Quote:
Originally Posted by Reef Pilot
I have a chiller, but am trying something different this year. I have a 25' coil of 1/4" RO line coiled up in my sump and am running tap water through it. It is a very small amount of water actually, just a small stream barely more than a fast trickle. I'm sure my RO/DI filter system wastes more water than this.
Tried it yesterday for the first time at 6 PM (tank water got up to 80F) and ran it until 7 PM. Tank water dropped 0.5 to 79.5F in that one hour. Incoming tap water is 60F while the output after coiling through the sump was 70F. After I shut it off, the tank water went up again a few decimal points before dropping through the night. This is for a 230g system.
I'll try it again later this afternoon, when my tank gets warm again.
I have a solenoid water switch (same as I use for my ATO) that I could hook up to my Apex and use the temp control to turn the water on an off as needed. Will see how it works manually for a few days first though.
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Been using my DIY chiller last few days, and can't believe how well it works. I dialed down the water flow to just over a trickle, so that that my output water is 75F (inflow tap water is 60F). So the water usage is amazingly low. I use about 5 US gal per day (measured it yesterday), which is only about 2 toilet flushes for perspective. Sure saves a pile of electricity though (and heat generated by my real chiller), plus no noise. We have central air, too, and keep the house at 75 F.
The 25' RO tubing is only $5.25 at Home Depot and I might add another 25' coil to see if the efficiency improves any further. I have room in the sump and had no trouble fitting the first 25' coil.