water chiller

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parsons483

Aquarium Advice Activist
Joined
Mar 10, 2018
Messages
142
hello i have been looking for a chiller for my 20gallon tank but they are over $60 so i am looking for other ways to chiller the water in my tank. i have been using the water bottles and that helps so long as i am home to watch it. i have a circulation pump on the way, it i one of those you can hook airline tubing to. i there a way i can rig that up to chill the water? or is there some other ways? no negativity please any advise would be apericated
 
Try a PC/USB cooling fan to disperse heat from the surface of the water. It won't give you drastic temperature change, but it'll bring it down a few degrees. Especially if you have heat coming from your light.

The downside to this is that you need an open top tank, but if you're having heat issues, that's a better idea anyway.

You can also switch the light schedule to opposite of actual daylight hours. Plants don't have a watch. They only care how much light they're getting, not when. So you can have the light on during the cooler hours and off during the heat of the day. You can also switch to LED lighting, if you haven't already, since it runs cooler.

If you are using an external, canister filter, it will cool things down anyway since the water will have more surface area through the tubing, cooling it to room temperature faster.

What are your current and target temps?
 
I am using a LED light so I don’t think that’s the problem:/ I think it must be the usual temperature in the house that’s causing it or that it is by a window. There is something on the back of the tank blocking out the light so I don’t know :/
 
I definitely wouldn't have a tank by a window if it's having heat issues. Regardless of something blocking the light, ambient temperature is just higher near a window. And unless you're somehow blocking the light really well, it's going to encourage algae as well.

I know it can be such a pain finding an ideal location for a tank, especially when you throw in window locations. Hopefully you'll work something out!
 
I definitely wouldn't have a tank by a window if it's having heat issues. Regardless of something blocking the light, ambient temperature is just higher near a window. And unless you're somehow blocking the light really well, it's going to encourage algae as well.

I know it can be such a pain finding an ideal location for a tank, especially when you throw in window locations. Hopefully you'll work something out!



I have an old black cloth on the back of the aquarium so the light is blocked really well but I only just put that there about a week ago. And I have a water pump in there now to make a current and there is also a bubble wall in the back
 
Black is a bad choice. Black absorbs all parts of the light spectrum and converts it into heat. You're basically making a heater. Try a piece of cardboard with foil reflecting the light away. Otherwise, try white.
 
Black is a bad choice. Black absorbs all parts of the light spectrum and converts it into heat. You're basically making a heater. Try a piece of cardboard with foil reflecting the light away. Otherwise, try white.



I completely forgot that [emoji85]. I’ll go do that now..
 
ever get this solved?
I saw a DIY chiller a guy made with a mini fridge. You might be able to buy one used cheap. Depending on your space you could get something like this

https://www.amazon.com/Chefman-Port...ortable+Personal+Fridge&psc=1#customerReviews

When I set my reef back up I might look into trying it for my summer months.
He drilled 2 holes (inlet/outlet) then ran a hose coil inside so as the water was pumped (your circulation pump) through the hose it was chilled by the little fridge. Youd probably have to fiddle to get the right setup if you cant get something to monitor temp for auto shutoff.
 
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