Cooling a tank

  • We are currently upgrading MFK. thanks! -neo
Before going the route of a chiller I would try a few other things (I've never run one, but from what I hear they draw lots of energy = really expensive to run).

I would address the amount of heat going into your system. The Mag Drive 18 is a 150 watt pump. According to this site (http://www.beananimal.com/articles/thermodynamics-for-the-aquarist.aspx), "almost 100% of the energy consumed by a submersible pump (mag-drive, powerhead, etc.) is converted to heat in the tank!" Assuming you have ~6' of head pressure, the Mag 18 is doing about 1,125GPH on 150 watts. It's the equivalent of having a 150 watt heater running, 24-7. You can swap that power hog out for a Laguna Max Flo 2000 (PT8244) that does 1,360GPH @ 6' head on only 80 watts (the 2011 and older models draw 100 watts, so you'd probably want to make sure you get the PT8244 which came out in 2012). Going with the Laguna would reduce heat into your tank by 70 watts which should reduce your water temp and your electric bill and give you a couple hundred extra GPH...that's a win-win-win.

You can try running a fan across the top of your tank or sump; you can control it with a Ranco ETC temp controller set to power the fan "on" anytime the tank temp exceeds 82F. Fans are going to be a whole lot cheaper to run than a chiller, so if after swapping out the pump reduces the temp by a few degrees, the fan may be enough to bring you to where you want to be.

I would also limit the amount of time your lights are on, since the heat they put out are contributing to the problem.
 
Yup, running any chiller is basically the equivalent of running a mini A/C... Its not exactly cheap which is why it should only be recommended as a last resort or if you have expensive stock that requires steady cool temps


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Before going the route of a chiller I would try a few other things (I've never run one, but from what I hear they draw lots of energy = really expensive to run).

I would address the amount of heat going into your system. The Mag Drive 18 is a 150 watt pump. According to this site (http://www.beananimal.com/articles/thermodynamics-for-the-aquarist.aspx), "almost 100% of the energy consumed by a submersible pump (mag-drive, powerhead, etc.) is converted to heat in the tank!" Assuming you have ~6' of head pressure, the Mag 18 is doing about 1,125GPH on 150 watts. It's the equivalent of having a 150 watt heater running, 24-7. You can swap that power hog out for a Laguna Max Flo 2000 (PT8244) that does 1,360GPH @ 6' head on only 80 watts (the 2011 and older models draw 100 watts, so you'd probably want to make sure you get the PT8244 which came out in 2012). Going with the Laguna would reduce heat into your tank by 70 watts which should reduce your water temp and your electric bill and give you a couple hundred extra GPH...that's a win-win-win.

You can try running a fan across the top of your tank or sump; you can control it with a Ranco ETC temp controller set to power the fan "on" anytime the tank temp exceeds 82F. Fans are going to be a whole lot cheaper to run than a chiller, so if after swapping out the pump reduces the temp by a few degrees, the fan may be enough to bring you to where you want to be.

I would also limit the amount of time your lights are on, since the heat they put out are contributing to the problem.

I always figure lights and pumps into the equation and its rare that I ever run a heater.

Airstones and fans are a good way to start dropping temps. Finding ways to open the tank tops helps too, such as using egg crating for lids.
Chillers are great, but initial cost is high and operating cost is high as well.


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Thanks guys I'll look into those fans and a controller. Yeah it's a hot summer over here but, seems as the 300 is suffering the most I guess from the combination of pump and lights. I'll also look into that laguna pump. Has anyone used a waterblaster pump? Saw it on amazon and read the specs and consumes less energy so was wondering if anyone has or had any experience with them.
 
Hmmm, not so sure that's right.

What Coralvue Water Blaster pump does more than 1,360GPH @ 6' head on less than 80 watts?

According too Coralvue's performance charts, to get close to 1300GPH @ 6' head you would have to go with the Water Blaster HY-10000w and that pump draws 125 watts.
http://www.coralvue.com/reef-octopus-water-blaster-10000-pump

From what I have seen the WaterBlasters are less efficient, and they are almost twice as expensive as Lagunas. But the people running them seem to be happy with them...they get good reviews for reliability.

Edit: David brings up a good point below.
 
Is the mag pump internal or external? You may be better off (in terms of reducing heat, not power consumption) using an external pump with plenty of air circulation to remove the heat rather than having it enter the water column. The Laguna pumps are great, but any internal pump will be putting heat into the water.
 
Is the mag pump internal or external? You may be better off (in terms of reducing heat, not power consumption) using an external pump with plenty of air circulation to remove the heat rather than having it enter the water column. The Laguna pumps are great, but any internal pump will be putting heat into the water.

Pump is internal and hopefully soon be getting a newer energy efficient pump. Any options for a temporary fix till then?
 
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