DIY Aquarium Cooler

[AQMS]

Hi,i got these ideas from two different post,one of them is from someone
who convert his mini fridge into an aquarium chiller and another
guy who put his external filter in a cooler.

Material used for these project are,

-Plywood
-Styrofoam board
-Hose
-Hose connector
-Aqua thermometer
-Clip locks
-Ice packs

Attachment 33007

I choose plywood because i want to custom cut it
to fit my aquarium cabinet.

Insulate the interior with Styrofoam,drill holes
for tubes insert and thermometer wire.

Attachment 33008

Attachment 33009

i spiral 8 meters of 12/16mm tube in the box
i insert aluminum foil and place the ice pack
in it.

Attachment 33010

Now i am doing a dry test on the box and monitoring
the temperature.Once i have the data for 12hr i will
connect it it to my aquarium.Currently the temperature
is still at 18deg after 5 hrs.

[mukyo]

Its quite scary..
Looked like a coffin.
I am imagining boogeyman peeping at night.

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[AQMS]

Its not that big,
it 60 x 23 cm, just nice for my 3 by 2 feet tank cabinet.

[AQMS]

This is the temperature data i recorded for 24hrs

Hrs Deg
--- ---
1 18c
4 18c
8 19c
12 19c
18 22c
24 24c

The temperature of the tank will be different once i connect it to my aquarium.
For that i will take note of the temperature and post it when i have my cooler
connected. Right now i busy with work but will definitely find time to connect it.

Cheers

[mukyo]

So in the sense, the whole ice cubes lasts 24hrs max?
How tight is the box?
Was thinking those coleman picnic container actually, might be tighter.

Ps: boogeyman IS half meter tall, beware.... lol

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[BFG]

The data you collected will be way different once you connect to the main tank. The heat will be introduce from the tank to the cooler box.

[AQMS]

yes, at the 24th hrs the box temp is at 24deg.
Coleman container..im not sure.. but im sure mine is well secure because of the clip lock.
Bfg is right once i run it with the aquarium it will be different,i hope the different
will be not much.

[AQMS]

yes,it will be interesting to find out,anyway i added another 4metre of tubing in the cooler
to maximize the box.

[AQMS]

http://i1326.photobucket.com/albums/...1/IMG_5142.png
i added another 4 meters tube....total 12meters

[mukyo]

It should matter the tickness and material of the tubing i guess.
Might be better to actually use a thin alu, ss orthin plastic pipe internally. Interfacing in and out via plastics tap, with rubber sealing.
To really maximize the fridge effect.
Same thing for the doors.

Ps: boogeyman liked cold stuffs brrrrrr

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[zeltade]

Hi zerofighter. Intriguing idea you have, using a wooden box so you get the size you want.
I got a question for you, why do you wrap up your ice packs with aluminium foil?
Correct me if I'm wrong, from what I recall learning in school. Bright color reflect heat, cold in our case, while black absorbs. So won't wrapping the aluminium around the ice pack retain the coldness within the pack itself. of course it'd result in the ice pack lasting longer theoritically, but we want the coldness to last within the cooler box. Which means it is more logical to line the surrounding of the box up with aluminium instead.
Just quoting another example, those food or drink container that is meant to keep the food warm or cold (hardly), usually the inside walls are shiny, followed by insulation (usually double wall vacuum if I not wrong)
It's just my opinion and I may be wrong but we're always learning!
Cheers!

[jemswira]

Zeltade- the bright color thing is more towards radiation. In terms of conduction (like this) it's still the same. Also you can't reflect cold. Cold is not the opposite of heat. Cold is just less heat than your reference point.

[AQMS]

zeltade- the alu foil is for putting the ice pack not wrapping it. i need the foil to collect the water condensation and i can find the right size for it
so alu foil is good so i can mould it to the shape i want

mukyo- yes, my initial plans was to use aluminum coil but it was to ex, so my next option is the tube.
Actually when u mention the frigde door,its a great idea. I will keep it in mind.


Anyway i have not hook the box to the aquarium, very very busy with work, i will post it once i have it running.

[AQMS]

I put the box to test last week,
result - not good the first time.

My first trial was not good, the cooler temp hit 22deg minimum
and my tank temp is 28deg with no fan.2hr later, the cooler
temp is at 24deg and it stayed there for about 4 hrs,
temperature drop to 27deg after 12hrs.
My tank temp during that 12 hrs is around 28plus plus never touch 29deg.
I think it has to do with the weather,it is cooler at this time of the year because of the rain.
I put only 4 packs of ice pack in the cooler.
http://i1326.photobucket.com/albums/...terx101/1a.jpg

[AQMS]

My second trial was better,i packed the whole box max
with ice pack,total 18 packs 9pcs big ice pack and 9pcs
small ice pack.Box temp hit 14.6deg within minutes,after 6 hour cooler temp is at 18deg.
When i start the second run, i checked my room temperature is 30deg,
My tank is 28deg. 2hrs later,my tank is 26.5deg and my room is stii at 30deg.
6hrs later,tank temp is 26.8deg.
by then my lights and fans just turn on.
At the 12th hr the cooler temp is 20 deg and my tank temp is still around 26.5deg
with fans running.
http://i1326.photobucket.com/albums/...terx101/2a.jpg

I think i stick with the cooler for now,until i find
an aluminum flexible 12mm tube or steel tube to replace the
tube in the cooler.If that happen,i think the temp will go down even lower.

Cheers

[devil_xiaozhu]

How long does it lasts till the temperature hit back to 28degree?

[wongce]

Ts: no offence, but don't you find it troublesome to keep on chilling the ice packs and put back into the box and repeat the process everyday?

I am not sure what you want to keep( plant or expensive shrimps), but what if one day you really busy and can't cool the ice packs and exchange? e.g holiday trip, exam, OT at work etc.

if you are keeping expensive shrimps, i think you should really save up and get a proper chiller

if you are keeping plants, chiller is not necessary but i seen a lot of members here who did very beautiful scapes using only fan(s)

By the way, just my humble opinion... i can imagine you running around with ice packs...lol..take care and don't slip...lol

[AQMS]

devil_xiaozhu - I changed my ice pack every 18-20hrs,by then,the temperature is still
around 26-27deg i didnt want to wait till it reaches 28deg.The trick is, once the temperature in the tank stabilized,mind is at 26-27deg
i have to maintain it at that temperature(this is with no fan), but if you let it soar up to 29-30deg
then you are back to square one. My water volume is 273litres,so it takes longer time for the temperature to get
down and up but to maintain it,easy.

[AQMS]

wongce- i agreed, the down side of it to keep changing the ice pack but What i like about it is,
i can keep the cooler in my cabinet with no worries and it is neat, customize to my cabinet.The cooler does not emits
heat and use no power.About the holiday trip,it cant be help but if your are saying exam and OT,it only take less than 5minutes
to change the ice pack,people can spend hours on iPhone and Facebook,what is 5 minutes for a passionate hobbyist?

[skyjuice]

Try what this guy was doing, using peltier electronic chips.
http://www.shine7.com/aquarium/chiller.htm

Multiple small power chips can be used to make up the requirement. Cooling power about 0.8 of electricity power consumptioni. so a 200 watt peltier will have about 160 watts cooling power which is equivalent to Hailea 1/10 hp chiller. A kit for refrigeration unit is available from ebay for something less than SGD50/= including shiipping. Can't remember what power. Replace the cold heat sink with a cooler block plus a temperature controller for less than SGD20/- also from ebay, it will work like a water chiller.