Apex Controller and JBJ Chiller on/off cycle

afm32607 · 07/05/2018, 02:33 PM

Recently hooked up a JBJ Chiller to a FW aquarium place in a terrace at a family members house.

The chiller works well to bring the temp down, especially as the ambient air has approached 90 degrees the past week. The problem is that the chiller doesn't seem to turn on until its thermostat reads 79 or higher and will then run until the thermostat reads 77 degrees. This is okay on cooler days that don't heat the tank up quickly, but on warmer days the 2 degree swings are much more rapid (heats up in an hour and turns on for 15-20 minutes).

To try to combat the temp swings I tried to to the following: I set the JBJ chiller to 78 degrees on its own sensor and have it set to turn off at 77.9 degrees on the controller and not have it turn back on until the controller reads 78.5. The off program cuts off the final degree drop in temperature and the on program, hopefully, limits the time in which the chiller is switched on and off.

The question is will this hurt the chiller, controller or fish? 2 degrees dosen't seem like a lot but if it has to do it 18 times a day, that is a lot of stress on the fish. In the same vein the 18 times the chiller is turned on and off could be harmful to it.

Any thoughts are appreciated.

mcgyvr · 07/05/2018, 05:00 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by afm32607

Recently hooked up a JBJ Chiller to a FW aquarium place in a terrace at a family members house.

FYI... The mods around here can/will lock threads at any mention of "FW"... So in the future just say is a saltwater tank..

A 2deg swing (even if it happens multiple times a day) is NOT going to cause any problems.. Lakes/streams have many cold spots,etc.. and a 2 deg + swing many times a day is just normal life for a fish..

The manual I saw said the controller should maintain temp within 1 deg..
I'm not sure which "controller" you are talking about.. The controls for the chillers seem to just be a single set point..
Maybe an external temperature controller is what you are talking about and you have it to turn the entire chiller on/off? If so and if its rated for the wattage/current of the chiller then it shouldn't be a problem at all..

afm32607 · 07/06/2018, 11:37 AM

Thanks for the heads up haha, not sure how many people in that side of the hobby own chillers or controllers. So this topic would certainly benefit both.

Its a Neptune apex controller that the chiller is plugged into. The chiller has its own independent t-stat apart from the t-stat on the Apex.

The chiller does keep it within one degree, 1+/-. So it doesn't turn on at the set temp and turns off below the set temp, hence the addition of the Apex.

kurt_n · 07/08/2018, 08:49 PM

Use the Apex as the primary temperature controller, and use the chiller's thermostat as a failsafe. You won't have any issues turning on/off power to the chiller over a 2 degree range. If you were cycling it every 10 minutes, you might have a problem but not with what you describe.

afm32607 · 07/09/2018, 09:18 AM

Thanks.

07/05/2018, 02:33 PM	#1
afm32607 Registered Member Join Date: Mar 2013 Posts: 279	Apex Controller and JBJ Chiller on/off cycle Recently hooked up a JBJ Chiller to a FW aquarium place in a terrace at a family members house. The chiller works well to bring the temp down, especially as the ambient air has approached 90 degrees the past week. The problem is that the chiller doesn't seem to turn on until its thermostat reads 79 or higher and will then run until the thermostat reads 77 degrees. This is okay on cooler days that don't heat the tank up quickly, but on warmer days the 2 degree swings are much more rapid (heats up in an hour and turns on for 15-20 minutes). To try to combat the temp swings I tried to to the following: I set the JBJ chiller to 78 degrees on its own sensor and have it set to turn off at 77.9 degrees on the controller and not have it turn back on until the controller reads 78.5. The off program cuts off the final degree drop in temperature and the on program, hopefully, limits the time in which the chiller is switched on and off. The question is will this hurt the chiller, controller or fish? 2 degrees dosen't seem like a lot but if it has to do it 18 times a day, that is a lot of stress on the fish. In the same vein the 18 times the chiller is turned on and off could be harmful to it. Any thoughts are appreciated.

07/06/2018, 11:37 AM	#3
afm32607 Registered Member Join Date: Mar 2013 Posts: 279	Thanks for the heads up haha, not sure how many people in that side of the hobby own chillers or controllers. So this topic would certainly benefit both. Its a Neptune apex controller that the chiller is plugged into. The chiller has its own independent t-stat apart from the t-stat on the Apex. The chiller does keep it within one degree, 1+/-. So it doesn't turn on at the set temp and turns off below the set temp, hence the addition of the Apex.

07/08/2018, 08:49 PM	#4
kurt_n Registered Member Join Date: May 2006 Location: WA Posts: 2,592	Use the Apex as the primary temperature controller, and use the chiller's thermostat as a failsafe. You won't have any issues turning on/off power to the chiller over a 2 degree range. If you were cycling it every 10 minutes, you might have a problem but not with what you describe.

07/09/2018, 09:18 AM	#5
afm32607 Registered Member Join Date: Mar 2013 Posts: 279	Thanks.