DIY Chiller

[BigH55]

Was talking to a LFS guy and he said you can make a chiller out of a dorm fridge. Just drill a hole thru the side and out a coil of tubing inside a bucket inside the fridge. Then use a small power head to push the water thru the tubing and out another hole into the tank. Do you guys think this would really work?

 

[yote]

I think it would probably do alright.But you'd have to use a duel stage temp controller to kick the power head on when the water needed cooling.

 

[hoopsdaddy]

http://saltaquarium.about.com/od/dyiprojects/l/bldiydonchiller.htm

 

[SSalty]

I think it would work, but would probably cause more trouble in the long run.

I would spend the extra money and purchase a manufactured chilller.

 

[BigH55]

That is a great DIY plan and i think it will work great. If I get really bored one day ill bo because I have a fridge just sittin here. plus it will get my fish stuff out of the fridge and the misses will be happy

 

[sen5241b]

Consider filling the freezer with ice and curl the tube in the freezer. It has been said that a frig does not have the capacity to cool a larger tank.

 

[1geo]

It will not work. Read this article and I think it will convince you; it did me.
http://www.beananimal.com/articles/d...m-chiller.aspx

 

[lightcs4]

It seems that it would only provide minimal cooling and would be expensive to run. You would be probably spend more in the long run than purchasing an actual chiller. This is just my own "guess", not based on facts so take it for what it is worth. I recommend more research before moving forward with using this method.

 

[Awol]

Dorm fridges are pretty expensive to run. When compared to a chiller that is designed for the job, I'd go for an actual chiller if you need one.

Now if you were storing some fish food in a mini freezer in a fish room anyway It could work if you wanted to lower the temp a few degrees.... Maybe. Depends on system volume though.

 

[JAG107]

I still think a window AC unit would be a far better purchase than a chiller. Chillers use loads of juice just like AC, but they will heat up your room, making summer even worse for you indoors. I just use a 9" fan above the water and my central air is set between 82-84 during the hot months (all 7 of them!) and that keeps the water below 85. Still kinda high, but I don't have many losses over the summer due to high water temps. I think the fridge is a good idea in concept, but those dorm fridges just don't get cold enough IMO. You'd need a hell of a long coil to give the water time to cool off IMHO.

 

[hoopsdaddy]

Window unit in the summer months is what we use. We have central but I have a small AC that I set the thermostat to 78. Then I have two fans in the hood on the same timer as the MH's and 2 small fans that are over the sump. My tank stays between 77.5-80.3.
Chillers while great in application are horrible on the pocket book. This is by far the most overpriced(imo) item for the reef tank and the most often unnecessary. I have seen many great looking tanks that housed everything I could think of and some have chillers and some do not. Usually in my observation the people who have chillers either bought one on craigslist(cheap), from a fellow reefer(cheap), or are loaded and were sold one by the lfs that doesn't run chillers on any of their stuff. That is just my experience. I know some of you have chillers and I just pissed you off, but that wasn't my intention.
In Illinois, you shouldn't "need" a chiller. I believe that Biff isn't running a chiller and she is in Arizona. I live in Texas and it is above 80 where I live usually 7-8 months.
I would try fans first. Hope this helps.

 

[ccCapt]

It will not work. Read this article and I think it will convince you; it did me.
http://www.beananimal.com/articles/d...m-chiller.aspx

+1 Geo

 

[Bifferwine]

In Illinois, you shouldn't "need" a chiller. I believe that Biff isn't running a chiller and she is in Arizona. I live in Texas and it is above 80 where I live usually 7-8 months.

Where I live it regularly hits 115+ for three to four months every year. The AC system on my house is so old, it barely keeps me from overheating. I still don't use a chiller. There are a bunch of cheap, little things you can do to keep your tank's temp down, that are just as effective as running a chiller for most situations.

 

[bobby]

But with a tank your size biff you would need a whole other AC just for it.LOL

 

[Bifferwine]

That's part of the problem. The lights give off so much heat that the tank alone overpowers my house's AC system.

 

[yote]

Sounds like your unit is under sized Biff.

 

[ccCapt]

Strange to hear a girl has an undersized "unit". :D

 

[hoopsdaddy]

Nicely played......

 

[BigH55]

I wish more had them that way. GiGaDA GiGada

 

[JAG107]

whoooo that's funny!