Help - Plumbing a Chiller

[reefer60614]

Hi!

I finally bought a used JBJ 1/15 chiller for my 35 gallon acrylic all in one tank. This is my first time plumbing anything so all help and wisdom is appreciated.

1) Which rear chamber should I pump out the water and then which chamber should be the return? I'm thinking B and then return into D.

2) The Chiller will just be underneath the tank in the stand, so just a few feet in each direction - pump suggestions? I was thinking a cobalt aquatics mj900 and try to cram it into chamber B. I like this pump since 1) relatively small, 2) reasonably quiet, 3) I already am using one for the return and it has done a good job so far, but other suggestions would be great

3) Plumbing - I was thinking vinyl tubing, but how do I get the water out and over and then back in and over? So in the plumbing picture, vinyl tubing for A, then what do I do for B? JBJ sells a little kit, but it looks pretty crappy. Any recommendations on buying a u-tube and a return? Or would you recommend I buy elbows and a connector + whatever I would need to get the tubing to connect to the elbows?

4) What about safety and maintenance? Do I install a gate valve on the tube going into the chiller? when I turn off the pump what happens to the water in the tube? I assume I could just unhook the tubes connected to the chiller if I wanted to do c.hiller cleaning, etc. Do I screw the tube right into the chiller with a hose clamp, or is there something I could add here to make it more convenient? In the chiller picture I removed a piece (?) on one side. What about hose clamps - where would I use those? What do I need to glue and with what?

5) And suggestions on where to buy all this stuff? If I am ordering a pump then I could order plumbing stuff from an online place like bulk reef supply or marine depot. Or do people buy this gear from home depot, etc?

And any other advice appreciated? This is hopefully a simple plumbing exercise.

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Thanks in advance!

 

[Markemark]

My Chillers are plumed in line with the return pump I am running 2 jbj chillers also on 2 different tanks they are great chillers

 

[Markemark]

so the return pump is plumbed into the in fitting and then goes from the out fitting to the return.

 

[Markemark]

Didn't realize your tank is an AIO

 

[SkullV]

If you run it with the return pump make sure to split off and have a ball valve to control flow, otherwise you're going to have the water running through it too quickly and it'll be on constantly.

 

[Markemark]

Do you have enough room in that chamber B with looks like a skimmer also

 

[Markemark]

I would run it from your section D to the chiller and from the chiller to the return nossel

 

[reefer60614]

I think I will squeeze in a little pump in chamber B and have the return in chamber D.

Mark - is your suggestion to have the chilled water go directly back into the DT and eliminate the current return pump in Chamber D? Or is it to redo the plumbing somehow so the return has both water from the chamber B current pump plus water coming back from the chiller?

Ok - any thoughts on the actual plumbing? vinyl hose or some sort or hard pvc? The JBJ kit seems so crappy - I could buy some higher end tubing from BRS or somewhere + a cpr return jet + a cpr inflow kit (u shaped tube).

And how do I do maintenance on the chiller, if I turn off the pump feeding it, wouldn't there be water in the hose or pipe so when I unhook the chiller a bunch of water would come gushing out? Do I need ball valves, unions, etc. I watched a few youtube videos and suspect this is all straight forward but I'm just inexperienced and scared.


thanks in advance!!