Hello!

I have a chiller and my canister doesn't quite pump fast enough for it to run properly (it turns on and off too often due to inadequate flow). I've been brainstorming and searching but haven't found any clear answers around the web but I do have an idea.

Does anyone think that this would or wouldn't work well?

Tank out > doubletaps/quick-release > canister (with media) > inline pump > chiller > double-taps > tank in.

I'm pretty sure this will work but confirmation would still be good. Also I'm not too confident about where is best to place the taps.. I could add more taps if need be (generic ones are available on ebay fairly cheaply). I think the first taps definitely have to go before the canister intake so I can create and cut the syphon at the first possible point.

[emoji173] [emoji111]

Will

Edit- forgot to add that the canister will be left switched off! It's just there to ensure that the water is cleaned before entering the pump and chiller..

I have a few things for you to think about.

First up if you go with the system that you suggested i would remove the impeller from the canister filter so you have an un restricted flow. The impeller would be running without the motor going, effectively going backwards against the motor, and this is never good for a sustained time.

Second is the pump is rated for a certain flow, and head height, with an unrestricted input of water. Most pumps, unless specifically designed for that purpose, dont have a great capacity for creating a negative pressure on the inlet side and the outlet will be greatly reduced if forced to preform that function. A smaller canister only has a certain flow rate ability because of the media, sponges etc inside it and attaching a bigger pump, for more flow, will create a larger negative pressure.

One way around this is to remove the most restrictive media, the finer sponge or water polishing material, but this then creates a less effective filter. You could always run a separate line for just the chiller pump from the tank, back to the tank, but then you double the plumbing lines.

A solution, and i'm sure you are trying to avoid this, is buy a bigger canister filter and skip the separate pump. A possible way around this is scan the for sale sections and see if you can get a broken, larger, canister filter and put that in. 

Or try putting the pump before the filter so there is no restriction to input. There is no filtering before the pump in that case.

I will have to qualify that reply by saying that in my work i have experience with huge pumps and massive volumes but know relatively little about canister pumps. I was just generalizing.

 

It will work, but you might as well put the cost of the pump and quick releases to a new larger canister.

Thanks for the input!

To add some detail - the canister I have spare is an eheim 2217/classic 600 rated at 1000lph.

The chiller is a hailea hc300a which requires flow of 1000-2000lph approximately.

The next size of canisters are a significant jump in price.. well over 300$ for a reputable brand name.

The quick releases are fairly cheap to get on ebay around $22 each. I don't suppose I really need more than just the 2 that come with the canister.

The tunze silence 2400lph or eheim compact 2000lph pumps cost well under $200.

The next size up from the 2217 (using a quality brand canister) which pump 2000lph+ cost $500-600.

I do something similar. I have the tunze silence 2400lph running in line with one of my canisters to increase water flow to one of my fish tanks.

Sure I could have put one in the tank, but this looks neater externally.

So it will work with your canister - chiller as well.

But I would change the order to this ...

Tank out > doubletaps/quick-release > inline pump > canister (with media) > double-taps > chiller > tank in.

 

If you had it ordered with the pump after the canister, you will find it near impossible to prime the system and get the flow going with out a big mess. 

Also moved the order of the quick releases to isolate the canister, for when maintenance is needed.

 

Sweet. Tunze silence 2400lph it is then. Thanks to you both for your help :-)

-edit- and thanks once again to @thetechden in advance! Have been very impressed with John and his team over the years..

i'm not answering your question as I am not a technical person but I wonder if there is any other issue going on as I use a Eheim 2213 to run a Resun CL650 chiller on a 215 litre tank. The chiller rarely comes on more than 3 times a day except in the weeks like last year where we had a very hot summer when the chiller came on 3-4 times plus during the night occassionally. I have it set at 21 so the tank goes up to 23 before coming on -I don't like the 2 degrees but can't do anything about that- it takes an hour to bring the tank down 2 degrees -I realise my chiller is much bigger than yours but I'm just showing that a smaller canister does work very well. I have a mix of sponge , matrix and those black balls  -the very small ones. The flow coming out of my return is quite strong. I also have a second canister that runs independently as this is my TB tank.

 

 

How often the chiller comes on would depend on a few other factors e.g. ambient temperature would play an important role i.e. if the chiller is located in an open area vs. a semi closed environment like a cabinet.

In an open environment, hot air can be effective exhausted away and fresh cool air is drawn in whereas in a semi closed environment, the warm air would be re-circulated through the unit thus not very effective at cooling and would either kick in for a longer time or kick in more frequently.

Also, there should be a mesh screen at the air intake side of the chiller. Make sure you clean it out often so it is not clogged. This should also help with drawing in fresh cool air.

38 minutes ago, ineke said:

I don't like the 2 degrees but can't do anything about that- it takes an hour to bring the tank down 2 degrees

Resun kicks in at 2 degrees while Hailea kicks in at 1 degree so go for a Hailea chiller if you really want to keep the temperature difference to a minimal.