# DIY Water cooler



## kcrunch (Aug 17, 2012)

Ok I am planning ahead to do a DIY water cooling system. Last year the summer days that hit over 100 had my tank naturally close to the same in the mid to high 90 degree area where I did not want it to go. So now I am planning a DIY water cooling system. Tanking in ideas and suggestions now. I just dont want to buy a large $400 to $500 store bought cooler.

I have a plan but have to map it out and see what parts I will actually need. Once I have my idea on paper I will share it here but as for now pour some ideas into my head please I now we have a ton of thinkers here.


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## kcrunch (Aug 17, 2012)

BTW
I am reading up on Copper and aluminum and it seems that using either for tubing is going to be an issue. Any input. What is in the large expensive water coolers they constantly sell to us as consumers? I am curious to know the internal parts


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## TheJakeM (May 11, 2013)

I don't have much experience in that but I'd say plastic tubing.


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## Elliott225 (Jan 9, 2014)

I just had a quick idea how to build a cooler. 

Get a small picnic cooler. Using a power head in the tank with plastic tubing attached to it, run it into the cooler leaving some loops. Run the outlet end back to the tank. Here's the cooling idea. Re-freezable cold packs. Fill the cooler with water and add the frozen packs. The outlet water will be much cooler and over several hours it will cool the tank water.


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## TheOldSalt (Jan 28, 2005)

Titanium. That's what works, what is safe, and what is so expensive.


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## BettaGuy (May 6, 2012)

Maybe you could use pvc piping to keep it cheaper?


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## blindkiller85 (Jan 8, 2011)

BettaGuy said:


> Maybe you could use pvc piping to keep it cheaper?


PVC won't conduct enough temperature change to be effective. You'd spend more money on keeping it cold enough for the PVC to conduct the temperature change than you would a chiller in probably 1-2 years. 

I have an idea, that I have heard of before. And I don't know how it turned out or how cost effective it was.

How far away is your tank from your fridge. Or could you buy a mini-fridge lets say at craigslist. Plastic tubing run in coils the same way an AC/chiller works inside the minifridge. Figuring out how much to use coiled in the minifridge as well as the pump is the question. Other thing is making it so that your tank is stable. Because as it gets cooler the system needs to run less, hotter is more. And how effective it might be for being stable with your fish.


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## kcrunch (Aug 17, 2012)

PVC is to thick unfortunately as well as plastic tubing unless I go with a refrigeration unit. I will look into getting titanium coil as well as 120V 5-6" fans. I like the ideas guys keep them coming and hopefully with your help I can come up with something that will be effective before the summer arrives.


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## BettaGuy (May 6, 2012)

To cool my tanks I use a fan to blow on the water, could you do that instead? Use a couple of small computer fans? Or is that not an option.


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## kcrunch (Aug 17, 2012)

WOW pricing some of the parts and I am looking at almost the cost of buying a water chiller already. No wonder they charge so much. I still think if I can find the parts cheaper I will be closer to a beneficial DIY project price wise.


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## kcrunch (Aug 17, 2012)

BettaGuy said:


> To cool my tanks I use a fan to blow on the water, could you do that instead? Use a couple of small computer fans? Or is that not an option.


BG that might be an option after researching this project. Possibly as many as 6 to 8 fans above the tank suspended on a bar or board. I just need to be able to individually control the fans so I am realistically able to control the temp with in a few degrees. I might give that a try first seeing that it is the least expensive project so far.


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## BettaGuy (May 6, 2012)

you could also have them all running at one speed and also heat the water at the same time. That way you won't need to spend money on a regulator or something. and you'll get the perfect temperature.


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## TheOldSalt (Jan 28, 2005)

There is a way to make one out of good old aquarium airline tubing, but you'd need to have a freezer below your fishtank, a slow flowing waterpump, and an overflow like you'd see on a reef tank.


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## TheOldSalt (Jan 28, 2005)

Connect several tubes to an overflow box on the tank, and combine them into a long length of loops inside the freezer. Have them dump out into a sump inside the freezer.


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## TheOldSalt (Jan 28, 2005)

In that sump is your return pump to the tank. At the height above the freezer, the flow from that pump should be slow. Now you have that flow divided by several tubes, slowing it down considerably.


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## TheOldSalt (Jan 28, 2005)

That lets the waterflow in each of the tubes be slow enough to allow cooling, but overall the total volume is enough to feed the pump and make an impact in the tank. The reef style overflow boxes prevent disaster in power outages.


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## TheOldSalt (Jan 28, 2005)

Sorry about all these short posts. Long posts won't go through for me for some reason. My computer must think this is Twitter. Anyway, it's doable, just not very practical.


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## kcrunch (Aug 17, 2012)

I consider myself a real DIY kinda guy but am considering breaking down and buying because during the summer last years my tank temp hit 90 to 96 which I really thought was way to high. I know in the wild the water might reach those temps but the fish can dive to deeper depths for comfort in my tank they are just trapped. Beside the last thing I was to come home to is a tank of Cichlid soup.

What is the highest temps any of you have seen with out any problems???


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## BettaGuy (May 6, 2012)

I get 93 in the summer months. That's why i started using the fan


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## emc7 (Jul 23, 2005)

I put a heat pump in the basement to cool to the whole room in summer and heat it in winter. 

Evaporation coiling is cheap. Make a waterfall, use a fan, or get a lot of bubble wands. Put your filter output 6" above the tank . The drawbacks are obvious, a humid, musty room and constantly refilling the tanks. 

A continuous water change system with a drip add and an overflow might help if your source water is cool (underground pipes are often cooler than the air). It would be nice if you could do 2 things at once. Or a central filtration system with a single chiller in the sump for all the tanks.

None of the DIY dorm-fridge chillers I've read about have been successful long-term. Given that my dorm fridge didn't made it 2 years as a fridge, quality of the materials may be the reason.


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## kcrunch (Aug 17, 2012)

I would have to much splash damage if I placed it above the tank. I am going to invest in a chiller and remove the covers for the summer and hope for the best. I know that they mated well in the high temps but I dont want drastic temp increases and drops. I am hoping these fish will last a long time, they are nice and healthy and knock on wood so far I have not had any deaths just fry. I just want my fish to survive in the event that we have another heat wave this summer. Last summer was several days of 95-100 degree temps so I really need to be on the safe side. Last year I was helpless but this year I want to not feel so at mother natures mercy as far as the heat is concerned.


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## BettaGuy (May 6, 2012)

http://www.amazon.com/Zoo-Med-Aqua-Aquarium-Cooling/dp/B0049RNVXI I like this, useful for a small tank (like mine) but kinda useless for you kcrunch.


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## v-paw (Feb 17, 2013)

I'll be keeping an eye on this thread  I'm in AZ and we easily have 122 degree weather in the summer, my tanks have always gotten very hot from it, never really did anything about it except maybe open the hood and turn the fan on, make the water lower and let the filter do the waterfall


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