Guest Posted November 15, 2008 Report Share Posted November 15, 2008 Hi guys, I've been thinking about how to keep a cold water tank cold as I've seen alot of people setting up coldwater tanks. i had an idea but not sure if it would work. What if you filled water balloons up with water and then froze them? Then when they melt you can freeze them again instead of having to use big bottles or would the rubber stuff they're made out of not be aquarium safe? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ira Posted November 15, 2008 Report Share Posted November 15, 2008 Why bother? Water bottles work perfectly fine and likely last significantly longer. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PeteS Posted November 15, 2008 Report Share Posted November 15, 2008 Depending on your tank size I would use froze water bottles from 1Ltr to 3Ltr size. You can also use fan on your tank or an air con unit if you have to cool a fishroom. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
spoon Posted November 15, 2008 Report Share Posted November 15, 2008 plenty of DIY systems out there on the net but depending on what your wanting to chill to i think u will think buying a proper chilling unit the best option as a lot of the diy units will cost almost the same use more power and not be able to chill to the same capacity or be as controllable Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Caryl Posted November 16, 2008 Report Share Posted November 16, 2008 Frozen bottles of water did not work for us as the temperature differential was too great (the room sat at 28C and the water had to be 15C). It also meant our poor old freezer was running non-stop freezing more water! We can't keep a cold water marine here without a chiller. A standard cold water fresh is different though as they don't have to be as cold and Slikka pads or frozen bottles of water might be all you need. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dixon1990 Posted November 16, 2008 Report Share Posted November 16, 2008 I have a small 34W portable Drinks fridge. Would this work to keep a 50L cold? Maybe i could build a small canister into it? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
spoon Posted November 16, 2008 Report Share Posted November 16, 2008 is this a peltzier effect 1? like you can take in ur car or an actual fridge? with the peltzier 1s its hard to get more than a couple of degrees drop unleass its a real small tank like less than 10l. a small fridge pulled to bits with tubing for water wrapped around the evaporator then insulated would do but a lot of work and fridges arent cheaps, could also do this with a dehumidifier there is articles on this if u google them, the water cooler 1s on the net may work if u are using a refridgant powered 1 and u adjust the thermostat on the back, but agin not cheap and the peltzier water coolers wont have enuff power to do it Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
davidb Posted November 16, 2008 Report Share Posted November 16, 2008 This is for a Native coldwater tank right? You dont need to chill the water for most imported coldwater fish species as they should cope just fine. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ira Posted November 16, 2008 Report Share Posted November 16, 2008 I have a small 34W portable Drinks fridge. Would this work to keep a 50L cold? Maybe i could build a small canister into it? No. That will only have probably in the region of 5 watts cooling power. Which is fine if you have lots of time and a well insulated container like a fridge, but a fish tank is far from that. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stella Posted November 16, 2008 Report Share Posted November 16, 2008 ICE: Tank temp fluctuates wildly, stressing fish You can never go away Risk of dropping slipperly wet bottles, breaking tank Fridge/freezer stops working properly, too much drain on it FAN: (cooling through evaporation, leave on 24/7 preferably) Greater cooling power when warmer, as more water will evaporate, but lessened when humidity higher. All that evaporation goes straight into your home making it humid. Cheap and no fuss. Noisy. Works better on larger tanks where there is a larger surface area and less temp fluctuation anyway. Risk of fish jumping out as part of lid needs to be off. Have RCD switch on electrics, risk of fan falling into tank (I did that four times last summer, amazingly both the fan and myself still goes!) CHILLER: Costs a lot to buy and run (circa $1000 for unit) Have thermostat so you set desired temp and hopefully it stays around that. Go for bigger unit than you appear to need (eg if your tank is 250lt and a chiller does 'up to' 250lt, get a bigger one!) Can be noisy. Reliable if correctly sized. DIY CHILLER: Can be a lot of work and cost for an uncertain outcome. May work, may not. AIR CONDITIONER: Portable ones available for around $700-800, vented outside Fixed ones are cheaper but need to be professionally installed. Good for cooling several tanks. If the ROOM doesn't get warm then the TANKS won't get warm. Expensive to run. Cheaper to have one air cond than several chillers (buying and running costs) You get to be nice and cold too I have a portable air cond for my fishroom/office. Another four foot tank in the lounge just has a fan on it. Somehow the fan seems to work on that tank but is not enough in the fishroom. Both rooms face north, but the fishroom is much smaller so heats up more. OTHER THINGS TO DO: Insulate your tank on all sides. Get a bigger tank (more stable) Keep the water quality impeccable!! (bacteria grow faster in warmer temps) Good circulation of water encourages gas exchange (higher temps = lower oxygen) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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