[stephaniesquires]

After putting the 4 RIO 2500's in the tank (they are on my spraybar) the temp has gone up to 83. I already have fans blowing across the top of the water.
Prior to adding the RIO's the temp, with the lights on, was about 79.

I'm going to get better lights fairly soon - so a chiller may be inevitable, but.. is there anything else that can be done???

If not, how difficult is it to hook up a chiller - do I need to get out my Bob Villa toolkit?

[Azreal]

yikes 83. i freak when I hit 80 and throw zip log bags of ice into my sump. GL!!!

[stephaniesquires]

There's nothing in there yet but LR and LS so I'm not panicking!!! No critters until I have this whole thing set up and stable....

[Azreal]

ah ok. nothing to lose then

[Lowej82]

Do you have a sump? more water would equal a more stable temp, My fowlr goes from 78.8 early morn to around 80.2 late in the day. The LFS in my town, there main coral DT is always on 83. and it looks good. I forget what temp everyone around here says they keep there tanks at. Its also important to maintain a stable temp, I think 4 degree swing within 24 hours is ok this could be wrong so wait to get more opinions. you could use ro/di water and freeze it into cubes and top off with them, frozen milk jug or 2 liter in the sump.
are you going T5 or MH? if MH then you will need a chiller.

Good Luck

[Tonz of fun]

A chiller is not to difficult to set up. It depends on how professional you want to be. Correct me if im wrong JV but you just need to pump water to the chiller and then have a line back to the sump. Now you can put a pump into your sump and pump it over the edge. Or empty your sump drill a hole throw in a bulk head then pump it out that way. But thats way more work. I would recommend checking out this thread. JV did this plumbing work and he is a artist... http://www.reefbuilders.com/forums/r...elping-me.html

[NATIVEVAMAN]

With those 4 pumps in your tank you have the equivilent of a 220 watt light bulb burning in your tank.Or the equivelent of one good heater.Had you chosen a pump like the hydor koralia you could have had the same flow with 4 pumps and only 26 watts in the tank.For a starter I would suggest removing two of the 2500's and replacing them with the hydor koralia 800 gph pumps.That would remove 97 watts from the tank and bring you back into the safe range for 100$'s.That would be 200$'s cheaper(maybe more) than a chiller.And you would have two spare pumps.

[stephaniesquires]

Thanks guys - I was afraid those RIOS would heat things up - they are connected to the spray bar. I am leaving them and the lights off for the day. Bring the temp back down and then try the spray bar with only 2 of the RIOS on, if I get enough pressure I will reconfigure the spray bar with only 2 pumps.

I dont think I can hook the Koralias up to the srpay bar, If there is a way of doing so please let me know!!!!!

I do want to replace the 2 SEIO 1100's with Hydor Koralias soon, maybe that will help also...

I really want to keep as much pressure going through the srpay bar as possible - Is there another brand of pump with a powerhead that will emit less heat??

Thanks Tonz - I will check out the thread, I think I will eventually need a chiller, the lights that are on now have old bulbs and are not the quality I want eventually, soooo

All these things to figure out... this is why its all about patience, patience, patience....

[Tonz of fun]

I would do what Sanjay did personally. Get one huge external pump. I would even look into trying to T it off.

[stephaniesquires]

One external pump, that's a good idea, What do you think of this: I have two external return pumps from the sump, go to 4 return flare nozzles. If I added another external pump (from the sump) and T'd it to the spray bar (I could have it connect to the spray bar in 2 places for even pressure) Would I be pumping too much out of the sump too quickly?? Not sure how that works...

I want to convert one section of sump into a fuge, if I add another pump will water pump out faster than the return can provide? will the water move too quickly to have a fuge be beneficial??

[jvharding]

Originally Posted by stephaniesquires

One external pump, that's a good idea, What do you think of this: I have two external return pumps from the sump, go to 4 return flare nozzles. If I added another external pump (from the sump) and T'd it to the spray bar (I could have it connect to the spray bar in 2 places for even pressure) Would I be pumping too much out of the sump too quickly?? Not sure how that works...

I want to convert one section of sump into a fuge, if I add another pump will water pump out faster than the return can provide? will the water move too quickly to have a fuge be beneficial??

External pumps for Spraybar I do not recommend unless in a closed system. It has been recommended that with siphon holes it would not drain the tank if used in sump area, but in my opinion the returns will not be able to keep up with the turn over rate and the sump would be drained empty. Steph do you have pictures of your configuration on your spraybar so I can make a good recommendation! I really would like to see what you have done.

[stephaniesquires]

Unfortunately I built it with LR already in the tank, here are a few pictures. I used pretty much the same conifuration you did for Sanjay except I made it a full loop - meaning I continued the pvc all the way around the perimeter of the tank (was advised that it would increase and maintain stable pressure) the pvc that runs along the front of the tank does not have holes. And instead of 2 powerheads I used 4 (hence the sauna effect!!) It is not glued (just in case of malfunction )

The pictures shows the side of the tank Along the back and sides it is about 4 inches off the bottom, the front runs right on the bottom so it is hidden under sand..



I was getting great pressure, but may get sufficient with just 2 pumps, I will leave all off for a day or so and when the temp drops try it with just 2...

Any suggestions would be greatl appreciated...

[stephaniesquires]

Ohh yeah - there are a gazillion 1/16 inch holes... basically made 3 rows of holes - staggered them and spaced holes (on each row) about 1/2 inch apart.... Nothing is going to hit the bottom of the tank along the back and sides!!

[jvharding]

Can you show me more angles and the front! I also would like to see pump Placements if possible. With the amount of Holes in your Layout I am guessing you need all four pumps just to have a steady stream going. I am not sure Two of them will be enough. You will probably be better off just getting good Chiller. I recommend a 1/2 Horse Chiller if your budget will allow it. A 1/3 will do the job but run more often or longer to maintain a temp.

[stephaniesquires]

I am getting more live rock today (most of the rock int there is dead rock!!) I will move the rock around and get some better pictures if I can...

I think I will need a chiller eventually as I want corals and will need a much better lighting system.* I was thinking a 1/3 or 1/2 hp chiller also.* May just bite the bullet and go for the 1/2, then I wont have any limitations on lighting and can keep all 4 pumps.*

Do you prefer in line or drop in chillers?

Any particular brand???

[Tonz of fun]

If your at 83 degrees now and you dont even have your big dawg lights set up yet your temp will go even higher. I would do a 1/2 because after your lights go in your going to need to bring the temperature down by like 7-8 degrees at least. I like the drop ins if you have the space and money for them. I feel as if they are more efficiant and you might even be able to get away with even a 1/3 if you went with a drop in. I like the Aqua Logics.

[stephaniesquires]

My sump is pretty big total length is 40" - sectioned into 3 compartments. I am going to add a fuge to the middle compartment, but the compartment where the protein skimmer sits is pretty big... might just sit in there.

If not I will put the chiller in the garage and pipe it through the wall to the sump....

I just picked up my rock from Oceanpro aquatics - went to their warehouse and picked my own pieces. More expensive than mrmarine, but it was fun to get the shapes I wanted.
Got a few BIG pieces, one of them weighed 38 pounds - it was fun getting that one into the tank!!

[Tonz of fun]

The garage thing would be ideal imo. That chiller is going to make some heat. If it is stored under the cabnet it will be working against itself. If it outside the chiller it will heat up the room the tank is in quickly. Keeping it in the garage would be perfect.

[stephaniesquires]

So after leaving the RIO's off for awhile, the temp was back to 79.8 this am. I plugged in all 4 and turned the lights on this morning, along with another another little fan blowing across the top of the tank. temp is now 80.6 not too bad. I have put the spray bar on a timer for now, will go on for 12 hours, off for 12 hours. See how the temp does. It was a nice day, not too warm, so that may have helped...

[stephaniesquires]

Been a few days and still holding to around 79.5. Have left the RIO's running at 12 hours on, then off for 12 hours. I have left the window near the tank open as it has been cool here (70's cool for So Cal)...
I think the fans on top of the tank helped a lot. I will slowly increase the running time of the RIO's and stop when the temp fluctuates too much. Maybe I can put off the chiller until spring and the house warms up again!!