DIY Chiller Idea with HOB

[thanew]

The summer heat is on and I've been looking for a chiller as of late since the temp is really climbing. I read a few articles about using the cooler and even seeing troutman's idea (http://www.aquariumadvice.com/viewtopic.php?t=4948). This is one idea that really stands out, I explained this to my brother who is my sounding board and they brought up an idea.


I just bought a XP3 to replace my aging Emperor 400, so they thought that since I was replacing the emperor that I could use that as the chiller and replace the carbon with a reusable ice pack (it seems like some would fit perfectly in place).

I'd be a little worried with using an ice pack, they mentioned those ones you use in a cooler (the reusable ones), that maybe it'd leak or something, since some do contain some chemicals. Then after thinking about that I wondered if this would be too much cooling, or maybe it would be too much at once and maybe it would shock and kill the fish.

I'm not sure if it would cool it fast enough to do any good, and if it did, would it be re-introduced fast enough to shock the fish?

[theotheragentm]

Without knowing the exact heat exchange method, you can't truly measure these things without experience. I would try a fan blowing on top of the water surface first. It will cool down your water temperatures.

[tecwzrd]

For your 55 gal? IMO it would work but only a degree or two which as already mentioned you probably could accomplish just using a fan. If worried about leakage you could buy the plastic kind you fill up and freeze.

What is your highest temp so far? Is this for FW or SW?

[thanew]

well its for fw, as for highest temp, 92. yeah, the ac went out last week. I've been trying to keep it at 82 since thats the high end for cichlids, but its becoming harder as the temperature outside gets hotter, and it usually ends up sitting at ~85 or so.

the fish themselves don't seem real stressed, I haven't noticed any color changing or anything really funny, they look healthy and all that. they just seem to be acting like normal, but i know it can turn real ugly if i can't keep that temp at least somewhat stable throughout the day.

[tecwzrd]

At 92 I would at least try the cooling method with the ice packs but you will probably have to change them out hourly. You didn't mention if you have a fan blowing over the top. How much circulation do you have? Do you still have your heater on so the temp at night doesn't drop too drastically?

Chilling too much is not going to happen with the ice packs IMO.

[thanew]

Its not dropping much after night when it hits that 92, maybe down to 88 at the most. It still stays around 90-95 overnight here so that still keeps the house pretty hot regardless of the hour of the night.

As for the fan blowing over the top, I do not have one. My tank is an awkward position at the moment and I do not have a clip on or any other smaller fan atm.