DIY chiller?

[Cyclura]

My seahorse tank all of a sudden has shot up in temps to 79 degrees F. It usually stays at 76 but i just peeked in and the temp has risen way too high. The horses are looking fine but its not even as hot as it will get in my house this summer and i cant let it get any hotter. I dont have the money for a chiller by a long shot, does anyone know of a good DIY method of chilling the aquarium? I was thinking about having some water flow out into a coil of some sort and cooling the water. Im not sure of what i need but maybe yall have a clue as to what to do.

Jaybedriften sold me a fluval FX5 canister filter that i setup last night. All day and last night the temps were fine. According to jay, theres no chance of heat transference because the impeller is magnetic-driven with the motor to the pump positioned to where it does not contact the water directly.

Help me!

[NaClFinatic]

Haven't tride it but Ive heard the easiet thing is a jug of frozen water. Just float it in your tank or sump and watch it cool. The jug stays closed so just fresh water in it is good. If you have a little tank a wter bottle might be good. Or medium a 2 liter... etc. Since you have to get that ready you might try some ice cubes in a coupel ziplock bags an immediate solution.

[Seahorsedreams]

Raise the lid... keep it up. Aim a fan... any old house fan, across the water. Reduce the hours the lights are on. oh.... and look for May's edition of ReefReaders.... there's an article talking about keeping your tank cool without a chiller. Do you have a reliable heater in there? I know it doesn't seem like you need it at the moment, but with your interventions.... and night time cooling... your tank can do some stressing temp swings. We don't want it 80 now but 70 tonight.

[Cyclura]

these are the two different chiller i have come across that are as cheap as i can find them. Would i be spending my money wisely to be buying the small hang-on-back design in this link,

CoolWorks Microchiller (Saltwater Aquarium Supplies > Chillers > Micro )


or is the cheapest thing im going to be able to find without losing quality this one? im only considering the 25gal rated chiller. my tank is about 24 gals with a 5gal canister filter making the entire thing about 30gals give or take.
JBJ Arctica Titanium & Nano/Mini Arctica Chillers - Marine Depot - Marine and Reef Aquarium Super Store

my tank is about 24 gals with a 5gal canister filter making the entire thing about 30gals give or take.

[Seahorsedreams]

K, I use those micro chillers for my 10 gallon QT tanks... they are not much good for anything more than that. I don't use the little filter thing but put the probe directly into the water with a mod.

I bet that JBJ would help to bring it down.... well, it's off to work the night shift.

[JayBeDriften]

I actually use the JBJ Artica Chiller on my setup and it's quiet, efficient and keeps my aquarium at 76.5 degrees Fahrenheit with 300 watts of 10,000k Metal Halide lighting. The water bottle trick is a good method but you must keep on top of it daily or twice a day. Also having a fan blow across the top of the water would definitely help.

[fat walrus]

Don't waste your money on those microchillers.

[Bluemax4]

You should try a fan on the water serface. It moves the water, blows air on it ,and cools it down. It would only cost you $10-$20.

[Cyclura]

i guess ill try the fan trick for now. I turned the canister off all night and as of right now the temp is about 75 degrees. I dont mind doing all of the topoffs i just want to be able to use my canister without worrying about the temps getting too high.

The funny thing is, the temps were fine all day until last night when the lights turned off. Thats when the temps decided to raise themselves. I thought that this was odd, any ideas as to why this is so?

[CarmieJo]

Bluemax,

to TR. It is good to see you posting.

[Russel P]

For what it's worth, I made a chiller for a 125 about ten, fifteen years ago. The shopping center the LFS I worked for was being remodeled, and I was able to score a drinking fountain. I had a plumber friend, so we gutted it, and submerged the copper tubes in a 15 gallon aquarium, and mounted the motor atop the tank. Since the salt water couldn't come into direct contact with the coils, the trick was to get thin tubing (so it was as uninsulated as possible), and throw coils and coils in the chiller tank. I've seldom wished I had a picture more than right now. It was HUGE, ugly, inefficient, and got more attention than the tank. It did, however bring the tank temps down. As soon as the worst of summer was over, I couldn't wait to store it until the heat got dangerous again the following year. I finally got rid of my Quiet One pump (which were nicknamed "Hot One" back in the mid-90's) and used seperate powerheads for each device in my sump. I literally threw that chiller in a dumpster, because I couldn't bear to sell it to another hobbyist.
Now, there may be better DIY methods now; just sharin' my hellish experience with a homemade chiller. Definitely research it and get a blueprint if you choose to go that route.

[CarmieJo]

There is a cooling tower type of DIY chiller. I will look around and see if I can find a link to it.