DIY chiller (ideas)

i have currently got a 120L (30G) and a 75L (20G) marine aquarium.
here is the thing. i am living here in Australia where at the moment we are in summer. my 30G tank does not fluctuate in temperature but my 20G does.
i dont fancy buying myself a chiller because here they can get up too $400 not to mention im low on budget.
so my question is, is there any sites, forums or even your own ideas on how to make a DIY chiller.
i was thinking alone the lines of a a heat sink as it has one side that gets hot and the other very cool but it also comes with danger...
help me out please!!

 

1. you can make ice with water from your tank and put it into your tank
2.buy a mini fridge and mod it with a 5 gal jug and put a hosing system so the water cycles through the jug

 

Have you tried a fan blowing across the waters suface? It increases evaporation, but cools and airates your tank nicely.

~Will.

 

i was just thinking about just a couple im minutes ago i might have to look into it thanks

 

fans do it for me
a lot of diy chiller designs dont work very well so research everything you can

 

thats what i was thinking but as you said it increases evaporation i dont exactly have a top of tank either. but i might have to bite the bullet and just do something a long the lines like this

thanks

 

You didn't mention how cool. Also, I'm hearing you're having a problem with one tank, but not the other.

I've found that if my equipment isn't generating a huge amount of heat then I can control pretty well using air conditioning to lower room temperature. It has the fringe benefit of making me comfortable.

I'd first figure out what's causing your 20 gallon to fluctuate in temperature when your 30 gallon 'does not' (they aren't THAT big a difference in size). That might save you some time, money and aggravation. Check your pumps and other stuff to see if you can find a culprit. Is it near a window (add drapes)? Are you using a different lighting system on your 20?

Is your cabinet vented? Heat rises and cold sinks. Put some 1" styrofoam sheet under your aquarium.

As far as custom chillers, I've also seen people drill a couple of holes through a small refrigerator (like the kind that holds a few beer cans or larger) and then run thin walled, narrow diameter, flexible pvc tubing through it (with no pressure). Coil the tubing inside the refrigerator and put in spacers so the cold air can circulate around all of the tube with maximum possible surface area. You can set the refrig on a timer to run during hot part of the day. Since there's relatively no pressure you can use an inexpensive pump to circulate water through it. Be sure it's all on a gfic.

 

you know what, you have hit the nail on the head the smaller of the two tank has different pumps, lighting and it is even placed closer to the window. dam your good might have to rethink where i can put it then.
thanks

 

Thanks for saying that! You've made my day!

Before you move everything, try the simple stuff to confirm, first.

Hang some opaque blanket or drape over the window, or tape aluminum foil on the window to bounce the light back out. Turn off any equipment that you can turn off for a couple days. Move the lights up as high as you can (or turn them off if it doesn't hurt anything).

If the temperature becomes more normal (like your 30 gallon) then you know that it's something you did so far in the experiment. If not, then it's something you didn't do.

If what you did normalized the situation then start reversing things back one at a time and see if the problem returns. Finally, remove the foil and see if the problem returns.

If all you did in this experiment didn't make a difference then it's something else you didn't do. Perhaps another piece of equipment that you didn't turn off. You can experiment further.

It's a simple experiment and costs nothing. Then you can be more certain that it's the sun, or not, before you go to the trouble of moving everything. Having said all of that, it's probably not a good thing to have sunlight hitting an aquarium anyway, or warming a room higher than normal, and might be a good idea to move it regardless just so you have more control.

Good luck!!!

 

Well if ur budjet is limited, Try to put a fan, evaporation causes cooling, but then u'll have to monitor ur salinity daily. cheers