so i was wanting to set up a cold water fish tank, and wen i started looking into chillers i realized i don't feel like spending $400-$1000 so the idea is to set my rena XP2 filter inside a mini bar fridge. has anyone ever tried this or does any one have suggestions? the tank i want to cool is a 55G if that makes a difference
DIY chiller help
- Thread starter expkeeper19
- Start date
I don't really see this becoming a reality. You would have to drill at least 3 holes for the inlet, outlet, and the power cord on the fridge. These holes will most likely let all the cold out and I don't think a mini fridge would be able to keep 55 gallons of water at the right temp. I like the idea and I hope I'm wrong
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You could seal the holes well after drilling them for the pipes. Also insulating the tank and hoses would help. Keep the hoses short. Sounds like a good idea to me really.
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lol thanks guys, yes i was planing on re sealing the holes that i drill, i was going to add extra insulation, and i never considered keeping the lines short thanks for the idea. keeping them short plus insulating the lines might be a good idea. i am hoping to start this project in the next week or so. i will keep adding to the thread as the project starts and progresses with pictures as well. any other ideas are greatly appreciated. besides the way i see it is that with the cost of the fridge and small cost for insulation if this doesn't work then ive still saved my self hundreds of dollars and ill still have a slightly mangled looking beer fridge lol
Thought. Install some kind of quick connect on inside or fridge that way when you service the filter you just turn a valve turning water flow off then lines stay connected on inside or fridge ready to be hooked back up and you can pull the whole canister filter. Almost like installing a bulkhead into the fridge where you can then have a disconnect point.
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If I understand you correctly thenn I would have to say that this is already done, the rena canister filter is designed with a quick release on the top of thhe canaster. You flip a lever that closes off water flow and it disataches from the rest of the filter then you just cary the canister away for cleaning. So once its inside the fridge I would just have to open the door flip the lever and pull the canaster out leaving the hose behind. Thanks forr the post though keep them coming any ideas are welcome
but the thing is that the water would be flowing too fast to be affected by the fridge temp, it may drop the overall temp by a couple degrees
I have thought of this, and I'm not sure if my plan will work for sure, but another idea I had was to get the 55G tank down to the temp I want using ice and then get the "chilter"(hahahah) going, I'm hoping the fridge can maintain a temp if the entire volume of water is already at desired temp. And no I wouldn't do this with fish in the tank, the water temp fluctuation would be stressful until I can get my desired temp. Would anyone here think wraping 3/4 of the tank in insulation being helpful in keeping a cooler temp or no?
And on a side note maybe I should patent the chilter idea lol if this isn't a bust
