Tank Overheating

phil_pl · 06-29-2009, 05:21 AM

My tank keeps over heating especially now that my air is broken i believe i have it under control for the short term (a freezer full of ice later nad some dead pink mille frags) but i am going to get a chiller so i wont have this problem again, and recommendations for good chillers for a 50 system i will need to cool about 10 degrees.

JIM · 06-29-2009, 07:28 AM

AAARRRGGGHHH, hate when the air conks out in summer. Have you ever considered a DIY chiller??? much cheaper and it does work.

AZDesertRat · 06-29-2009, 10:13 AM

Before investing in a chiller I would look at fans. A cheap 7" WalMart $8 clip on fan lowers my 100G 5-7 degrees all by itself. I had to put my two 4" computer canopy fans on a timer with the MH lights and the clip on over the sump on a Ranco controller (another timer would have worked but I had the controller) or the tank got too cool. Thats in Phoenix and we have our home AC on a setback thermostat so its warm in the house during the day when we are at work and does not cool down until late afternoon before we come home.
Fans work wonders. My 1/4HP chiller is now only a back up and has not run since April 2008 !

phil_pl · 06-29-2009, 01:44 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by JIM

AAARRRGGGHHH, hate when the air conks out in summer. Have you ever considered a DIY chiller??? much cheaper and it does work.

can you elaborate on a DIY chiller, i would love to save some money and do it myself

JIM · 06-29-2009, 07:02 PM

You find a cheap dorm size refridge, a coil of tubing somthing water safe and fish safe, as much as will fit in the fridge when coiled up small. Two holes in the side of fridge, in and out for the two ends of tubing. set this whole rig close to tank, hook one end of tubing to powerhead with sponge filter on the intake. the other end, hook onto the side of tank as your return. get fridge cooling, turn on the powerhead, and let the tank water be pumped thru the tubing in the fridge around and around thru the coil for contact time with the cooler temp, then back to tank.set the fridge T-stat to however cold you want it. let er run, and regulate temp.

AZDesertRat · 06-29-2009, 08:10 PM

Dorm fridges do not work well except for very small systems. They have a tiny compressor, not enough BTUs, and its only designed for intermittent use. Power costs are termendous since it would have to run full time to keep a system of any size cool. The other problem is finding a tubing that is reef safe and will tranfer heat and cold. Plastic tubing is a horrible choice as it acts as an insulator, copper is not reef safe and titanium is cost prohibitive.
There are a ton of threads on this subject over on RC and most did not work out well.

JIM · 06-29-2009, 09:23 PM

I have only been running one on a 150 gallon native setup in my un-cooled garage with styro-insulated plastic tubing for 4 summers. (the coil inside the fridge is uninsulated of course) It gets to about 90 degrees out there at times. It maintains a constant 75 degrees in that tank throughout the entire summer, with no noticeable cost problems. i also have the back and 2 ends of that tank styro- insulated. Maybe i need a few more summers to test this, before i recommend it. But my North American Native Fish (who like cooler water) are saying thanks right now. (one mans trash is another mans treasure) Also whats being discussed on RC is of NO interest to me here.

AZDesertRat · 06-30-2009, 09:42 AM

Glad its working for you but you are the exception and not the rule. Take a look at the literally dozens of threads on RC on this very subject. I would also calculate the BTU load and electrical comnsumption to see what it is costing you to operate the system as you have described. It has to be much higher than a chiller since it is no where near as efficient. Not trying to be a bad guy but this has been tried hundreds of times with very limited success.

JIM · 06-30-2009, 08:17 PM

I dont care what it costs, i had fun doing it, My fish are happy, and it works. If money was my main objective id dump my tanks and download an aquarium screensaver, Nothing about fishkeeping is cheap. Its just a fun hobby. I enjoy DIY, because it extends that feeling of accomplishment. When i have to start using a sliderule to figure this stuff out, the fun is over and ill put my money in high yeilding money market accounts, but in the meantime its my little dorm fridge and chilled out happy Natives, Just chugging along. Thanks for your input though

marlenez · 07-04-2009, 01:36 AM

Jim, 2 things, one there is really a high yield money market account these days? ; ) and two, I have been toying with the idea of setting up a very small (8g BioCube) cold water tank as the Oregon coast is only an hour and a half from Portland and there are many places where you are allowed to collect animals, matter of fact this week coming up is the best time for collecting because of an influx of tide pools. I don't want to spend a fortune but it needs to be a constant temp (don't even know what that temp is) what would you recommend that isn't cost prohibitive?

Marlene

JIM · 07-04-2009, 08:57 AM

I think probably in a tank that small, if its kept inside your air-conditioned living space, good areation with a venturi type powerhead would be adequate.

MediaHound · 07-04-2009, 10:52 AM

Dead pink millie frags? ouch I feel for you...

marlenez · 07-04-2009, 07:21 PM

I don't have air conditioning - and what would happen in winter? I am very excited by the possibility of no chiller! Fans & powerheads I can certainly do.

06-29-2009, 05:21 AM	#1 (permalink)
phil_pl Aquarium Lover phil_pl's Photo Gallery Join Date: Apr 2009 Posts: 1,140 Name: Phil Location: Dalton, Georgia My location Feedback: 0 / 0% Said "Welcome to Aquarium Forum" 563 Times Said "Thanks" 285 Times Was Thanked 306 Times in 244 Posts	Tank Overheating My tank keeps over heating especially now that my air is broken i believe i have it under control for the short term (a freezer full of ice later nad some dead pink mille frags) but i am going to get a chiller so i wont have this problem again, and recommendations for good chillers for a 50 system i will need to cool about 10 degrees. __________________ It has become more than a hobby! My 29gal Dream Reef DIY Build

06-29-2009, 07:28 AM	#2 (permalink)
JIM Banned JIM's Photo Gallery Join Date: May 2009 Posts: 1,136 My location Feedback: 0 / 0% Said "Welcome to Aquarium Forum" 287 Times Said "Thanks" 2,045 Times Was Thanked 609 Times in 385 Posts	Re: Tank Overheating AAARRRGGGHHH, hate when the air conks out in summer. Have you ever considered a DIY chiller??? much cheaper and it does work.

06-29-2009, 10:13 AM	#3 (permalink)
AZDesertRat Join Date: Apr 2009 Posts: 214 My location Feedback: 0 / 0% Said "Welcome to Aquarium Forum" 0 Times Said "Thanks" 0 Times Was Thanked 79 Times in 66 Posts	Re: Tank Overheating Before investing in a chiller I would look at fans. A cheap 7" WalMart $8 clip on fan lowers my 100G 5-7 degrees all by itself. I had to put my two 4" computer canopy fans on a timer with the MH lights and the clip on over the sump on a Ranco controller (another timer would have worked but I had the controller) or the tank got too cool. Thats in Phoenix and we have our home AC on a setback thermostat so its warm in the house during the day when we are at work and does not cool down until late afternoon before we come home. Fans work wonders. My 1/4HP chiller is now only a back up and has not run since April 2008 !

06-29-2009, 07:02 PM	#5 (permalink)
JIM Banned JIM's Photo Gallery Join Date: May 2009 Posts: 1,136 My location Feedback: 0 / 0% Said "Welcome to Aquarium Forum" 287 Times Said "Thanks" 2,045 Times Was Thanked 609 Times in 385 Posts	Re: Tank Overheating You find a cheap dorm size refridge, a coil of tubing somthing water safe and fish safe, as much as will fit in the fridge when coiled up small. Two holes in the side of fridge, in and out for the two ends of tubing. set this whole rig close to tank, hook one end of tubing to powerhead with sponge filter on the intake. the other end, hook onto the side of tank as your return. get fridge cooling, turn on the powerhead, and let the tank water be pumped thru the tubing in the fridge around and around thru the coil for contact time with the cooler temp, then back to tank.set the fridge T-stat to however cold you want it. let er run, and regulate temp.

06-29-2009, 08:10 PM	#6 (permalink)
AZDesertRat Join Date: Apr 2009 Posts: 214 My location Feedback: 0 / 0% Said "Welcome to Aquarium Forum" 0 Times Said "Thanks" 0 Times Was Thanked 79 Times in 66 Posts	Re: Tank Overheating Dorm fridges do not work well except for very small systems. They have a tiny compressor, not enough BTUs, and its only designed for intermittent use. Power costs are termendous since it would have to run full time to keep a system of any size cool. The other problem is finding a tubing that is reef safe and will tranfer heat and cold. Plastic tubing is a horrible choice as it acts as an insulator, copper is not reef safe and titanium is cost prohibitive. There are a ton of threads on this subject over on RC and most did not work out well.

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06-29-2009, 09:23 PM	#7 (permalink)
JIM Banned JIM's Photo Gallery Join Date: May 2009 Posts: 1,136 My location Feedback: 0 / 0% Said "Welcome to Aquarium Forum" 287 Times Said "Thanks" 2,045 Times Was Thanked 609 Times in 385 Posts	Re: Tank Overheating I have only been running one on a 150 gallon native setup in my un-cooled garage with styro-insulated plastic tubing for 4 summers. (the coil inside the fridge is uninsulated of course) It gets to about 90 degrees out there at times. It maintains a constant 75 degrees in that tank throughout the entire summer, with no noticeable cost problems. i also have the back and 2 ends of that tank styro- insulated. Maybe i need a few more summers to test this, before i recommend it. But my North American Native Fish (who like cooler water) are saying thanks right now. (one mans trash is another mans treasure) Also whats being discussed on RC is of NO interest to me here.

06-30-2009, 09:42 AM	#8 (permalink)
AZDesertRat Join Date: Apr 2009 Posts: 214 My location Feedback: 0 / 0% Said "Welcome to Aquarium Forum" 0 Times Said "Thanks" 0 Times Was Thanked 79 Times in 66 Posts	Re: Tank Overheating Glad its working for you but you are the exception and not the rule. Take a look at the literally dozens of threads on RC on this very subject. I would also calculate the BTU load and electrical comnsumption to see what it is costing you to operate the system as you have described. It has to be much higher than a chiller since it is no where near as efficient. Not trying to be a bad guy but this has been tried hundreds of times with very limited success.

06-30-2009, 08:17 PM	#9 (permalink)
JIM Banned JIM's Photo Gallery Join Date: May 2009 Posts: 1,136 My location Feedback: 0 / 0% Said "Welcome to Aquarium Forum" 287 Times Said "Thanks" 2,045 Times Was Thanked 609 Times in 385 Posts	Re: Tank Overheating I dont care what it costs, i had fun doing it, My fish are happy, and it works. If money was my main objective id dump my tanks and download an aquarium screensaver, Nothing about fishkeeping is cheap. Its just a fun hobby. I enjoy DIY, because it extends that feeling of accomplishment. When i have to start using a sliderule to figure this stuff out, the fun is over and ill put my money in high yeilding money market accounts, but in the meantime its my little dorm fridge and chilled out happy Natives, Just chugging along. Thanks for your input though

07-04-2009, 01:36 AM	#10 (permalink)
marlenez marlenez's Photo Gallery Join Date: Jun 2009 Posts: 109 My location Feedback: 0 / 0% Said "Welcome to Aquarium Forum" 0 Times Said "Thanks" 0 Times Was Thanked 41 Times in 27 Posts	Re: Tank Overheating Jim, 2 things, one there is really a high yield money market account these days? ; ) and two, I have been toying with the idea of setting up a very small (8g BioCube) cold water tank as the Oregon coast is only an hour and a half from Portland and there are many places where you are allowed to collect animals, matter of fact this week coming up is the best time for collecting because of an influx of tide pools. I don't want to spend a fortune but it needs to be a constant temp (don't even know what that temp is) what would you recommend that isn't cost prohibitive? Marlene

07-04-2009, 08:57 AM	#11 (permalink)
JIM Banned JIM's Photo Gallery Join Date: May 2009 Posts: 1,136 My location Feedback: 0 / 0% Said "Welcome to Aquarium Forum" 287 Times Said "Thanks" 2,045 Times Was Thanked 609 Times in 385 Posts	Re: Tank Overheating I think probably in a tank that small, if its kept inside your air-conditioned living space, good areation with a venturi type powerhead would be adequate.

07-04-2009, 10:52 AM	#12 (permalink)
MediaHound Here, fishy, fishy, fishy MediaHound's Photo Gallery Join Date: Jul 2006 Posts: 3,100 Name: Jarred Location: Florida My location Feedback: 18 / 100% Said "Welcome to Aquarium Forum" 3,771 Times Said "Thanks" 2,127 Times Was Thanked 931 Times in 608 Posts	Re: Tank Overheating Dead pink millie frags? ouch I feel for you...

07-04-2009, 07:21 PM	#13 (permalink)
marlenez marlenez's Photo Gallery Join Date: Jun 2009 Posts: 109 My location Feedback: 0 / 0% Said "Welcome to Aquarium Forum" 0 Times Said "Thanks" 0 Times Was Thanked 41 Times in 27 Posts	Re: Tank Overheating I don't have air conditioning - and what would happen in winter? I am very excited by the possibility of no chiller! Fans & powerheads I can certainly do.

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