coralsnaked
08/13/2012, 03:22 PM
MacGyver’s DIY Aquarium Chiller
Make a DIY chiller for your aquarium in about one hour in ten easy steps with only ten items that can be purchased from any local hardware store and / or found around the home.
10 Things you will need:
• 50 ft. ˝ standard plastic tubing
• 6 ea. plastic Y barbs
• 4 inline on / off plastic valves w/ ˝ in barbed ends
• 1 submersible pump 240 gal per hour (more or less)
• Duct tape
• Swiss Army Knife, actually a good pair of scissors works better
• 1- 20 gal Gott water cooler
• 15 lbs. ice
• 10 gal tap water (yes tap water)
• About one hour of time after parts are collected
Directions
1. Cut four 8 foot sections of tubing and use duct tape to secure the four sections side by side, taping once in the middle and again 12” from each end.
2. Use 2 barbed Y connectors on one end of bundled tubing to reduce the end to two openings, and cut two 12” sections of tubing and place on each barb.
3. Place a barbed Y on the two tube endings, and then cut a 5 foot piece of tubing and place on end of the single barb. (This is the return end of the unit and will be placed in sump or tank.)
4. On the other end of the bundle place one on / off valve on each of the 4 ends of tubing and cut four 12” sections of tubing, placing one each of the four barbed ˝ valve endings.
5. Use 2 barbed Y connectors to reduce the 4 ends down to 2 openings, cut two 12” sections of tubing and place on each barbed end.
6. Place 1 barbed Y on two ends making a single outlet and connect to remaining 5 ft. section of tubing to make a single line, connect this single end of tubing section to the outlet on your pump.
7. Starting at the first taped section of 4 line bundle, begin coiling the bundle into your Gott water cooler past the middle taping until you reach the taping on the other end.
8. Now secure the bundle to the water cooler by using your duct tape to go around the outside of the cooler several times 1/3 of the way from the top making sure to wrap tape around the bundled ends on each pass of the tape to make a bracket on each end of bundle being sure not to pinch the lines closed. Now your chiller is complete.
9. Place the chiller near the sump or tank, and place both ends (pump and return) in the sump or tank at opposite ends. Be sure to use the duct tape on the outside of the sump / tank to secure lines in place. It is normally best not to let pump end or return end touch the bottom. And you can direct the return line as needed for aeration. Now fill the cooler with 15 lbs. ice and enough tap water to make good slurry.
10. Open the 4 valves on the bundle and plug in pump. Check all connections to ensure you have no leaks. Now your chiller is running on highest cooling capacity. You can lower the cooling capacity by closing a valve and hence speeding up the water through the remaining three open lines. You can close two valves or three to lower cooling capacity to lowest level. The end return line will always deliver the same amount of water, about 150 gal per hour w/ a 240 gal pump no matter how many lines are open, but never close all four valves at once and stop the flow of the pump. If you need to stop the chiller entirely you will need to turn the pump off!
• Low = 1 valve open
• Med = 2 valves open
• High = 3 valves open
• Max = 4 valves open
I decided to share this proven chiller system as in just the last few days I have read a couple of threads on how someone is in a jam and needs to begin chilling a tank fast due to some unforeseen incident like a chiller or home A/C failure. We all know that corals will start to “melt” at around 84 degrees, and living in South Texas I don’t take no chances. Got one of these sitting in the shed all made up just in case. This unit gives you a lot of ability to control the cooling capacity of your MacGyver’s DIY Aquarium Chiller. The slurry mix will hold around 33 degrees giving this chiller the ability to produce a good chill factor when set on max. This setting is normally only required on larger tanks 75 gal or > when subjected to temperatures at or above 85 degrees. For even larger tanks multiple chillers can be made and run synchronized. For smaller tanks it is better to reduce the amount of ice used in the cooler to reduce the cooling affect. This way you still have the 4 settings to maintain the desired tank temperature. The chiller will continue to chill your water until the slurry is exhausted. This can take hours; however as the slurry temperature slowly raises it will lose cooling capacity and will need to be replenished by removing water from the cooler (that’s where the button on the water cooler comes in handy) and replacing with ice. Be sure to monitor the temp of your tank closely, and only leave unattended when you have reached your desired temperature and figured out which setting will maintain the desired temperature. But when you are sure about the cooling effect on your particular tank and set of circumstances it will function without constant watch or maintenance for hours.
Now there are easier ways to keep your tank cool in short emergencies, IE only a couple of hours. But in situations where a chiller is down for days, even a week or more then this system works well for longer periods of time. I have used this system during hurricanes on the Gulf Coast where we are out of electricity for many days. Just be sure in this case to have lots of ice on hand. And you’re 4 or 5 watt pump will run off of a fully charged deep cycle marine battery (like used on a boat trolling motor) for many hours without charging when coupled with a small DC to AC converter. I have one I keep in my truck which plugs into my power plug. You can run an extension cord into the house and run the system just about forever. This system can also be used to aerate your tank as well when used directly in the tank. It is a good idea to keep a DC /AC converter around for power failures anyway. MacGyver himself could also utilize a pump from the aquarium, ˝ inch ID garden hose, ice chest, Vise Grips and other clamping tools for valves, and who knows what else. Heck he could probably build a battery out of bug spray, vinegar and a jar of pennies. But for the rest of us this recipe can prevent a disaster.
Happy reefing!
Make a DIY chiller for your aquarium in about one hour in ten easy steps with only ten items that can be purchased from any local hardware store and / or found around the home.
10 Things you will need:
• 50 ft. ˝ standard plastic tubing
• 6 ea. plastic Y barbs
• 4 inline on / off plastic valves w/ ˝ in barbed ends
• 1 submersible pump 240 gal per hour (more or less)
• Duct tape
• Swiss Army Knife, actually a good pair of scissors works better
• 1- 20 gal Gott water cooler
• 15 lbs. ice
• 10 gal tap water (yes tap water)
• About one hour of time after parts are collected
Directions
1. Cut four 8 foot sections of tubing and use duct tape to secure the four sections side by side, taping once in the middle and again 12” from each end.
2. Use 2 barbed Y connectors on one end of bundled tubing to reduce the end to two openings, and cut two 12” sections of tubing and place on each barb.
3. Place a barbed Y on the two tube endings, and then cut a 5 foot piece of tubing and place on end of the single barb. (This is the return end of the unit and will be placed in sump or tank.)
4. On the other end of the bundle place one on / off valve on each of the 4 ends of tubing and cut four 12” sections of tubing, placing one each of the four barbed ˝ valve endings.
5. Use 2 barbed Y connectors to reduce the 4 ends down to 2 openings, cut two 12” sections of tubing and place on each barbed end.
6. Place 1 barbed Y on two ends making a single outlet and connect to remaining 5 ft. section of tubing to make a single line, connect this single end of tubing section to the outlet on your pump.
7. Starting at the first taped section of 4 line bundle, begin coiling the bundle into your Gott water cooler past the middle taping until you reach the taping on the other end.
8. Now secure the bundle to the water cooler by using your duct tape to go around the outside of the cooler several times 1/3 of the way from the top making sure to wrap tape around the bundled ends on each pass of the tape to make a bracket on each end of bundle being sure not to pinch the lines closed. Now your chiller is complete.
9. Place the chiller near the sump or tank, and place both ends (pump and return) in the sump or tank at opposite ends. Be sure to use the duct tape on the outside of the sump / tank to secure lines in place. It is normally best not to let pump end or return end touch the bottom. And you can direct the return line as needed for aeration. Now fill the cooler with 15 lbs. ice and enough tap water to make good slurry.
10. Open the 4 valves on the bundle and plug in pump. Check all connections to ensure you have no leaks. Now your chiller is running on highest cooling capacity. You can lower the cooling capacity by closing a valve and hence speeding up the water through the remaining three open lines. You can close two valves or three to lower cooling capacity to lowest level. The end return line will always deliver the same amount of water, about 150 gal per hour w/ a 240 gal pump no matter how many lines are open, but never close all four valves at once and stop the flow of the pump. If you need to stop the chiller entirely you will need to turn the pump off!
• Low = 1 valve open
• Med = 2 valves open
• High = 3 valves open
• Max = 4 valves open
I decided to share this proven chiller system as in just the last few days I have read a couple of threads on how someone is in a jam and needs to begin chilling a tank fast due to some unforeseen incident like a chiller or home A/C failure. We all know that corals will start to “melt” at around 84 degrees, and living in South Texas I don’t take no chances. Got one of these sitting in the shed all made up just in case. This unit gives you a lot of ability to control the cooling capacity of your MacGyver’s DIY Aquarium Chiller. The slurry mix will hold around 33 degrees giving this chiller the ability to produce a good chill factor when set on max. This setting is normally only required on larger tanks 75 gal or > when subjected to temperatures at or above 85 degrees. For even larger tanks multiple chillers can be made and run synchronized. For smaller tanks it is better to reduce the amount of ice used in the cooler to reduce the cooling affect. This way you still have the 4 settings to maintain the desired tank temperature. The chiller will continue to chill your water until the slurry is exhausted. This can take hours; however as the slurry temperature slowly raises it will lose cooling capacity and will need to be replenished by removing water from the cooler (that’s where the button on the water cooler comes in handy) and replacing with ice. Be sure to monitor the temp of your tank closely, and only leave unattended when you have reached your desired temperature and figured out which setting will maintain the desired temperature. But when you are sure about the cooling effect on your particular tank and set of circumstances it will function without constant watch or maintenance for hours.
Now there are easier ways to keep your tank cool in short emergencies, IE only a couple of hours. But in situations where a chiller is down for days, even a week or more then this system works well for longer periods of time. I have used this system during hurricanes on the Gulf Coast where we are out of electricity for many days. Just be sure in this case to have lots of ice on hand. And you’re 4 or 5 watt pump will run off of a fully charged deep cycle marine battery (like used on a boat trolling motor) for many hours without charging when coupled with a small DC to AC converter. I have one I keep in my truck which plugs into my power plug. You can run an extension cord into the house and run the system just about forever. This system can also be used to aerate your tank as well when used directly in the tank. It is a good idea to keep a DC /AC converter around for power failures anyway. MacGyver himself could also utilize a pump from the aquarium, ˝ inch ID garden hose, ice chest, Vise Grips and other clamping tools for valves, and who knows what else. Heck he could probably build a battery out of bug spray, vinegar and a jar of pennies. But for the rest of us this recipe can prevent a disaster.
Happy reefing!