Chiller and temperature controller question.

[Firthy13]

I'm trying to decided on my heating and cooling solution for my 170g build that is currently underway. Hear is Australia, we have a season temperature swing of about 37F to 118F. So before anyone asks, both are definitely required.

My initial plans was to go with a Teco chiller that has both heating and cooling capabilities and let it control the temperature itself while having it plugged in to my Ekoral controller for a bit of piece of mind knowing it can be turned off if it goes outside of my desired range.
I then realized, it doesn't leave me with any redundancy. if something goes wrong i lose both heating and cooling.

My other option it to buy a cheaper, still decent quality chiller without heating capabilities, and an inkbird temp ITC-306A with 2 heaters and have them both plugged in to the Ekoral controller. This is a much cheaper option and if i have one fail, the Controller will turn off that outlet but will leave the other available if required. But i have added another piece of equipment in to the system which could also be a point of failure.

I'm definitely over thinking this, but just doing my best to get it right the first time and prevent any easily avoidable issues.

so, what would you do?

 

[fishguy242]

hi excellent question ,i would recommend back up power ,be battery or generator ,and have plan in mind for failure ,we hope never happens, frozen jugs,hot bags of water just some imo happy reefing

 

[Firthy13]

hi excellent question ,i would recommend back up power ,be battery or generator ,and have plan in mind for failure ,we hope never happens, frozen jugs,hot bags of water just some imo happy reefing

I have my back up power sorted, its more trying to decide of how to set up the heating and cooling system for normal day to day operation.

 

[fishguy242]

i am not familiar with said eq, imo go for the two in one ,set at desired temp ,and buy 1 size bigger than recommended ,better safe than sorry

 

[fishguy242]

you should go to the meet and greet forum ,meet the reef ,lots of help here

 

[Firthy13]

Yes, i very much believe in keeping things simple!

 

[ReeferSteve]

You experience those temp swings in a 24 hour period?

If it was me I would go with the Teco then add a cheaper simple chiller and one or two heaters as back up. If you lose the Teco you can switch over the the backups without skipping much of a beat. Then you have your system stable while sorting out the Teco issues.

 

[fishguy242]

seasonal, whats time and temp there rt now im middle of usa temp 35 3;30 am

 

[Firthy13]

You experience those temp swings in a 24 hour period?

If it was me I would go with the Teco then add a cheaper simple chiller and one or two heaters as back up. If you lose the Teco you can switch over the the backups without skipping much of a beat. Then you have your system stable while sorting out the Teco issues.

Sorry, should of specified those temps are over a year, summer and winter max and mins respectively.
That is a pretty solid plan. Thanks for your input!

 

[Gareth elliott]

I use a tertiary system.

primary system is the tank room itself is on a dedicated thermostat that controls a room AC and a hydronic baseboard heater. Room itself never deviates from 71 degrees or so.

Secondary system is Aquarium controller(Profilux in my case) is set to 78 degrees. With fans and heaters attached to the power bar.

Tertiary is the heaters themselves one has a thermostat set to 78 the other a bit lower.

This system is only as good as your backup system. I did not do enough research on battery size for my back up solar generator. So last summer while i was on vacation my solar generator did not supply enough electricity during a multi day black out and returned home to all my fish dead. Just something to keep in mind.

 

[Firthy13]

I use a tertiary system.

primary system is the tank room itself is on a dedicated thermostat that controls a room AC and a hydronic baseboard heater. Room itself never deviates from 71 degrees or so.

Secondary system is Aquarium controller(Profilux in my case) is set to 78 degrees. With fans and heaters attached to the power bar.

Tertiary is the heaters themselves one has a thermostat set to 78 the other a bit lower.

This system is only as good as your backup system. I did not do enough research on battery size for my back up solar generator. So last summer while i was on vacation my solar generator did not supply enough electricity during a multi day black out and returned home to all my fish dead. Just something to keep in mind.

That sounds like a pretty bullet proof system. i did consider heating the room itself but assumed the cost to run the ac would be far greater then the chiller and heater combo. something to look in to again i think. thanks

 

[jda]

Get a Ranco Dual Controller. They can handle a larger chiller and almost never fail - they are more reliable than an Inkbird.

I do not like chillers with internal controllers because if they fail, then you are nearly always hosed. I just like chillers that plug in and run so that I can use a Medusa (old school) or Ranco on them.

Some chillers with internal controllers will not remember their settings if you have them turned off for long with another controller.

 

[Tastee]

I’m in Sydney, have a 2YO 244L system (RSR 250) and are just now setting up a 525L system (RSR 525XL). Both are Apex controlled. On the 250 I run a Hailea HC-150 chiller, an Aquael Gold 300 primary heater and an Aqua One 250 backup. The primary heater is controlled by the Apex with it’s internal thermostat set to turn on just < Apex on and off just > Apex off. The backup is not powered or controlled by the Apex and set to turn on just < primary on. The chiller is powered (but not controlled) by the Apex and the Apex is set to turn it off it the temperature drops below the backup heater on level (in case the chiller fails on and the heaters don’t win the fight).

The 525 is new and not running yet (see build thread). It has a Teco TK1000 for primary chilling and heating and an Aquael Platinum 300 for backup heating. Again I will power (but not control) the Teco from the Apex and leave the backup on mains.

I don’t run a second chiller on either tank. My backup for chiller failure is Apex alerts and house airconditioning.

 

[DeniableArc]

I have a teco tk 500 it’s been heating and cooling without a fault for 2 years

 

[Daquan44]

I use dual 500 watt heaters (sump, display) and dual small 1/2 hp chillers. That gives me redundancy if one fails, and if I have a power outage, my 3000 watt generator can handle a return pump, heater or chiller depending on the season. If my chillers were sized too big, then I will have to get a much larger generator to support it in the event of a summer power outage. All these devices are on inkbirds and backed up by my Apex.

 

[Firthy13]

I have a teco tk 500 it’s been heating and cooling without a fault for 2 years

from what i hear they are very reliable and apparent the new R290 series are alot more efficient then previous gens

 

[Firthy13]

I’m in Sydney, have a 2YO 244L system (RSR 250) and are just now setting up a 525L system (RSR 525XL). Both are Apex controlled. On the 250 I run a Hailea HC-150 chiller, an Aquael Gold 300 primary heater and an Aqua One 250 backup. The primary heater is controlled by the Apex with it’s internal thermostat set to turn on just < Apex on and off just > Apex off. The backup is not powered or controlled by the Apex and set to turn on just < primary on. The chiller is powered (but not controlled) by the Apex and the Apex is set to turn it off it the temperature drops below the backup heater on level (in case the chiller fails on and the heaters don’t win the fight).

The 525 is new and not running yet (see build thread). It has a Teco TK1000 for primary chilling and heating and an Aquael Platinum 300 for backup heating. Again I will power (but not control) the Teco from the Apex and leave the backup on mains.

I don’t run a second chiller on either tank. My backup for chiller failure is Apex alerts and house airconditioning.

That is a really well thought out setup both tanks. I'm in Newcastle.

 

[Tastee]

That is a really well thought out setup both tanks. I'm in Newcastle.

Thanks and good luck with your build!