View Full Version : aquarium cooling
mykelkase
04-09-2003, 9:46 PM
Hi,
If anyone has ideas or suggestions on how to cool freshwater aquariums secondary to warm rooms, weather, etc I would appreciate the input.
Thanks to those who respond to this.
slipknottin
04-09-2003, 9:51 PM
What size tank and what is the temp difference bewteen the tank temp you want and the room temp?
NJ Devils Fan
04-10-2003, 2:50 PM
Chillers or bags of ice work.
chiller are kind of priced high so I would go with a bag or ice.
BettaFish
04-10-2003, 3:19 PM
I wonder if it'd be worthwhile to try hooking up a water pump and some tubing to a radiator for cooling. Maybe with a Peltier somewhere in there?
Hi mykelkase - welcome to AC! :)
Small fans blowing across the water surface is a cheap and easy way to decrease the water temperature.
andruboz
04-10-2003, 8:44 PM
a used college dorm sized fridge might do the job [ 2-5 cubic feet]. new they are under $100. drill a few holes in it and have a 25' coil of tubing sitting in it. might be hard regulating temps though.
I8b4u2
04-10-2003, 9:06 PM
Would putting an ice cube (made from conditioned water) in the filter every few hours work?
Glenstorm
04-10-2003, 9:10 PM
I rigged up a computer fan to blow across the top of my tank. I think it promoted enough evaporation that it cooled the the tank about five degrees. . .
Another thought, if you have a HOB filter, is to increase the distance the water falls from your return to the surface. This also would promote evaporation, which is a cooling process.
mykelkase
04-11-2003, 10:38 PM
Thank you very much to everyone who took the time to reply to my post! I will try some of the ideas mentioned and see what happens. If I still have problems, I'll be back here beggin' for help.
I just got back into the hobby after about a 30 year layoff (I had a few tanks back when I was 10-12 years old) and I'm glad to know there's a site I can come to to get help and ideas .
Thanks again
JamisonBWolsh
04-11-2003, 11:15 PM
I did some research and all those idead listed above would work great. The one with the fan can only cool it up to a point. I live in the san fernando valley which can go up to 110 degrees in the summer.
Most of my fish are delicate and cant handle such temp extremes. SO, the best thing I did was just turn my air conditioner on. This way, fish are happy. I also have the benefits of a nice cold room :) $$$ for electricity though. But at least your fish are happY!