Okay now I am sure this will meet with some disagreement with some folks who may or may not think I am totally whacked, but here goes....
I have had a small automotive oil cooler laying around the garage for some time. It has NEVER been used, but as a precaution I ran alcohol through it and flushed repeatedly with water. It is essentially a small radiator, 6"X8" approx. 1/2" lines in and out and made of aluminum. I have hooked it up to my Rena xp3 so that it is "inline" on the output side. There are 2 inexpensive "computer fans" I picked up at the local electronics warehouse mounted with zip ties. I mounted this in an area away from any other electrical components to try and give it enough air circulation and to avoid it soaking up any residual heat from pumps, etc.
Results so far are encouraging. I was floating around the 80-81 degree F area even with my AC set to 78, ( probably the heat from my lighting ). It is now at a constant 78F. It has been running for 2 weeks with no issues whatever... I am using 2 different thermometers for accuracy. The fans are hooked up to a cheap 12v transformer and plugged into my light timer ( will hook it up "straight" when outdoor temps go up over the 100 degree mark if temp starts to creep up ). Total cost not including the oil cooler was about $12.
Specs are:
55g moderately planted freshwater community tank.
Rena XP3 Cannister
Jager 300w heater (set to 76 deg)
No CO2 (yet, still recovering from 135G apocolypse)
This tank is away from all windows, drafts etc but it IS in Arizona, so heat loading is always a problem..... In full summer with the AC on full, is it always a battle between electrical costs and comfort level for the fish when I am not here during the day. So even a 3 degree reduction in tank temp without dropping my AC controls is a big help.
Looking for comments.
I have had a small automotive oil cooler laying around the garage for some time. It has NEVER been used, but as a precaution I ran alcohol through it and flushed repeatedly with water. It is essentially a small radiator, 6"X8" approx. 1/2" lines in and out and made of aluminum. I have hooked it up to my Rena xp3 so that it is "inline" on the output side. There are 2 inexpensive "computer fans" I picked up at the local electronics warehouse mounted with zip ties. I mounted this in an area away from any other electrical components to try and give it enough air circulation and to avoid it soaking up any residual heat from pumps, etc.
Results so far are encouraging. I was floating around the 80-81 degree F area even with my AC set to 78, ( probably the heat from my lighting ). It is now at a constant 78F. It has been running for 2 weeks with no issues whatever... I am using 2 different thermometers for accuracy. The fans are hooked up to a cheap 12v transformer and plugged into my light timer ( will hook it up "straight" when outdoor temps go up over the 100 degree mark if temp starts to creep up ). Total cost not including the oil cooler was about $12.
Specs are:
55g moderately planted freshwater community tank.
Rena XP3 Cannister
Jager 300w heater (set to 76 deg)
No CO2 (yet, still recovering from 135G apocolypse)
This tank is away from all windows, drafts etc but it IS in Arizona, so heat loading is always a problem..... In full summer with the AC on full, is it always a battle between electrical costs and comfort level for the fish when I am not here during the day. So even a 3 degree reduction in tank temp without dropping my AC controls is a big help.
Looking for comments.
I have two 3hp chillers on my tank and the electricity bill sucks. Love to see some pics.
I should know as my computer does have that with a full watercooling setup.