DIY Chiller

[acuraman2]

Alright I have this idea for a chiller but i dunno if it would work or not I guess the only way to find out is to try it. Anyway there is a device called a peltier which is used frequently to cool computer processers. This is a device that when it is plugged in gets below or at freezing on one side and gets really hot on the other. Im thinking I could put on of these on the side of a sump(plasic not glass) cold side on the glass and it would cool the water. If you hooked this up to a reostat you could control its on and off. By the way these devices are usually around 10 bucks a piece.

 

[daluminum]

Havent hooked up a thermometer on one of these things. But I dont THINK that they get cool. Compared to the 165 that a CPU runs its cool. but not below 80. But again. Im just talking out of my a$$ here. cant tell till youve tried.

 

[acuraman2]

I was just reading about them they seem to work buy pulling heat from one side and sending it to the other and can achieve a 7O C degree difference. I only have a 30 gallon tank and Im gonna put an octopus in it therefore Id like to chill it I just ordered on of these devices Ill keep everyone posted on how it works.

 

[option720]

It seems to me that it just pull the heat away by using heat sinks (fins) as opposed to physically lower the tempature. I don't think it will work. i know you can some old dorm fridges and use the cooling part from them. check ozreef.org for the DIY link.

 

[acuraman2]

No they actually pull heat away they need to have a heatsink on the back to dissapate the heat. It pulls heat from one side to the other so the other side gets really hot.

 

[sonny]

Actually, air conditioners, refrigerators, and anything that "cools" don't add cold, they remove heat. I think the key to this device working (I'm not familiar with it) would be the use of a fan to remove the the heat out of the aquarium stand. Where do you find these devices?
Sonny

 

[wally]

While it would remove some heat from the water. The water would have WAY to much thermal mass to cool down hardly at all. Water is a very good "thermal battery" meaning that it holds onto its thermal energy quite well, both heat and cold which is why it is used in things like radiators.

 

[acuraman2]

I agree water is a good heat sink but Im only using this on a small 30 gallon right now the water temp is about 78-79 and I just want to keep it in the low 70s. I was planning to use a few of these since I can get them really cheap like 4 for 10 bucks and ill put computer fans on the back. They use the devices on the igloo coolers the ones that are refridgerated. I would do the dorm refridgerated thing but I dont have room for one really this would be a very compact thing to use.

 

[acuraman2]

you can find these things on ---- do a search for peltier youll have to weed through some marbles though.....youll see what i mean

 

[trigahappynigerog]

my diy chiller is a frozen water bottle i use in the some hot days

 

[daluminum]

I use a thermostat attached to my 3.5 turbo molecular/heatpump. I live in texas. my fish getting hot is the least of my heat concerns's

 

[moga]

i use frozen zipbag...
put water in it and put it into freezer..
when it gets too hot, take out frozen zipbag and slide into my power filter........
works great........

 

[jedimaster]

being a computer techie a good peltier can easily freeze water. (I tried it once)
It is actually an elctric sandwich. It has an electrical current is passed through the middle and the heats gets transfered from one side to the other. I do not think you would be able to find a large enough one to make much of a difference for a fish tank though. When attatched to a CPU they cover 100 perecent of the surface area. When cooling or heating surface are is everything. that is why oong lenghts of tubing is used in freezers, ac'S, AND EVERYTHING THAT COOLS efectively, (stupid caps lock).
The effect would be similar to sticking an ice cube to the side of your tank. however if you stuck an iceblock to side of your tank that would make a big difference. If you got about 10 peltiers then you would likely see a difference. but for 100 bucks you could proabbly find something more effecient.

 

[wrigley11]

Okay the peltiers that you are taking about are about what acouple inches by acouple inches. With the amount you would have to use the cost would more then like get to high. Now changing the ideas of a normal refrigerators/freezer would work a lot better. A freezer works by creating a seal on the door and then chilling the internal compartment. Well instead of chilling the internal compartment chill a tube that the water passes through. It's not as hard as you may think. Get a basic refrigerator / freezer repair book and you'll see that mst of the parts you will need are all ready there.
Hope this helps