Diy chiller experiences?

  • We are currently upgrading MFK. thanks! -neo
PVC pipe and other plastic pipes do not conduct heat well, this is the reason I stated copper. Others also use titanium in much smaller lengths but thats way to expensive. To address your heat issues and other issues I'll continue.

First, a 300 gallon pond will not be anywhere near large enough for several type of sturgeon. Second, enclosing your fridge in a box will not help it cool though it may protect it from the elements. You'll need to do a few things if you want to keep a sturgeon in a pond. One, keep it well filtered and oxygenated as sturgeon prefer well oxygenated water. Two, make a shade cover for the pond to prevent the sun from heating the pond during the daytime. If you made a large enough pond that was deep enough and covered with some sort of shade you may be able to keep the daytime pond temps in the low 70's or upper 60's.

As for chilling, if you are going to try to build the fridge chiller do it right and use copper and a lot of it. You are dealing with surface area and time of contact with that surface area. A slower pump will help will cooler water temps. Good luck with your endeavor should you try it.
 
I assume that the copper pipe is harmless to fish??

An additional question......if I added a small refrigerator filled with copper pipe into the return line of my filter (like an Fx5), would the pump in the filter be able to cope with the extra pumping it will have to do through all the extra copper piping??
 
An oversimplified example option. Needed equipment:
*Two radiators/heat exchangers (car or otherwise). May need more but you don't have to buy the ones that go in the freezer new at least. There are actually some pretty small ones made for computer water cooling.
*Water pump
*Freezer
*Some kind of (preferably) non toxic antifreeze or plain water.

Put one or more radiators in the freezer, and at least one in a sump or other water that needs to be cooled. Put the pump on the warm return side from the sump, as the pump adds heat.

Remember, depending on how much heat you dump into the fridge/freezer you may cause it to fail as they are not meant to continuously cool off warm materials. They are meant to keep cold things cold and gradually cool of warm things. This is a frequent downfall for people who try and cool off high end computers inside fridges/freezers.

Another, more radical idea, for people who know more of what they are doing would be to take the cold side coils from a fridge/freezer or window air conditioner and submerge THOSE directly/almost directly but that is more dangerous and likely to have something go wrong.
 
Thanks everyone , rivermud I have researched what stureon need and I can do what they need easily , Right now the pond is in shade and because it is a mild summer so far due to thunderstorms the pond is sticking to 69f in the day. I was thinking of an albino sterlet , a slow grower and rarely get over 36 in. But before I get a sturgeon I will need to save up for a diy or market chiller,for when the heat hits.
 
Copper in itself is not harmful to most fish, it is NOT recommended for saltwater. As sturgeon can travel between both saltwater and freshwater I am uncertain about how it may affect them. Copper is not good for invertibrates. As for what sturgeon need, thats a matter of opinion. Sturgeon can be very active and 36 inches is a pretty decent size. I for one would hate to have a sturgeon in anything that small but if it's a starter area, it may work just fine.

There are several ways of using radiant cooling similar to what was posted above. But, I think if you can keep the pond shaded, add extra shade if you need it, you should be able to keep the pond chilled with a small refridgerator if you do it right..

Here is an example of what can be done with radiant heating and cooling.. This is a pool heater.

http://www.boingboing.net/2005/07/06/howto-use-a-bbq-gril.html
 
so rivermud a 36 in sterlet will not live for life in a 5 foot wide pond that is 2 feet high. I will use what you suggest when i get to building a diy chiller. but make a small test one out of an icebox and use it on a ten gallon tank to see how long it keeps water cool in heat, yes i know the fridge one will be more efffecient that is why i would test that on the pond after i build it before i even get a sterlet. Thanks for all the info. everyone
 
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