I'm in some hot water !

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kody929

kody929

Candiru
MFK Member
May 16, 2013
144
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Anywhere, Allthetime
Hello everyone. I am currently having a problem setting up a 210g tank in my garage. I live a place where temperature often get to 110 degrees. Now I have set the tank up with just water in it to get an ambient temperature and it is 87 degrees after 5 days. I do 50% water changes every week and that should bring it back down around 82degrees. Does anyone have any practical solutions or products that may help my cause. P.S. I've been having a crazy idea of running a coil of some sort through a mini fridge I have.
 
Ooohhhh.....that's gonna cost ya. :) They sell aquarium chillers for $100. They're good for a 10 gallon aquarium I think? You could buy a "wort chiller" for making beer, run it in a fridge in a bucket of water, and pump water through it. That'd work. Put some kinda controller to shut off the pump on it when the temp reaches a certain temp so you don't make the water too cold. But it's a project, trial and error, time....

Or, you could pop for a big aquarium chiller--I hear they're pretty expensive. Can't put the tank in your house?
 
The mini fridge is a crackpot idea, they aren't designed for the duty cycle required to pull a tank that size down in temperature. You would end up killing the compressor. With the investment you have in that size tank I would suck it up and drop the coin for a chiller. Look for a used lobster tank chiller and hook it up to a temp controller.
 
monkeybike said:
The mini fridge is a crackpot idea, they aren't designed for the duty cycle required to pull a tank that size down in temperature. You would end up killing the compressor. With the investment you have in that size tank I would suck it up and drop the coin for a chiller. Look for a used lobster tank chiller and hook it up to a temp controller.
Click to expand...

I would have to agree. Cutting the side panel(even if insulated)would create a fair amount of energy loss.... Lifespan of compressor would be short.....
 
Yea I'm just wondering how big of a chiller I would need and if there is any industrial chillers they have to be used everywhere right ? I just built this stand and canopy for 350$ and I've been doing good on tank supplies but this chiller might get me. The hose through the fridge seems alright and I have a spare fridge. I just wonder if it is enough to cool 210g 3 or 4 degrees. It's to

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Hello; I have a similar situation in my home. I rarely run the whole house AC during the warm season. This can lead to high water temps in my tanks, approaching 90 degrees already. We have been having a warmer than normal spring so far. I do run the AC on the very warm and humid nights, like tonight.

My approach has been to try to keep species that tolerate the warmer temps. I also run lots of air bubblers. I have dumped ice into tanks during very hot spells such as a few years ago when the temps were over 100 degrees F for a week or few.

It might be more cost effective over time to try to insulate the garage. This will also pay off during the cold months ( If you have cold months in southern Nevada). One example for me was to put half inch foam board with a shiny foil surface on the glass of the french doors of my fish room. For an hour or so in the late afternoon the sun hits those doors and adds a lot of heat to the house. The foil surface reflects the sun away and the foam board helps to keep the heat out. It is unsightly but I am a bachelor and can do what ever i want. The foam boards also keep ice from forming on the inside of the glass during the winter here .

Good luck
 
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