Lets talk tank cooling...

[Devaji]

well as summer gets closer and I am thinking about a tank restart and moving my reef over to a 40br and turn my 90 cube in to a seahorse tank I am thinking about keeping them cool tank should run around 72F

here in Wyoming the summer are pretty short and for my reef I never worry about my tank heat but for the the SH I do need to keep the tank temp down. so now I am thinking the most coast effective way to do this I only have to think about 3 months max so dropping $500 on a chiller seams like I wast of money. I would rather put that in to corals and such

the room will get up to 85 or so so wondering if a few fans would do the trick?
I thought about a window AC unit but I have windows the open out not up :/

so what do you just with no central AC do in the summer months?

 

[Dennis McGrath]

You'll need a chiller for the tank for sure. 72 is pretty low, and if the ambient temperature of the room is 85 you're going to need something to prevent that tank from going over 80.

 

[Devaji]

thinking of a DIY mini fridge chiller...drill a hold in the side and run some RODI tubing in wind it up in the fridge then back out.
anyone have success with that?

 

[Dennis McGrath]

thinking of a DIY mini fridge chiller...drill a hold in the side and run some RODI tubing in wind it up in the fridge then back out.
anyone have success with that?

Interesting idea. To increase the thermal transfer efficiency, you might put the coiled tubing in a bucket of water inside the fridge.

 

[Randy Holmes-Farley Verified Community Expert]

I cooled my tank with cold tap water run through a coil of thin plastic tubing in my sump, then out to replace evaporated water in a pond. Flow was controlled by a solenoid connected to a temperature controller.

 

[Devaji]

Interesting idea. To increase the thermal transfer efficiency, you might put the coiled tubing in a bucket of water inside the fridge.

I really like this idea!

 

[Emoney33]

For quick cool off you can try some frozen water. I do understand i have the same problem.

 

[lion king]

My house gets 85 during the summer when I'm away, I have gotten a 7 degree drop with fans and a temp controller, I've never tried any lower but I don't think fans alone will get you to 72. I would try the diy fridge chiller.

 

[Gp!]

thinking of a DIY mini fridge chiller...drill a hold in the side and run some RODI tubing in wind it up in the fridge then back out.
anyone have success with that?

The compressor in your mini fridge won't be designed for that duty cycle

 

[Devaji]

My house gets 85 during the summer when I'm away, I have gotten a 7 degree drop with fans and a temp controller, I've never tried any lower but I don't think fans alone will get you to 72. I would try the diy fridge chiller.

that's what I am thinking too. fans are good but might not do the trick. I hope I can find a nice used JBJ chiller that would solve the problem.

 

[Devaji]

anyone hear of active aqua chillers?

 

[Orm Embar]

I've had good luck with a fan; I recently bought an InkBird temperature probe and a clip-on fan for this summer. So far, it's been cool enough that I haven't needed to use it. Evaporative cooling has worked well enough that I haven't needed a chiller, although I need to replace the ATO water much more frequently

 

[lion king]

I was planning a fridge chiller before I found out my fans could do the trick. Here was some of my ideas. Use a cobalt aquatics mj1200(fav all purpose pump) connected to 1/2" tubing, the tubing is then coiled inside the fridge. Using a controller like this: https://www.amazon.com/Johnson-Cont...8&qid=1527950062&sr=8-2&keywords=johnson+temp to cycle the fridge compressor on/off to maintain temp. Make sure the temp probe is safe for saltwater(this one I listed is not the same controller I had previously found), but it is the type of controller I figured would work. My issue with chillers are as follows: they are noisy and put out alot of heat. it is best mounted in a separate room or outside. They are very expensive to run, I've known people save money when switching from a chiller and supplementing with ac to bring the ambient temp down, even using a room, window, or through the wall ac; then adding fans.

 

[Dennis McGrath]

The compressor in your mini fridge won't be designed for that duty cycle

You could use a cooler that utilizes a Peltier device for cooling. That would eliminate a compressor totally.

 

[Devaji]

^ oh nice I dont know much about peltier cooling i;ll have to look in to that!

 

[Devaji]

I to chill the water 10-15 max degree's for 3 months of the year..

 

[lapin]

Normally a fan blowing on the water (evap cooling) will keep the water at the same temp as the room is over night.

 

[salty joe]

the room will get up to 85 or so so wondering if a few fans would do the trick?
I thought about a window AC unit but I have windows the open out not up :/

so what do you just with no central AC do in the summer months?

Maybe get one of those portable room AC units that don't mount in a window, the entire unit sits on the floor and has duct work connected to the window.

 

[andyg1960]

I was balking at paying $500 for a chiller, then I saw Amazon had a used one with cosmetic damage for about half off retail. Got a great Arctica 1/5 hp chiller for $248. Works perfectly, and the cosmetic damage is in the back so totally out of view

 

[lion king]

^ oh nice I dont know much about peltier cooling i;ll have to look in to that!

They do work, I was using one made by cool works and I also used this one https://premiumaquatics.com/product...MIldjOr8a22wIVRdbACh2Q-Ql9EAYYASABEgLlMPD_BwE
Read the stats and you'll see they really don't drop the water temp much more than fans, that's what I found when I used them. You would probably need 6 or more units for your application. The heat will be pulled out of the tank and add to ambient temp of the room, I could feel the heat exchange across the aluminum heat sink.