NateDawg Posted March 13, 2020 Share Posted March 13, 2020 With summer coming up, I will be needing to figure out a way to cool the tanks. The house doesn't have air conditioning so i will need to find a way to cool the tanks. I've tried using fans but with fans, this means over twice the amount of evaporation and twice the amount of filling a reservoir by hand so I've looked into two different options, first being an A.C. chiller and second being a thermoelectric cooler (not very common) but I would be building it if I went this rout. Biggest question is on average, for those of you who have chillers and monitored the power consumption, how much energy in kWatts does an A.C. chiller cost per month? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nicknjo Posted March 13, 2020 Share Posted March 13, 2020 I read a write up on a diy chiller using an old dorm size fridge and some 1/4 inch tubing and a pump. This is my plan if temps get out of control. I dont know exactly the answer to your question but it dosent cost much to run a mini fridge and a chiller is basically the same thing. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NateDawg Posted March 13, 2020 Author Share Posted March 13, 2020 16 minutes ago, Nicknjo said: I read a write up on a diy chiller using an old dorm size fridge and some 1/4 inch tubing and a pump. This is my plan if temps get out of control. I dont know exactly the answer to your question but it dosent cost much to run a mini fridge and a chiller is basically the same thing. I will probably be doing kind of the same thing using thermoelectric cooling plates but I'm trying to figure out what tubing to use for the part that's in contact with the cooling unit. For max efficiency, I'd say it needs to be some sort of metal but I'm not sure what to use. Obviously not copper due to toxicity, stainless steel could be an option but I've read and seen that there really isn't a truly saltwater safe stainless. Maybe titanium tubing but I'm not sure if you can buy 1/4 inch titanium tubing. And it would probably be a nightmare to work with. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Blue Z Reef Posted March 13, 2020 Share Posted March 13, 2020 Just out of curiosity, is there any reason a stand alone AC unit won’t work? Like a window or freestanding unit? I always ask people that, if you are going to chill your tank, why not get some of the AC benefits for yourself at the same time? Units are selling cheap now since it’s winter. 4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Blue Z Reef Posted March 13, 2020 Share Posted March 13, 2020 I guess this would be dependent on how your tanks are laid out in your house and the building itself also... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nicknjo Posted March 13, 2020 Share Posted March 13, 2020 Just out of curiosity, is there any reason a stand alone AC unit won’t work? Like a window or freestanding unit? I always ask people that, if you are going to chill your tank, why not get some of the AC benefits for yourself at the same time? Units are selling cheap now since it’s winter.Right, I know I just gave 3 window units away last winter haha hindsight.Sent from my SM-G975U using Tapatalk Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NateDawg Posted March 13, 2020 Author Share Posted March 13, 2020 8 minutes ago, Blue Z Reef said: Just out of curiosity, is there any reason a stand alone AC unit won’t work? Like a window or freestanding unit? I always ask people that, if you are going to chill your tank, why not get some of the AC benefits for yourself at the same time? Units are selling cheap now since it’s winter. That was the other thing we were looking at, I've got a centralized system with tanks in multiple rooms, so we'd essentially have to have at least 2 units running, and were trying to keep electricity cost down. Still an option over a chiller specifically for the aquarium but might be quite a bit more expensive to run over the unit I was debating on building. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Oasisreefling Posted March 13, 2020 Share Posted March 13, 2020 I use older 10k and 6kbtu window AC units and they barely touch my electric bill compared to heat in the winter. We only need them about 4 hours a day cause we're in the hills. Use 1/2" PEX for the refrigerator DIY. I wanna say it'll transfer 33 BTU per linear foot at 50 degrees difference. You really don't need a whole lot of flow. Our floor runs at 90gph and drops from 128 to 124 in about 150lf to give you an idea. One thing I hate about chillers though is that they heat up the space they are in. They are really no fun in a small room with a lot of water, they just fight themselves constantly. I think if the room is dominated by water you need to use an AC or the surface area of the tanks overall will transfer too much heat in a 90*+ room. I think using external return pumps as well also helps a lot. Those buggers really can put a ton of heat into a system. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NateDawg Posted March 13, 2020 Author Share Posted March 13, 2020 1 hour ago, Oasisreefling said: I use older 10k and 6kbtu window AC units and they barely touch my electric bill compared to heat in the winter. We only need them about 4 hours a day cause we're in the hills. Use 1/2" PEX for the refrigerator DIY. I wanna say it'll transfer 33 BTU per linear foot at 50 degrees difference. You really don't need a whole lot of flow. Our floor runs at 90gph and drops from 128 to 124 in about 150lf to give you an idea. One thing I hate about chillers though is that they heat up the space they are in. They are really no fun in a small room with a lot of water, they just fight themselves constantly. I think if the room is dominated by water you need to use an AC or the surface area of the tanks overall will transfer too much heat in a 90*+ room. I think using external return pumps as well also helps a lot. Those buggers really can put a ton of heat into a system. Good info here, thanks, I'll be doing a bunch more research for sure. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
talkalot82 Posted March 14, 2020 Share Posted March 14, 2020 My tanks are in garage. Big tank it have a chiller on a controller. Two grow out 10 gallon baby tanks I use ice bottles. And fans. My long finned 20bgallon I just use a fan. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NateDawg Posted March 14, 2020 Author Share Posted March 14, 2020 8 hours ago, talkalot82 said: My tanks are in garage. Big tank it have a chiller on a controller. Two grow out 10 gallon baby tanks I use ice bottles. And fans. My long finned 20bgallon I just use a fan. How long does the bottle of ice last? And do you have a correct amount of ice to where you dont have to have the heaters keep it from too cold? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gumby Posted March 14, 2020 Share Posted March 14, 2020 If you decide to go with chiller. I have a 1/2 hp PacificCoast that I will trade for some descent frags. You will need to get some kind of controller for it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NateDawg Posted March 14, 2020 Author Share Posted March 14, 2020 56 minutes ago, Gumby said: If you decide to go with chiller. I have a 1/2 hp PacificCoast that I will trade for some descent frags. You will need to get some kind of controller for it. Thanks, I'll definitely keep that in mind when I make a decision. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
talkalot82 Posted March 18, 2020 Share Posted March 18, 2020 On 3/14/2020 at 8:41 AM, NateDawg said: How long does the bottle of ice last? And do you have a correct amount of ice to where you dont have to have the heaters keep it from too cold? Depending on how hot it is a couple hours I normally put in a litter bottle. I just keep a couple of them around in the freezer and I rotate them. If it was my big tank I'd probably in myself put in 2 two liters. But depending on how warm it is things can change. So just keep an eye on it. I really only needed when it gets really hot outside. Other than that The fan holds it okay. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NateDawg Posted March 18, 2020 Author Share Posted March 18, 2020 13 hours ago, talkalot82 said: Depending on how hot it is a couple hours I normally put in a litter bottle. I just keep a couple of them around in the freezer and I rotate them. If it was my big tank I'd probably in myself put in 2 two liters. But depending on how warm it is things can change. So just keep an eye on it. I really only needed when it gets really hot outside. Other than that The fan holds it okay. Hmmm, I'm out of the house multiple days sometimes so I think I'd need something that would last a bit longer, but that does seem to be the cheapest option so far. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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