homemade chiller

[slowhand383]

I will soon be adding a 150w hqi to my 12gal nano. Since the availiability of chillers for a nano is slim to none, I was thinking about making one my own. All I need to do is buy a cheap automotive heatercore or *****-cooler (flush out the lines real good of course), install a pc fan to blow air over the cooling fins and hook up a pump to circulate water through it. According to the properties of heat transfer It will work that im sure of. What Im not sure is if the saltwater will have a reaction with the metal in the cooler. In most cases the tubes in the cooler are made of alluminum or stainless steel. Is there any reaction between saltwater and the metal I need to be aware of that could change ph or whatever? I'd thought that somewhere I read that alluminum foil is a bad idea in saltwater and maybe I would have something happen to the same effect. I can get new aftermarket coolers for approx $25 and with the cost of tubing and a powerhead I would still come out cheaper than the $90 ICA found at nanocustoms.com. It probaly wouldnt even be nesasary to install a fan to the cooler to get a 5deg drop in temp. After all if it can keep various automotive parts from overheating then dropping the temp several degrees in a 12gal nano shouldnt be a problem. Any ideas?

 

[rudeanduncouth]

Why I can't tell exactly what would happen, I do believe the aluminium or pretty much any metal you use will corrode, with few exceptions.

Slighty off topic but you can buy small heater cores with the intented use for a computer. When I was hunger I used to have to water cool my computer. Probably more expensive, but at least containment free. Some might evenbe coated so they do not corrode.

My other thought is to come up with something from a mini-fridge cooling unit. That is essentially how a chiller works.

 

[lastin1]

Chillers typically use titanium. You wouldn't be able to run saltwater through a normal radiator. If it doesn't corrode, it will clog up. That's why you're supposed to use distilled water. Besides, you need to cool the water, not just radiate excess heat. Coolant in a car is several hundred degrees versus much cooler ambiant temperature. The water in your aquarium is probably close to ambiant temperature, so you won't be able to radiate much, if any heat. In fact, you might even add heat to it with the pump.

 

[Sk8r]

What about using a Peltier effect module: they come in car coolers that plug in. A low-powered fan is the only moving part.

 

[slowhand383]

Aahhhh the corrosion factor, completly forgot about that. Although I think stainless will work. Another thing is that some heater cores have copper in them and I would think that it would have the same effect as copper based medications that you arent supposed to add to reef tanks. However I do still think that the theory will work. While what lastin1 said about radiating heat is true I still believe it will work as long as the ambient temp is cooler than that being circulated through the "radiator". The tank water now is about 84F (without the halide) and with a fan blowing over the paper thin cooling fins some heat will be removed by at least several degrees. If I can keep it at 80F then I'll be happy and without a hood I may not even need a chiller. (I think the stock JBJ hood acts like an oven)

 

[reeferdawg]

just get a small frige and run vynil tubing in a coil with a 2 litre bottle full of water in the middle . and it makes a great place to put your foods that need to be kept cold too.thats what i did and it works great.