mini fridge turned it to chiller
- Thread starter chitowner
- Start date
Jeff
Premium Member
My reef is in a warm part of the house during the summer. I almost bought a new chiller this year for $500.00 but bought a window air conditioner instead for $300.00. I figured my tank and myself would benefit from the a.c. and all a chiller would do would be to dump all of the heat that it pulls out of the tank back into the room making it hotter for me.
Jeff
Jeff
D
Deleted member 7065
You should do a search on the mini fridge. It always comes up.
It is not the best method. If you don't want to spend much money I would use a fan across the top of the tank. That works better than you can imagine. I would invest in a controller. They don't cost too much. Get a two stage - you can either put a heater on one stage and and a fan on the other or even two fans. So one goes on when the tank hits 81 and the second goes on if it hits 82.
I have two small fans that blow down on my tank. Once I put them on my chiller never went on again.
It is not the best method. If you don't want to spend much money I would use a fan across the top of the tank. That works better than you can imagine. I would invest in a controller. They don't cost too much. Get a two stage - you can either put a heater on one stage and and a fan on the other or even two fans. So one goes on when the tank hits 81 and the second goes on if it hits 82.
I have two small fans that blow down on my tank. Once I put them on my chiller never went on again.
jeninjohnk
New member
i built one out of a dehumidifier. it worked but made alot of heat in the room.
Kmiec123
Actual CMAS Member
lot of info in the DIY threads. Cost of a chiller is not that much once you try to build one with titanium coils, etc.. Unless your a heating and air guy and can do the work yourself...the cost will almost exceed a new chiller with a warrantee. 
Hope this helps....Carl
Hope this helps....Carl
Paul79936
Premium Member
How large is your tank? Some of the issues with a dorm refrigerator can be addressed, but you are going to be limited by the small compressor and condenser.
If you have a small tank, you could make it work. A large thermal mass of water would allow the fridge to operate at the correct temperature and prevent rapid cycling of the compressor.
You would still be limited by the amount of heat that could be transferred by the fridge in 24 hours.
If you don't have A/C you might think about a window exhaust fan. Evaporative cooling should be enough (My 180 w/3 250w MH lights is cooled with fans) but you will need to deal with humidity. In the winter I use my whole house exhaust fan and it is more than adequate.
If you have a small tank, you could make it work. A large thermal mass of water would allow the fridge to operate at the correct temperature and prevent rapid cycling of the compressor.
You would still be limited by the amount of heat that could be transferred by the fridge in 24 hours.
If you don't have A/C you might think about a window exhaust fan. Evaporative cooling should be enough (My 180 w/3 250w MH lights is cooled with fans) but you will need to deal with humidity. In the winter I use my whole house exhaust fan and it is more than adequate.
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jjjimmy
Premium Member
I don't bean to be rude, but, it always amazes me that there are so many people that put so much time, love, and money into their livestock and then get cheap when it comes to getting the equipment to properly care for them.
This is not a cheap hobby and I believe that every one here knows that. So stop being cheap and get the proper equipment.
This is not a cheap hobby and I believe that every one here knows that. So stop being cheap and get the proper equipment.
RobbyG
Active member
Cutting costs are ok but you got to know when to cut and when not to. The problem with fridges and AC's is that they end up costing a lot more money to run than the real thing. The question is how much money per degree temp drop are you getting? The Fans gives the best value but they can only drop the Temp so far and very slowly with a high humidity penalty.
The chillers give you a lot of control and the ability too rapidly drop the Temperature but the $$ per deg drop is high, but it is still much lower than the Fridge technique or the AC technique. The AC is great because it cools your whole room but it also is costing you a lot more money to get each Deg of temperature drop in the tank.
Paul79936
Premium Member
The AC is great because they are cheap. I just paid $500 for a 4000 btu/h chiller, but you can get a 5000 btuh AC for <$100. The chiller will allow me to set my thermostat higher though.
On the other hand, I think that this hobby is more expensive than it needs to be.
If I knew what I know now when I was setting up my tank, I could have saved at least $1000 in setup and operating costs easily.
On the other hand, I think that this hobby is more expensive than it needs to be.
If I knew what I know now when I was setting up my tank, I could have saved at least $1000 in setup and operating costs easily.
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well i have to say all these opinons on the fridge vs chiller vs ac
are all good
the best is that someone mentioned a titanium coil
well the mini fridge worked it has been running 1 week now with my temps stay at 76-77
day and night all the same i have a heater to counter the temps if they egin to drop but never dropped below 76-and never climbed over 77
how much i spent in total?
$40 total for fridge,tubing,pvc
so it was much cheaper for ME then any of the options listed
but all the input every posted was great to know anyway,hey it may blow up in my face in a month but for now it's good
thanks guys
are all good
the best is that someone mentioned a titanium coil
well the mini fridge worked it has been running 1 week now with my temps stay at 76-77
day and night all the same i have a heater to counter the temps if they egin to drop but never dropped below 76-and never climbed over 77
how much i spent in total?
$40 total for fridge,tubing,pvc
so it was much cheaper for ME then any of the options listed
but all the input every posted was great to know anyway,hey it may blow up in my face in a month but for now it's good
thanks guys
