Reply With QuoteI know this sounds incredible but right after I sent the last post, I checked again and the temperature of my fish tank has dropped to 25.5 C. A drop of more than 1 degree in a matter of less than 10 minutes. Wow!!
Loh K L
Ronnie, thanks for the offer but I started the filters just now and guess what. I switched on the first filter and it was enough to push the water all the way back into the tank. I guess when we rig the thing up yesterday, there wasn't enough water in the hose for the thing to work properly. So you're right about the diameter of the hose not being the culprit.Originally Posted by RonWill
The temperature inside the chiller tank read 12 C when I started the filter working again. The fish tank is 26.9 C at about 10.20 pm. Let's see how it goes tomorrow morning.
Loh K L
I know this sounds incredible but right after I sent the last post, I checked again and the temperature of my fish tank has dropped to 25.5 C. A drop of more than 1 degree in a matter of less than 10 minutes. Wow!!
Loh K L
KL, I've never seen anything like the black and red ball valve or the bulkhead ones in Home Depot or Lowes. I'll look again...as a sidebar,
how's the American hornwort doing? It would like this cooler tank
If you want some more, let me know!
Bill, the black and red valves are for stopping the flow of water. I think Eheim have something similar but those I bought are much cheaper. As for the American Hornwort, they're all mixed up with the Singapore ones. I'll try and grow some of it in my tank later.
By the way, folks, taaaa.......daaaaaaaaaaa.........
It's about 11 pm now, about slightly more than half an hour after I switched on the filter. And the temperature in my fish tank is an amazing 25.0 C. Take a look:
Loh K L
If one could rig such a setup for several tanks as part of the central filtration setup one could well be able to keep a range of cool water killies without having to resort to expensice air conditioning. I'm certainly giving it a lot of thought for when I return to South Africa in year or three's time. Maybe I can start mass producing cool water Aphyosemion as well as Nothos...
tt4n
KL,
As discussed the last time we met, you should let the long hoses do the water flow via gravity (like siphon) and place the filter/pump after the freezer and just before the tank. Only this way will you put the pump to effective use. Your initial problem with the flow was probably that the hoses were not bleeded (or has air pockets) which is the devil for any water pump. The 2nd filter should be use as normal filtration use, as decided.
You should try to fill the gaps between the chill tank and the freezer walls with conductive material. I am yet to find something suitable, some kind of stainless steel wool would be great. Did you fill the tank with enough water to cover the hoses completely? Fill up to near the tank's top would be idea if the freezer can take the punishment.
Ronnie's idea of using the ice bags were good to kick start the fellow.
I called up KL in the morning to suggest a thermal plate to replace the lengthy hose. This is not a new idea as it is widely used in water heater and maybe commercial chiller
The drawing of the thermal plate is as follows:
3D View:
Thermal plate has walls inside the plate so that water will flows in a zipzap manner. It will maximize the tank water contact with the cool water, which is isolated. The distance between walls and the depth of the "drain" will depends on the flow rate of the pump in order to prevent freezing inside the plate,
There is hose connector on the left side of the plate as indicated by the green arrow. The line in blue is actually rubber sealer to prevent leakage.
Top View:
This is a top view to show water flow. It is possible to have more walls inside as it will improve the efficiency. Alternatively, I can connected up many plates in series to improve the efficiency as well.
Later when I show the drawing to one of my friends. He quoted that such a plate will not be cheap and it will be much cheaper to use hose as a media to transfer heat. However, I will try to make one and test it on my DIY chiller if possible.
Regards,
Ong Poh San
I hope all this material will be archived safely. I will want to build my own
DIY chiller when I move to Thailand. Imagine, Diapterons in a tropical
zone and all the plants that like the low-mid 70sF!
Bill, if you're looking for barbed 1/2" ballvalves, look here;
http://dripirrigation.com/index.php?cPath=35_50
I'm back & keeping 'em fingers wet,
Ronnie Lee
Wow, thanks for the site, Ronnie! I have some of the 1/4" microball valves
made in Australia but not at this price! They ship overseas, right?
Huh?
Bill, this is the business address of the link... ship overseas to where? Alabama:wink:
The Drip Store
1145 Linda Vista Drive, Ste. 108
San Marcos, CA 92069
Tel: 760 682-1580 Fax: 760 682-1585
Business Hours (9 AM - 5 PM Pacific Time)
If you're using nickel-plated gang-valve for BBS hatchery, I suggest you order the inline taps as well (mentioned in this post)
Kwek Leong, glad to know the water is flowing now. With 620L/H output and better Max.Head than the 1048, the 2215 can't be a let-down.
Let's see what the thermo reads in the morning. BTW, where did you get that digi-thermo? Good for half-blind eyes!
I'm back & keeping 'em fingers wet,
Ronnie Lee
Umm, no, Ronnie, do they ship overseas to SG and Thailand to be exact?Bill, this is the business address of the link... ship overseas to where? AlabamaI imagine they would ship INCONUS :wink:
Bill,Umm, no, Ronnie, do they ship overseas to SG and Thailand to be exact?
It was Kho (our administrator) who gave me the link. We're gonna order their drip irrigation system for our plants and yes, they do ship to SG and I suppose Thailand as well. [I know what you meant. Being tired at work doesn't mean I'm that dense :wink: ]
I'm back & keeping 'em fingers wet,
Ronnie Lee
hi there, is this DIY project able to chill a 150Gallon tank?
I knew it was either a low biorhythm or you were pulling my leg!Being tired at work doesn't mean I'm that dense :wink: ]
some rest when you can! I think back on 20 years of navy medicine and
all the sleep deprivation, thank gawd I am no longer in it!
ReDDeviLs,
Welcome to Killies.com!
We are glad to share our knowledge with anyone but we would bias towards those who make an effort to sign off (at the end of the message with their name).
If possible, in your registration, give us some basic/minimum introduction of yourself like the estate you live in. Here in Killies.com, we like to make friends and talk to someone who care to review a little about themselve. It's like meeting a stranger on the street, you introduce yourself first before any conversation, right? Any further info is not important but welcome.
We meant to build good ties and respect among forumers , youself included, here and I think it has to begin with, my name is....
I hope you would appreciate what we are trying to accomplish here.
KL, you might consider insulating the hose outside the chiller with those black air-con insulation foam(tube-like with a hole in the center). Can get from air-con shop. Try to shorten the length of the hose outside the chiller to prevent precious cold air lost. Maybe placing the filter on top of the chiller? Oh, come to think of it, you need to insulate your filter as well
I have been busy lately. The Construction Industry is really bad, and my company had been picking up a lot of tenders, so which means late night.. Anyway I had re-setup 4 small planted tanks.Well, well, look who's here. Where have you been, my young friend. We miss you.
Thanks! I will drop by next month when I am not so tie down by tenders. (I hope)You're welcomed to drop over if you're interested
Good idea. Plumber use these on copper pipes to prevent water from losing heat from the heater to the tap point.KL, you might consider insulating the hose outside the chiller with those black air-con insulation foam(tube-like with a hole in the center). Can get from air-con shop. Try to shorten the length of the hose outside the chiller to prevent precious cold air lost. Maybe placing the filter on top of the chiller? Oh, come to think of it, you need to insulate your filter as well
regards
Hi, fellas,
I woke up this morning to see 24.4 C. Frankly, I was a bit disappointed. I was hoping it would be lower. My maid who was instructed to check on the thermometer periodically said the temp hovered between 24 and 25 for most of the day. I came home in the evening and saw 24.0 C
It seems there's a psychological barrier or something. The thermometer simply refused to go below 24. Maybe it doesn't like it that cold
I think Poh San's idea of using thermal plates could be very effective, especially when they are used in a mini bar fridge. As for Gan's suggestion to wrap the hoses with insulation foam, I will definitely try it.
I think it could take a while before I see temperatures lower than 24. After spending about Sing $250, I won't be happy until I see 22 C. Ronnie warned me that condensation on the glass could be quite a hassle but if it should happen, the next project would naturally be DIY wipers
Loh K L
Given that the ambient room temp is about 30°C I think 24°C is quite an achievement. You should be very impressed. I didn't think you would get near there with the plastic pipes you were using.
Well done! I will be pirating your design back in SA so I can keep Diapteron!
Ciao
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