How can I bleed the air out of my chiller?

KyleO · 11/07/2006, 09:41 PM

I am back into the hobby after many years absence and loving it!!! I do not have much experience with chillers but since I decided to employ MH lighting, didn't have much choice. I bought an AquaMedic Titan 500 for my 180g reef and it is doing a good job keeping the tank right at 77 even with 2 - 250W 14K MH and 2 - 30W 20K fl.

My issue is that it seems as though there is an air pocket trapped in my chiller. It is plumbed seperate from my sump and has an panworld 800gph pump pulling water straight through. I would think that the air should have been gone long ago but ???.

I get bursts of micro bubbles every 2 minutes or so which is messing with the clarity of my beatiful tank.

Any ideas???

Mr James · 11/07/2006, 09:47 PM

Your chiller return goes straight into your tank or back to your sump?? I would wonder if the air bubbles are being created on the intake side of the chiller and the air bubbles are running all the way through and back into your display!?! I can't imagine there would be an air pocket trapped in your chiller.

jeffbrig · 11/07/2006, 10:08 PM

If it's air trapped inside the chiller, it should clear itself in a day or two. The other possibility is that you have a pinhole somewhere in the plumbing, and it's drawing in a little bit of air which accumulates and is then blown into the tank periodically. Look carefully to see if salt creep starts to form anywhere in the plumbing.

Konadog · 11/07/2006, 10:15 PM

If this is a new plumbing job or a new chiller, give it a few days for the air to work itself out, and the slime coating to build up, then you shouldn't have any worries. If it persists, you may be sucking in air into the pump, or have a small leak on the suction side of the pump.

clsanchez77 · 11/07/2006, 10:37 PM

After cleaning my chiller and reconnecting it to my tank, it traps air also. I just connect, run the pump until the discharge stops blowing bubbles in the sump, and then I slightly tip the chiller to side to side and front to back to work the remaining bubbles out.

Chris

Karl K · 12/26/2006, 11:48 AM

I don't think anyone else caught that you are PULLING water through the chiller with your pump.

This is a no-no. The chiller should always be on the positive pressure side of the pump as with all the piping if possible.

Ideally, you should have a short (just a few inches) pipe from the sump into the pump, then everything else is under pressure.

Remember, if you are sucking water through a pipe, any pin holes will suck air in and create micro bubbles when they are chopped up by the impeller. If the pin holes are on the discharge side of the pump, the worst you will get is a bit of salt creep.

Hope this helps

Karl

Nano Chris · 12/26/2006, 12:23 PM

I caught that, maybe he means the pump is pumping threw the chiller, I don't think it would have worked if he had the pump sucking threw the chiller.

KyleO · 12/26/2006, 12:50 PM

Thanks KarlK.............

that is exactly what the problem was. I was pulling through the chiller and using the flex PVC. I had pin holes that were sucking air and the result was air pockets in my chiller (that released every five minutes or so).

I did bite the bullet a while back and completely re-plumb the chiller with plastic hose and the problem vanished.

Now that I look at your posting I think I am going to change the pump to push instead of pull through the chiller. This is actually great timing as I am replacing my tank next week with a slightly larger tank and had to redo the plumbing anyway!

Thanks much!!!

Kyle

11/07/2006, 09:41 PM	#1
KyleO Premium Member Join Date: Nov 2006 Location: Brentwood, CA (SF Bay Area) Posts: 737	How can I bleed the air out of my chiller? I am back into the hobby after many years absence and loving it!!! I do not have much experience with chillers but since I decided to employ MH lighting, didn't have much choice. I bought an AquaMedic Titan 500 for my 180g reef and it is doing a good job keeping the tank right at 77 even with 2 - 250W 14K MH and 2 - 30W 20K fl. My issue is that it seems as though there is an air pocket trapped in my chiller. It is plumbed seperate from my sump and has an panworld 800gph pump pulling water straight through. I would think that the air should have been gone long ago but ???. I get bursts of micro bubbles every 2 minutes or so which is messing with the clarity of my beatiful tank. Any ideas???

11/07/2006, 10:08 PM	#3
jeffbrig Premium Member Join Date: Mar 2004 Location: Ft. Lauderdale, FL Posts: 5,548	If it's air trapped inside the chiller, it should clear itself in a day or two. The other possibility is that you have a pinhole somewhere in the plumbing, and it's drawing in a little bit of air which accumulates and is then blown into the tank periodically. Look carefully to see if salt creep starts to form anywhere in the plumbing. __________________ Beware the power of stupid people in large groups..... Current Tank Info: formerly 250g room divider

11/07/2006, 10:15 PM	#4
Konadog Master of the 16 hour day Join Date: Feb 2002 Location: East Long Beach, So Cal Posts: 13,151 Blog Entries: 4	If this is a new plumbing job or a new chiller, give it a few days for the air to work itself out, and the slime coating to build up, then you shouldn't have any worries. If it persists, you may be sucking in air into the pump, or have a small leak on the suction side of the pump. __________________ Save the Reefs................................................................Save the world! -Ken Current Tank Info: Currently tankless, and loving it!

12/26/2006, 11:48 AM	#6
Karl K Registered Member Join Date: Feb 2005 Location: Burnaby BC Posts: 257	I don't think anyone else caught that you are PULLING water through the chiller with your pump. This is a no-no. The chiller should always be on the positive pressure side of the pump as with all the piping if possible. Ideally, you should have a short (just a few inches) pipe from the sump into the pump, then everything else is under pressure. Remember, if you are sucking water through a pipe, any pin holes will suck air in and create micro bubbles when they are chopped up by the impeller. If the pin holes are on the discharge side of the pump, the worst you will get is a bit of salt creep. Hope this helps Karl __________________ I reject your reality and substitute my own. If I'm not in, I'm making something cold. Current Tank Info: 75g algae farm :)

12/26/2006, 12:23 PM	#7
Nano Chris Registered Member Join Date: Apr 2006 Location: Baltimore, MD Posts: 2,758	I caught that, maybe he means the pump is pumping threw the chiller, I don't think it would have worked if he had the pump sucking threw the chiller. __________________ Chris ------- 34 Gallon Red Sea Max 130! Setup (Just got back into the hobby) Current Tank Info: 34 Gallon RedSeaMax!

11/07/2006, 09:47 PM	#2
Mr James Premium Member Join Date: Dec 2001 Location: Kernersville, NC Posts: 6,192	Your chiller return goes straight into your tank or back to your sump?? I would wonder if the air bubbles are being created on the intake side of the chiller and the air bubbles are running all the way through and back into your display!?! I can't imagine there would be an air pocket trapped in your chiller.

11/07/2006, 10:37 PM	#5
clsanchez77 Registered Member Join Date: Nov 2005 Location: Metairie, La Posts: 822	After cleaning my chiller and reconnecting it to my tank, it traps air also. I just connect, run the pump until the discharge stops blowing bubbles in the sump, and then I slightly tip the chiller to side to side and front to back to work the remaining bubbles out. Chris

12/26/2006, 12:50 PM	#8
KyleO Premium Member Join Date: Nov 2006 Location: Brentwood, CA (SF Bay Area) Posts: 737	Thanks KarlK............. that is exactly what the problem was. I was pulling through the chiller and using the flex PVC. I had pin holes that were sucking air and the result was air pockets in my chiller (that released every five minutes or so). I did bite the bullet a while back and completely re-plumb the chiller with plastic hose and the problem vanished. Now that I look at your posting I think I am going to change the pump to push instead of pull through the chiller. This is actually great timing as I am replacing my tank next week with a slightly larger tank and had to redo the plumbing anyway! Thanks much!!! Kyle