, but is running for an hour seem long? Especially to drop just over 1 degree? I have already throttled the flow back to the chiller to try to ensure the proper gph and it seems be dialed in to where I see the temp drop the fastest. I used to have a dolphin 4750 but recently change to the 6250. With the 4750 the chiller almost never turned on. Now with this pump I had to throttle it back some because a little too much flow. It is not getting hot though, I can keep my hand on it all times like the 4750, but it has definitely introduced more heat. The 4750 did not provide enough flow for me as I am building an SPS dominant reef. How long are your chiller cycles out there and how many degrees are you dropping? I am just not used to hearing it run so much, has me wondering. Thanks for any input provided. Take care. John