HOW TO: DIY Aquarium chiller TUTORIAL
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 18 มี.ค. 2014
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Some hobbyists live in areas where it might get very hot in certain months. Cooling their aquarium water on a constant basis is something they might need to consider.
In this video, I show you how to build a chiller that you can do at home that will not only work well, but look good, be functional and be cost effective.
I wanted to keep this project under $100 and be universal for any aquarium. As with all my videos, I also needed to create a project that many people would actually be able to do. So simplicity is always key.
Smaller chillers start around $500 for a chiller rated for around 50 gallons.
This project will only cost around $100 for the same size tank, and use less power.
More so, this project will serve to inspire you with a simple idea.
After running on an aquarium for 12hrs, it has no problem with dropping the temperature by 3-5C.
I ran this in my house. I used it on a tank that was at room temp of 22C. It dropped the tank temp to 17C within 12hrs.
It might be able to cool even more, however, i ran it for only 12hrs with 200 GPH on a 50 gallon barrel. If you slow the flow more, it will cool faster.
I know what my wife is gonna say but she doesn't have to know until its done lol
I have a finished attic (man cave/office) that I'd love to put another tank in but in the summer it can get pretty toasty up there. This is a great idea, although I'll have to get a second mini-fridge!
I just got my first aquarium about 3 weeks ago (30 gallon) and already I want another but the living room is off limits...for now! I did get 2 plecos which will hopefully outgrow the one tank and convince her we need at least another 50-60 gallon tank in a couple years!
The basement will make an awesome fish room someday but it'll take alot of work and is unnecessary atm. Watching your videos certainly inspires me to fix it up though!
This setup is not at its maximum efficiency, only the part of the hose that is exposed will get cooled, meaning that this setup is probably at half efficiency. How i would do this? take a second hand freezer and 100+ ft of hose, then unpack the hoses to a mess, and put them in a bucket. Fill the bucket with water and put it in the freezer. this could be done in a fridge too, and it would be much more efficient, because water tranfers heat (or cold) 30 times faster than air. Hope this helped, not trying to be negative :)
Very nice, that was clever I just had to comment. This is a great example of sharing and improving one's ideas. Thanks for the input.
why does the hose have to be unpacked to a mess?
because when the cable is mess, the freeze can reach the center of the hose
but can a 100 ft messy hose fit into a bucket, into a fridge? it'll take up more space..either 75 ft messy hose or 100 ft rolled up hose..there's a tradeoff...also not trying to be negative
Omar Aziz ::: Maybe more surface area exposed to cooling?
I've seen your videos from time to time and just subscribed now. Thanks man, you spout a lot of good info.
I wish this video came out before I bought my 1/2 hp chiller I really like your videos I actually made my sump after watching your DIY acrylic tank build very informative keep up the good work
Doesn't look like drinking water safe hose usually its white maid out of vinal like for RV potable water. & stainless coil would be better to conduct thermal activity much more proficient. 70 to 100 bucks would get you there. fridge 150 vinal back to tank. don't harm your fish being unsafe..
great heat exchanger idea and very informative. Thanks for the video Joey and I will be considering it for the summer time.
I would probably add watching energy consumption and fine tweeking the heater and the fridge. I don't want to have the water heater and the mini fridge to have an epic battle over my power bill
you're the king
The best idea for chiller, Joy!
That's a pretty big chiller! I wonder how the running costs compare to out-of-the-box chillers in the longhaul. I also wonder about alternatives to the garden hose, it should be interesting to see how the insulation and cost varies by material type. It's crazy how easy it is to heat a tank and how difficult it is to cool one off...
Very awesome DIY build, have to remember this one.
Great DIY vid Joey you are truly the best at what you do bruh.
amazing joey..another success to add to your video!!!
Pretty creative and effective! Nice job man!
Great idea! Seeing manufacturer chillers it just looks like something you can't make yourself. Awesome video!
Great job, im definitely going to try this
Can you pl make this video again with new and latest technology. Also for large aquarium.
Wow... I went to a boating and fishing convention that has a program for classes to hatch and grow trout for 2 months and I thought about doing something like that at home but you need a chiller for them and I have seen how expensive they are. This may actually make it a possibility for me. Thanks for the video.
Awesome vid again my friend! Also at the same time you can make your own frozen fish food in the freezer section...
That is awesome Joey!
Great video!! Very informative!
Another great DIY! Great idea!
I am amazed Joey! I've been looking at various chillers new and used, I desperately need one living in California but it's just waaay cost ineffective. This design is so simple! I'm definitely going to be using this design on my tank. This is by far the most helpful project you have shown us!
Thats great news! I had you guys from that area in mind when i made the video.
I hope you honestly dont find this is y most useful project to date though! Jeez, i wouldnt even rank it in the top 5!
Maybe because i am bias as im in canada and hot weather is a blessing for the 2 months we have it! lol
***** This one can be in some people's top 10s, mine included. For people who keep axolotls and other cool water animals in hot places like Texas, this video is a life saver. Plus, this one is so easy to set up it would be really hard to mess up!
Did you use it? How much temperature drop were you able to get?
For this project, wouldn't you want a hose with *less* insulating properties? So the heat from the water can actually transfer out of the hose? I get needing insulating the bits outside the fridge, but inside I think something like a vinyl tubing would be better.
I guess that would be more expensive though...
Maybe garden hose outside of the fridge, and then stainless steel. But it doesn't have to be a closed system, you can use 2 waterpumps and a bucket inside the fridge.
Hey I seen you on the local news tonight and I could not help myself but checking out your page ,, Love supporting local talent ,, love what your doing
Thats awesome! Thanks for tuning in.
No problem I might have a few ideas I would like to bounce at you some time :)
Wow man you have come so so far. Thank you for this video
I have a theoretical question. If, per say, I wanted to do this with a dedicated freezer (instead of a fridge) and placed the hose in a bucket full of water, the water in the bucket would freeze, but the moving water inside the hose wouldn't freeze but it would be cold, correct? I don't know much about freezing points or thermodynamics but I'm open to suggestions. Thank you!
This is great! Although I am confused as to where the ends of the hose hook up to.Also, I have an axolotl which needs really cool temperatures so would it still be necessary to have a heater?
That was very clever, something you would not think of !
Really loved this! I already have a mini fridge sitting in the garage. My chiller just hasn't been working properly and there's just no way I could afford another chiller. It's getting warmer here in Atlanta, so I was getting very worried for my axolotls. My axies are very grateful for your awesome idea :)
LJ42 Did it work for your Axolotls?
Nice video. Ty for the info.
Hey Joey, did you consider using some aluminum pipes in the fridge to exchange better? I also find those water hoses always leaving a taste in the water, and perhaps leaving bad chemicals in the water.
Have you tested if the compressor gets to work all the time without rest and perhaps failing.
Great Idea... i live at the beach, which one do you think is more efficient; using AC or the method you showed in the video for multiple tanks?
I'm very new to this but have always been intrigued with the plumbing etc. My question is I noticed that heaters are used alot so when would someone actually want or need a cooler and would you recommend one for a 50 gallon tank or less? Ps I cant stop watching your videos. So many cool and smart ideas to watch. Thanks for everything!
I don't keep fish, but do keep cloud forest orchids, many of which like cool temps around 10C (50F) and I struggle to provide the right environment in the winter. This seems like a really good idea, if I can figure out how to do it using fans to extract the air to the fridge and return it without causing a drop in the humidty level (needs to be 80% or more).
DUDE YOU ARE A GENIUS, thats such a great idea. I wonder if the pump could be hooked up to an apex controller and have it turn on when the temp gets to warm and off when reached its desired temp.
Exactly my plan!
@randyambrose1005 hey did you do this and does it work?
You could also use an addition coil in your sump for the heat/cold transfer and if it is a closed system, you could use a freezer and have an antifreeze solution in the hose and bucket in the freezer. This would allow a much colder exchange range and may not require as much tubing. This also would prevent an toxins from cheap hoses entering your tank and killing off your expensive fish or corals.
***** Great idea! I have a question for you though; have you ever found that you've had condensation on the glass from the water temp level being lower than the room temp? Thanks!
thanks man u just saved me around 700 euros it gets really hot over here (Cyprus Greek island ) love your chanel and your videos keep it up !!!!!
Did you tried it?
Bro
That was so sick
Mint love the idea. Fantastic job buddy. Extremely impressed.
Another banging video.
Another great video
This is ingenious!
I had thought about doing this some 20+ years ago when I was planning a reef tank with metal halide and florescent fixtures for lighting. Things happened and I never did built that tank (in fact, I left the hobby altogether). I had envisioned however submerging the tubing in bucket of water while in the fridge. As water is changes temp less quickly than air, (conducts heat better too) the extra liquid mass would help regulate the temp inside the fridge which would allow it to cycle less often thereby saving on energy bills.
+sdj9776 By putting the hose in a bucket of water, you could probably get away with using less hose which would mean less work for your pump or powerhead since there would be less resistance and less water mass that it would need to push through the hose.
Superrrr great idea thanxxxx alot . U r the best
Nice Joey!
Awesome idea. Couple of minor ideas. Would also cut both ends off both hoses and connect them with a hose barb so as not to run the chance of introducing metal Contamination in saltwater setups and its about 10 gallons per 50watt for about a 10 degree drop in temp with about 100 gallons per of flow per hour or about 2 gallons per watt is optimal. if you slow the flow down too much or have too high will not work as well and you could burn out the compressor. If no sump Plumb the pump inside the fridge you already have the heat transfer from the pump if you were planning on using a submersible one anyways.
Thanks Joey.... Was this in response to my request or was this something that you had on the way. I thought of something similar but glad to hear and see your prospective on it. Now I just need to find a small enough fridge that will fit in my storage area.
Hey thanks for making the video. I just set up my chiller. I attached it through my Fluval 306 canister filter. When it was all hooked up and running, it seriously reduced the flow through the filter. Is that expected? Does it matter which side of the canister (input or output) the chiller is on? Thanks!
Great idea 💡.
Hello joey...nice video. I read the comments and i just wanna add something. Someone asked u if u could fit more hose...would u do it? and u said yes the more the better. Well..ur ideea is brilliant but this could be improved by replacig the hose inside with half the lenght (or less) of some coiled copper pipe!!! U can do the same chiller with a smaller fridge and double if not even triple the efficiency. Heat transfer is 10 times better thru copper coil. And half of that lenght of copper pipe is a little bit more expensive but the results improve dramatically. I hope this helps...keep up the good work... keep inspiring. Peace!
Just replied to this on another comment. copper is poisonous to many forms of aquatic life. Especially Invertebrates, and some plants. You are better off using inert materials unless you are sure the copper will not effect what you have in the aquarium.
Great idea!!
Great idea!
Haha xD Biggest DIY aquarium accesory so far. Suprised me totally with this fridge xD
Thanks Joey for this cool video but may I kindly ask how we can make the temp stable i.e. 22 C for the tank with this method?
I’m 8 years late but you can get a temp controller for your aquarium that you plug the pump or the fridge into
Thats bloody clever!
Hey Joey, if you have a canister filter can you change the water exiting from the filter from going back into the tank by hooking up the output hose into the chiller then back into the tank?
epic idea brother
Hey Joey, are they fish food you might be able to make which cures ICH? My fish seem to be eating a lot. I knew this was a good sign so I thought how bout take advantage of this?
I tried the small fridge chiller for my 55 gal that is located in my garage. in the tank is a pleco and a koi. both will be moving into my aquaponics 1984 gal tank. for the meantime I am running into a temp prob. I did the floating ice but that cut own on the swimming area for the koi and was tedious to keep up with. temp is sitting at 82-86. this caused an algae bloom and that was a nightmare. I found that the fridge with 75 feet of marine hose just did not chill the water enough to cool the tank. since this was a learning experience for me as I will be needing a cooling system for the aquaponics which will be located outside in a greenhouse. my next consideration will be a chest freezer with much more hose. question here..... there might be room for another 25 foot hose in the mini fridge..do you think that this will increase the cooling affect? I do have a vid of the set up.. would you like to see? and please comment..
This is so stupidly simple. I love this. Why didn't I think of this?
hey, u say the garden hose is well insulated. does the cold air in the fridge even affect it? should't u use copper tubes?
another question, how far did u manage to cool the tank using this?
cant wait to try this out. sounds like a great money saving idea. i have to wait until deployment is over with. What size frig would you recommend for a 130 gallon tank?
Guys what if we put bucket inside the refrigerator and plumb tubing directly to that bucket ? so that bucket water directly cool by refrigerator and pushes back to main tank .
Did you try the Fridge idea?
Thanks Joey, It is indeed a great solution rather than buying an expensive chiller. is there any other option exist because the refrigerator will take too much room. is it effective using cooling fan? if yes the how effective is it?
Seeing the finished product on a fish tank would have been useful. no idea how to link this up to my water filter. Any examples someone have made? thanks!! :)
y didn't I think of that? awesome again
I have been think of using a freezer, never thought of a water hose, but your video got my attention. I am looking at cooling the water of on a bigger scale. Right looking at appriox 500 plus gallon on a fish tank. Once it goes through the filter system having go in a freezer (hoses) an then back in the tank. Any opinions for this?
Did you have any success with it?
i'm planning to build something like this, but how much will it cool? in need an 85 gallon tank cooled to 60/65F year round, during summer it can get to 86F around here, would this be enough? iḿ planning to keep Tritutus dobrogicus (newts), and they'll flee the water around 68F and stop eating
Thats an awesome idea. And if you use frozen food like i do for my fish you can still put it on the door or in the freezer part. and you can still use it for some food and drinks for your self
awesome idea thanks, i'm using little dinky water tubes so i should be able to fit mass amounts of tubing, it's not the expense of chillers what makes it a great trick, it's being able to do this anywhere no matter what you have at hand that makes this the better option to learn, many thanks again...
Did you complete your project? How'd it work with that hose instead and how much were you able to fit. Did you use A bucket?
so i found a 2.7 cubic foot daewoo mini fridge i figured the it's alil bigger so i can fit more hose inside of it.. about how many degrees should the temp drop?
I am thinking about doing this for my hydroponics system here in sharjah. I am not sure the refrigerator's compressor will last the heat outside as it gets well over 45 degrees Celsius or 113 Fahrenheit.
Great vid! How would you connect this to a sump? And what if i put my cannister filter right into the fridge instead of having all that hose? Would that work? Thx and keep making thins cheap and easy for us
GENIUS!
Joey,
Ingenious idea. I am new to aquariums and am learning all I can in a short period of time. How does the hose system connect to your aquarium? Is it connected to the filter? Or? Feel free to direct somewhere else so I can understand the set up.
My major concern is keeping the tank cool enough without having to run my AC all day, as the summer temps here are in the 100's.
And if anyone else wants to answer my question or help me out feel free! :)
would my magnum 350 canister provide enough flow in this setup?
Joey, love the idea genius! I would add that you could butcher the condensing unit from the mini fridge and coil up some copper pipe inside a bucket or reservoir and connect the copper pipe work to the condenser and integrate the capillary line that controls refrigerant flow through the now coiled up evaporator within the bucket. Then the water in the bucket would be tank water which would flow through...this bucket could also have your filer media and double up as a filter / chilled water tank!
only if your fish to float and not swim
? What
Copper is poisonous to many forms of aquatic life that is why he said if you want your fish to float and not swim lol.
Awesome! I was thinking of how I could cool my axolotls and I have a mini fridge that size in the shed! Now I just need some hose!
PokemonNerd8749 Did it worked? I am looking to do that for my axolotl to, thats why im asking! :)
Small chunk of advice for anyone doing this type of chiller. Add a water vessel to submerge your coil in. A high salt solution works well to transfer heat and provide a buffer from temp changes when opening the door preserving the duel use of the mini fridge.
You just gave me an idea a 3 and 1 on how to create a coiled fan to cool a room.The only problem I would be facing is the condensation. Maybe transfer it it to the plants they wouldn't mined a little copper..The question I have how cold can the refrigerator get without the cover removed from the freezer department?
Great job there on your fish tank
hi, i am thinking to build one like that. just want to know how many gallon can it chill
have little time to look though all the comments, but, would it not benefit pump wear down to have the houses laying horizontal orientation /vertical placement to reduce gravity from hindering flow? (couldn't post the whole comment, maybe i should make a picture and post on your forums)
Some of these cheap garden hoses are not safe for drinking water so I would use Drinking water safe and BPA free and CSA low lead content certified. Just a note.
+Ruben I thought the same thing. You can even buy "RV" drinking water water hose at Walmart. I'm sure that the bigger plumbing supply houses have flexible drinking water approved hose as well. Whatever you buy you might want to see if It's safe for sea water (non-leaching) as well.
I wonder what kind of cooling you'd get by running straight copper lines. Would hold the cold in the mini fridge better than rubber garden hose. Should also transfer the heat/cool better too.
Copper, even in low concentrations, can be very toxic to many aquatic lifeforms. Be careful what species of fish/invertebrates/plants etc. you have in the tank if you use copper pipes.
@@Demolishionist most house's have copper water lines in the house from the water main. I don't think it leeches that much if any.
@@ballsdeep994u It's been proven over the years that it does indeed leech enough copper to harm many invertebrates. Simply dropping a penny in the tank will do harm over time. This is why most anyone serious about reef tanks uses reverse osmosis and deionized filtered water instead of tap water. (Even humans with Wilson's disease can't drink water from copper pipes due to leeching copper into the water).
You'd probably get better heat energy transfer by submerging whatever tubing you use in water or even better, glycol. Also, the length of tubing isn't the kicker. The only thing that matters is whether your water going through it is at the temperature you want by the time it leaves the fridge, however much tubing that takes. I'd use as much as you can fit, though, since it will only add buffering capacity to your water chain. 100' of 1/2" ID hose adds about 4 gallons of water volume. I'd definitely also use the thermostat in the fridge to handle the temp control, because the fridge will last longer than if it's having the power removed from it mid-cycle. Even better is that the hose itself and possible water or glycol suspension, won't see as much of a temperature swing, I'd imagine. Seems wasteful to have to cool the hose again just to cool the water.
Ive been working on the same project but how do I hook up a temperature control unit, if want to. Please advise and what about a Peltier unit. Which one would be the best.
Did you try out this method?
Good idea for a reasonably priced chiller
If I have a hang-on back filter, how would I hook this up? I have a 20 gallon tank.
NICE! I made one from a office water chiller. It's been unused for a bit though and "buried" in my closet. If you're interested let me know and ill show you the Frankenstein monster chiller. With the thermostat on MAX (lowest temp) this thing chilled the water to darn near ICE cold lol
rewop23us How did you do that?
I did this however I placed a bucket of water in the fridge and laid the hose in the water. It helped keep the water more constant.
Does it work well? How cold in a hot room would it lower too?
How may degres did you won?
Hey man. Can i use it for a 350 litre tank? Keep cold water channa and im tired of floating ice bottles
I’m trying to get this done today; I will need a mini fridge 2 things of garden hose; and a ball valve what else will I need what’s that other part on the water input side
In the summer, I reach 33 degrees centigrade, how can I get to about 21/22? My aquarium is 200l
Hello. I'm looking into doing this for my Axolotl aquarium but the part that confuses me is how do you get the water to continuously go through the hoses?
Shylynn Wolfgang you create a suction, similar to how a siphon works 👍🏻 I’m doing the same thing for my Axolotl! Once you get the siphon started, it should be good as long as the water isn’t halted by accident!
Mini sump pump
Good idea, this got me thinking - can I just say you would be a lot better off using copper coil or similar rather than garden hose - yes its more expensive but the energy transfer would save you a lot on power in the long run. Yes, garden hose is a good insulator - but a good insulator is not good when you are trying to set up a 'heat exchanger' - essentially you are insulating the flowing water from the colder fridge. Better again, it should be possible to use the refrigerators compressor and condenser and buy a small plate and frame heat exchanger on Ebay and use that to cool the water.
impressive !
You could probably use a variable speed controlled on your pump and a inkbirds temp controlled for the fridge/freezer?
Exemple we use copper plumbing pipe, does it cooled faster?
How effective is this cooler, degrees-wise? I'd like to know if this would work for a 50-ish gallon tank that needs to cool by about 20 degrees Fahrenheit.
Mandela Z Hall They aren't that brilliant especially for a big drop in temperature. If it's for a freshwater tank and not with rays use small diameter copper tube rather than garden hose as the problem I found with plastic is it insulates too well! Copper transfers heat far better. It will probably wear the fridge out pretty quickly as well as it will be permanently on if there is a big temp difference.
WAIT!!! I CAN'T BE CREATIVE! I need a video showing how to connect it to a pump
Hi, Just wondering about the grade of hose you are using. Are you concerned about additives in the plastic leaching out overtime that could poison your fish?
Just thinking the same thing ...i wouldn't put a Garden Hose anywhere near my fish.
Youre a goddamn genius joey.
Amazing
joey what size fittings work for this?