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The Chiller(s)
Of course, all these pumps tend to generate a
lot of heat, as do the lights. And because my
workroom is not air conditioned ('don't
ask'), the water temperature in the tank
could easily soar above 90 degrees, especially
in the summer, without an adequate chiller. I
have two United Marine Industries 1 HP 
units and they are plumbed directly into each
other so that both are always 'on line'.
Only one is in actual operation at a time, but
if it should cease to function for any mechanical
reason, the second one could be instantly fired
up with the flick of a switch. Now, to anyone
with a normal life, this certainly amounts to
overkill. But, I don't live a normal life.
In fact, when it comes to the everyday travails
of modern existence (in reefkeeping particularly),
I seem to be governed by something most UNUSUAL.
I call it Moye's Law. Here's an illustration...
In the summer of 2000, I came home one evening
to find that the temperature in the tank had risen
nearly 6 degrees above normal. My old chiller
had failed (This, by the way, is NOT Moye's
Law). I DID have a small back-up chiller at the
time but once I put it on line I discovered, to
my horror, that it didn't work either (Still
not Moye's Lawx but getting damn close).
Frantic now, I called a local refrigeration service
company and literally had to beg them to come
out. |
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Oh
sure, I could've mentioned the '24
hour emergency service' line in their
ad but I would think that the only thing
worse than begging, is having someone actually
laughing at you while you're begging.
So I beg and finally, he comes.
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this day, if you look in any dictionary under
the word 'prick', you should still see a
picture of the guy they sent over. His price
was already astronomical and upon seeing
the gravity of the situation, he attempted
to raise it again. He also must've mentioned
how 'lucky' I was that he was 'nice' enough
to be doing me this 'favor' (at $110.00 an
hour) about 10 times. Of course by now, all
I could do was wonder how big of a "clean-up
crew" I would have to order, that could clean
up the carcass of a 170 lb. man. But I kept
my cool, he DID get it running again, and
for that I was grateful. The back up however
was shot beyond repair. Also, the tank was
now 9 degrees above normal and things were
definitely looking stressed. The upshot was
I ended up not losing a single coral that
time. The bad news, however, was now I was
operating without a back-up which I sincerely
believe is THE biggest affront to the 'reefing
gods' that any mortal can do. The second
biggest is going out of town. Naturally,
I had ordered a back up (from a different
refrigeration company) and was promised that
it would only take a couple days. Two weeks
later, with still no back up, I was called
out of town.... |
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