DIY Chiller

[ryantube]

Anyone knows a low cost or DIY chiller? Summer is coming and tank temp can get to 82 F.

[thechibi]

A lot of folks like to use clip on fans and point them at the surface of the water.

[ryantube]

I did that too, not really efficient. Is there a device that connect to a canister to chill water?

[mistergreen]

You might get a really long tube that fits you canister filter. Put the tubing into a cooler with cold water or ice. Heat is exchanged.

[acitydweller]

floating an iced water bottle does the trick

[CookieM]

Originally Posted by acitydweller

floating an iced water bottle does the trick

+1 yep I do that during the summer. Cheap and effective but watch out if the tank is small it may change the temperature too much and you'll have a shrimp sashimi.

[h4n]

hm.... ya i would watch out on ice in a small tank. the Temp shock might kill things.
I use fans and they work great for me, drop my temps down about 5-7 degrees.

[randyl]

For sure computer fan on top of tank blowing directly to water surface. It lowers my 20G to about 70F while other tanks in the same room get to 80+. And I only use a 35CFM fan, you can use more powerful ones for bigger tanks or to drop the temp even more. It doesn't use much power. I hook mine up with a timer to control the temperature.

[moosenart]

Fan+ice water=cold air on tank glass?

[somewhatshocked]

Two 4" PC fans cool my 20gal tanks a whopping ten degrees Fahrenheit. Well worth the investment. Fans are terrific for cooling.

[GeToChKn]

Originally Posted by somewhatshocked

Two 4" PC fans cool my 20gal tanks a whopping ten degrees Fahrenheit. Well worth the investment. Fans are terrific for cooling.

Yup, I use 1 4" fan (some super fan I got from a dead PC, fastest fan I've seen. lol.) and it cools about 7-10 degrees. I run it on a timer, 30on, 15 off during the day, 15on, 15off at night and it seems to keep it stable around 70-72.

[Finalplay10]

Ive actually seen a video where the guy puts his filter into a box with a lid and fills the box with dry ice. I can't recall what the box was made of off the top of my head. He cut out holes on the top to accomodate the tubes but he claimed he only had to refresh the ice every couple of days.

[Kunsthure]

My 13g is in my kitchen under a hanging pot rack so a fan setup and open top aren't options, especially not with a cat and a 5y/o running around. Besides ice in the tank, is there any other way? Could OEBTs be fine with a temp of 78-80? My house temp is 68-74 depending on the season (AC was set at 71 last night) but the tank still maintained the upper 70s overnight. I have a 15w T8 sitting on top of the tank but I don't think putting it up on 2" little legs would make a big difference. It's on maybe 6-7 hours a day, with a 3 hour off time from 12-3. What could I do?

-Lisa

[GeToChKn]

Originally Posted by Kunsthure

My 13g is in my kitchen under a hanging pot rack so a fan setup and open top aren't options, especially not with a cat and a 5y/o running around. Besides ice in the tank, is there any other way? Could OEBTs be fine with a temp of 78-80? My house temp is 68-74 depending on the season (AC was set at 71 last night) but the tank still maintained the upper 70s overnight. I have a 15w T8 sitting on top of the tank but I don't think putting it up on 2" little legs would make a big difference. It's on maybe 6-7 hours a day, with a 3 hour off time from 12-3. What could I do?

-Lisa

Tigers aren't going to like that and the only real options if you can't do fan, have to keep it covered, etc is probably a chiller.

[moosenart]

not sure on OEBT temps but i keep mine at 74