DIY mega-chiller

ChicoRaton

ChicoRaton

Se?or Member
Jun 5, 2004
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Idaho, USA
www.hazy8.com
One of my future "dream projects" is a native species tank, perhaps housing some river fish like trout or some lake fish like perch and bullhead catfish. Only problem is it seems like it would be at least 72 just about year round if it's in a heated part of a house. In my experience with fishing, when surface temps gst that high, you usually have to fish in deeper waters. Has anybody heard of making a DIY chiller with a mini-fridge? I'm not sure how you'd go about it, since any aquarium-safe tubing I can think of isn't a cood conductor of heat (vinyl, silicone, etc.) maybe stainless steel? just looking for some thoughts on the idea, since I have an empty aquariium and an unised mini-fridge, I got to thinking....:p I've thought about the condensation issue too. maybe acrylic would be a better option for a tank containing ~60-65 degree water?
 
There is a lot of info about using a mini fridge as a water chiller for your tanks. The thing you are going to read about and people will say is that the fridge turns on and off in a cycle. This cycle is not going to be good for your tank and you will not be able to control this cycle.

The one thing that I think gets over looked about a project like this is that no one talks about the way to keep the fridge cold when it’s not running. You would need to keep a good amount of cold water in the fridge and run the water in a tube through this cold water.

I feel you have not read up on this and there is a lot of info on the net on trying this. Just keep in mind what I have said to save you from jumping into something you might not totally under stand.

I do use a mini fridge for keep a few of my water cooled computers running in the 30’s, it also keeps a 6 pack of soda right next to my computer desk so I don’t have to get up a lot on the all night computer swings.
 
slipknottin, that chiller is pretty slick. I like :D

I guess heat exchange directly from the coolant to the water would be more efficient than coolant-air-water. If I ever decide to set up my native tank I'll have to look in to building a unit like that.
 
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