Dumb or smart chiller?

I have a small mini refrigerator and i cant afford a $300 chiller, so i was thinking put two holes on top run the filter tubes through it and keep the filter inside the mini fridge? I will post pictures if you guys think its a decent idea. Only thing i would be worried about is if it chills too much.

 

hard to say! need to give it a try if you think that it will work, and just might!?!

 

ive heard its not very effective to try and use a old fridge it cant cool it down more then 1 or 2 degrees. but i might be wrong it was a while since i researched it. i bit the bullet and bought one

 

but i suppose it really matters how large your tank is

 

sure its possible check out this link
http://www.3reef.com/forums/i-made/diy-chiller-42547.html

 

Well its a very inefficient methoed of cool a tank. Keep the room cooler and save you some money and be more comfortable your self. That box at best would be about 30% as efficient then a already inefficient chiller . Then you will have to buy a $ 50.00 thermostat to get the box colder then the controller used to for it t function as a Little refrigerator . Then you will have to get a 100.00 controller for a controller to turn the pump from sump on and off as the system cools and the electrical cost of that little box to run will be about what 10,500 window ac cost, I'd cool the ambient air of the room or get a chiller .. But hey if you need refergiation parts holler .

 

I would trust Tangster on this one but if you are gonna try it let us know how it works!! It would be an interesting experience. As far as chilling too much if you have a good heater in the tank that wouldn't be a problem, but having two components constantly working against each other (chiller running while heater is trying to warm the tank) would be a huge waste of electricity. But I think over-chilling would be the least of your worries.

 

heres a thought freeze your ro di water in your fridge then drop that in the overflow box or sump instead of top off water

 

For the last year that I kept the 75g up, we kept 6-1 liter bottles in the freezer... Each bottle would pull about .2 deg F off the tank. We use this on the hottest days... Now the new 125g will have a chiller... too much work cycling frozen bottles on hot days... some one has to stay home...

 

I read that post about the DIY chiller some time ago. The main point of contention was that there wasn't enough heat exchange through the plastic coils kept in the box fridge. On paper it looked good, but it didn't work as well as the DIYer thought. Those coils are thick plastic, and to get the cold out of the fridge into the water passing thru them, the coils would have to be metal--and what kind of metal could you use with a saltwater system? Stainless steel would work, but you'd spend less on a chiller! LOL.