Hi All: Well, it's not even summer yet and my tank got up to 87[SUP]◦[/SUP] during the short "hot" spell we had a few weeks ago (Terri likes to keep the AC up around 80[SUP]◦[/SUP] during the day, and we all know how good saltwater is at retaining heat!). Knowing that it'll be a lot warmer soon I decided to get a mini chiller for the tank - I bought a Current Prime 1/15 HP chiller (it's on sale at Drs Foster Smith for $255.00!). I'm looking for suggestions on how to plumb it in to my 24gDX Nano cube. I bought the Nano & Mini Arctica Installation Kit (basically a U and S-tube and tubing) and a ViaAqua Water Pump Model 480. I was thinking about drilling a couple of holes above the waterline in the third chamber for bulkheads, then running the tubes down into the chamber. The output from the chiller would connect back to the nozzle into the main tank. My concern here is that wil be too much flow (the current pump is 70GPH, the new one is rated at 200GPH with a max head at 4'). The other option I guess would be to dremmel out a couple of spaces on the rear of the lid to allow for the U/S tubes to clear when the lid is down. The only trouble I see with that is that the tubes will be free to move - Unless I somehow secure them to the rear of the tank. If anyone has any ideas I would really like to hear them. -- Ken
I think your tank is probably to big for one of the small evaporative chillers (IceProbe) that you plug into your tank like a bulkhead, beside you have to drill it for those. There are some really cute micro chillers, around 1/10hp that are inline and do not take up much space. I have an JBJ Arctica and love it. I also run an old Aquanetics which I think is AquaLogic now, or vise versa. Be sure to stay away from Via Aqua they are the cheapest and for a reason, I have not seen many positive things about their chillers when I was doing research. Though, it is possible they have changed but I put them in the same category as Milwaukee products, there isn't anything that they make that is worth a cent, IMOP.
Have you tried a fan blowing across the top of the water? That's all I have on my 46g and the temp is stable.
Can't do the fan blowing across the surface - The Nano cube has a built in lid that stays closed all the time - That's one of the reasons I got that tank in the first place - It's a good looking set-up and everything is hidden (other than the powerhead inside the tank). I want to maintain the aesthetics of the original package - at least as much as possible. Chris - I did try using the Ice Probe (got a retro-fit kit from Nanotuners.com - Installed in the hood - totally out of sight) but the bad news was that the fan it came with was obscenely noisy so I sent it back. Besides, I don't think the probe had enough juice to keep the tank that cool (as you pointed out), which is why I got the Current USA Prime chiller./P> So does anyone else have any suggestions regarding how to plumb this in? Any of you other Nano cube owners out there done any mods to your tank?
Update... Krog - How did the chiller work out for you? Is it working to expectations and was it easy to set up? If it's not too much to ask... how about a picture or two of how you set it up. I like the aesthetics of the all-in-one nano setups too. I like the hood on my AP24, but I also like the lighting I'm getting from the Viper metal halide on my JBJ 12g. So many decisions... I've contemplated a sump/refugium with a 10g tank, but I know that I can't drill and there seems to be a ton of issues with trying to have the extra volume without drilling. Have you thought about a sump/refugium for your 24g NC?
Not to hijack, but i have thought about a sump/refugium for my BC29. I considered getting a CPR overflow box and cutting enough of the hood away in the back to accommodate it. I know overflow boxes get a bad rap, but the CPRs are definitely the best ones out there.
I would suggest a wet surface alarm for any kind of an over the tank overflow system. Some are better than others, like the CPR, but it's just a matter of time.
I had a CPR overflow for about 3 years and I would never use another one. The design is fundamentally flawed in my opinion. It traps air and relies on a pump to remove it or else the overflow stops due to lost siphon. If the pump fails, or as in my case the vent on top of the overflow becomes clogged preventing the removal of the trapped air, your floor gets wet. The LifeReef design is much more reliable if you must use an overflow. It is designed so that the flow of water removes air bubbles and prevents them from accumulating and breaking the siphon. Just my 2 cents worth... -Dan
weakspleen: The mod turned out rather well. This was actually the second iteration as the first time around didn't work to my satisfaction. I had originally used ½†flexible tubing that I got from Marinedepot.com, but it was a little too large in the outer diameter and was causing the lid to bind and not close properly. I wanted to use the flex so that the hose wouldn’t kink from the almost 180° turn it makes going into the rear of the hood. I started by drilling a couple of ¾†holes in the rear of the hood on the flats behind the hinge pins (Props to Chris at Nanotuners.com). I then bought a pair of 90° ½†barbed fittings to get the hoses into the rear chambers. This eliminated the hose kinking issue. Here’s a view from the rear of the tank: I then added a pair of quick connect valves to make it easier to remove the chiller in order to service and clean it - This way I don't have to get out the bucket and create a big mess. I just close the valves and disconnect them. Here's a look at where the return line goes into the tank - I can "tuck" the 90° fitting almost all the way in after I close the lid - this eliminated the binding issue I first had with the flex tubing. I just pull the fittings back slightly in order to open the lid without binding. Here's a look "under the hood". I have a 240 GPH pump in chamber three (right above the stock return pump that comes with the Nano 24g DX) that draws the warm water into the chiller. The return line (on the left in the photo above) goes into chamber one where the water is drawn from the main tank. I have the chiller on a dual stage Aqua controller, with the temp. probe in chamber three. So as you can see the chiller is basically a closed loop within the sump behind the main tank. The heater is in chamber two, also connected to the Aqua controller. This setup maintains the temperature to around 80.6°, ± 1°. I had two main goals with this mod: Control the temperature (obviously) and maintain the aesthetics of the original tank. Here's a view from the front: As you can see the fittings are barely visible, and when you're on the couch you can't see them at all, so I think I achieved both requirements. As you can see, Phinn gives it a big "Fins Up" because he doesn't have to sweat his you-know-what's off anymore, and Brutus gives it a big "Popeye Claw" up too. -- Ken
Outstanding, that's what I call an update. You definitely accomplished the goal of maintaining the original look of the all-in-one. The hoses are barely perceptible from the front and don't detract from the looks at all. About your other goal, you stated your temp shot up to about 87 degrees one day. Were you having continuous spikes to that temp? If so, it seems like the cooler is meeting your other goal. The mod looks really good and I appreciate you taking the time to post some pics of what you did. I had heard the term "barbed fittings" before, but hadn't found what they were or had seen a picture of them (it's not a good day unless you learn something new). Do you have any heat or noise issues from the chiller? Great job and good looking tank. Jeff
My wife Teri doesn't like to run the AC in the house too low, so we keep it at 79° most of the time. When we had that warm spell in the spring we noticed that the tank would be at about 79° in the morning and by late afternoon around 86°. And since we have a Nano with a closed lid, blowing a fan across the surface wasn't an option for us. Our first chiller (actually the first and second - we're on #3 now) was a Current Prime 2680 (1/15th HP). The very first thing we saw after installing it was that the digital temperature readout went from 86° to 79° (it was running, of course) in about 90 seconds. Naturally I was rather suspicious since the thermometer in the tank still read around 85°. Additionally, it was making a horrible vibrating, rattling sound so we called Drs Foster Smith for an exchange. About a week later the replacement unit arrived, and seemed to be working correctly. After about two weeks it too developed the annoying rattle, plus the temperature sensor in the unit just plain didn't work right. The unit would run for about two minutes, shut off, and a few minutes later start up again. After exchanging several emails with Current tech support (I got to give them credit - they were exceptional in getting back to me, and they really did try to help), I decided to bag the internal temp. sensor and connect the unit to my dual stage Aqua controller. I had to set the target temp. on the Prime to under 65° to keep it running long enough to actually cool the tank down to 79°. Anyway, the noise only got worse - we couldn't even hear the TV when the unit was running (thank God for DVR pause live TV!), so we again called Drs Foster Smith (at day 58 - They give you 60 days for returns) and this time we ordered a JBJ Arctica (also 1/15th HP) which cost us $339 (the prime was on sale for $255 when we bought it). It is whisper quiet - The only thing you can hear when it's running is the fan - and only if you're right next to the tank. Otherwise it blends in with the normal fan noise (which is negligible) when you're on the couch watching TV (or the tank, which is vastly more interesting than what's on TV). Anyway, the lesson here is that Drs Foster Smith are just great to work with - They sent us shipping labels both times to return the Prime's, and no questions asked when we called in with our issue. I'm sure we could have save a few bucks by using eBay, but you won't find that level of customer service from anyone on eBay. So now the wife is happy (no more noisy chiller), the fish and corals are happy, and we've now spent around a grand on a tank that we thought would be under $500. Oh well, I've been keeping saltwater tanks for almost 20 years and if I've learned anything in all that time, it's this is an expensive hobby - But it is most definitely worth every penny!
