Diy Chiller

[stridm]

I've been thinking about an idea for a chiller that would be pretty cheap to make. Would like to hear your opions on this.

Materials:

Cooler, Small One
Bulk head, depends on thickness of cooler
Tubing
Silicone
Pump(check Max head depending where you keep it)

If a bulk head wont fit through the cooler drill a hole that is the OD of the tube you are using and silicone in place, in side and out. Remember to keep your heater on so that it can maintain the temp you want.

Dark Blue is ice water
Light Blue is tank water
Black square is pump

 

[dylema]

I think having a spiral tube through the ice water would greatly increase cooling. I guess you would have to put in ice daily to keep it cool but otherwise I don't see why it wouldn't work well.

 

[archamfr]

sorry... probs stupid question but.. whats a chiller for?

coldwater fish i guess?

 

[Rooster]

...or place your icewater in a plastic milk bottle , and float in tank !

 

[Lateral Line]

sorry... probs stupid question but.. whats a chiller for?

Many members live in places where the summer temperatures cause unacceptable rises in their tank temperatures. They therefore use chillers to keep their tanks temperature down to normal tropical temperatures.

I have to say, I have never had such a problem, never having lived anywhere with a warm climate.

I agree, coiling the tube in the heat exchanger will allow the warm water in the tank longer contact with the cooling medium. Care is of course necessary that you are not cooling so much that the heater comes on again!

 

[The-Wolf]

before chillers were available to the likes of you and me
many aquarists used an old fridge with a hole cut in one side at
the top and bottom for the pipe to enter/exit
coiled the pipe on the inside of the fridge
and pumped the water back to the tank.

I can't see why your idea wouldn't work as well

 

[stridm]

Coiling would help out a lot, as long as you have your heater set for what ever temp you want I don't see to many problems. If the weather jumps up to 90 above for more then a week here, I will be making one. I will take pics and tell you how it is doing.

 

[Lateral Line]

Coiling would help out a lot, as long as you have your heater set for what ever temp you want I don't see to many problems.

It is an energy use thing. If you are using power to pump water into a cooler, which relies on more power to obtain the coolant, then heating it up again when it returns to the tank, you are generating CO2 and pollution for totally vacuous purposes.

 

[dylema]

Coiling would help out a lot, as long as you have your heater set for what ever temp you want I don't see to many problems.

It is an energy use thing. If you are using power to pump water into a cooler, which relies on more power to obtain the coolant, then heating it up again when it returns to the tank, you are generating CO2 and pollution for totally vacuous purposes.

Very good point. You may need to play with the balance so you minimise the energy usage.

The first thing to try may be just a fan blowing across the surface of the water. This is likely to be a lot less energy demanding and may be enough to keep a good temperature.

 

[madmom]

Last year I used something similar. The biggest problem is within a few hours the ice melts. Keep plenty of frozen water bottles in your freezer. Here is the link I found for it:
http/www.reefs.org/library/diy/diy11.html

This year I'm experimenting with things that don't thaw as fast I read somewhere about someone using Pool softener and making a thick sludge out of it and freezing it in 2 liter soda bottles to use. If I can find the link again I'll post it.

 

[MHunt]

I know you can get small fridges or coolers for like £50, but i think for the extra bits you'd need to make it work, as well as the time it takes, you may as well get an aquatic chiller.

That said, if you do incorporate a small fridge into the fish tank, it gives you somewhere to keep your brineshrimp!

 

[The-Wolf]

Last year I used something similar. ......

This year I'm experimenting with things that don't thaw as fast

I've said it before and I'll say it again
I'm sure that pykrete is the answer to overheating tanks.
I'm just not savvy enough to be able to incorporate it anyway.

http/en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pykrete

 

[dane261]

im going to make a chiller for a fish tank over the next few weeks and ill put pics up of how i made it and if anyone wants it they can have it for a small price.
you can maintain a constant temp as long as you get the pressures right and the right gas your sorted and of course a termostat senser comes in to mind as well ill get all the stuff from work as im a air con/refrigeration engineer

ill keep you posted with pics

cheers dane

 

[MHunt]

What about using a peltier heat pump to control the temperature in the tank? If my thinking is correct, you could have the polarity one way to cool the passing water, and have the polarity the other to heat it. Attaching a thermostat to it would make the action automatic. Ok they're not as cheap as a heater especially if you need to use more than one for the size of the tank, but an interesting alternative to conventional heating methods.

 

[Rooster]

What about using a peltier heat pump to control the temperature in the tank? If my thinking is correct, you could have the polarity one way to cool the passing water, and have the polarity the other to heat it. Attaching a thermostat to it would make the action automatic. Ok they're not as cheap as a heater especially if you need to use more than one for the size of the tank, but an interesting alternative to conventional heating methods.

Like your thinking ! I saw these at a local radio rally last year, and as a confirmed "mad professor" desperately wanted to buy a couple - but couldnt think of a use for them !
But as the majority of them are designed for CPU cooling, and you can now get water cooling gear for PC's dead cheap - there HAS to be a project here !
Shame this wasnt mentioned a couple of weeks ago - last Sunday was Elvaston rally - biggest in England ! Ho hum, just my luck ...