speed0factory

Hi i had a problem with bringing the temperature of my water down, then i figure out that the root cause is my DIY canister filter. The motor of the filter is too hot that it bring the temperature up, i asked help from some pet shops but they only tell me to buy a chiller (which cost around RM300++).

Is there anyway that i can slove this root cause by DIYing it

i had try to use the ice method, but it can only last for a day or so. what i need is something that can last for the whole year or at least 1 week.

for your info my highest temperature recorded is 34 C, please help me.

Tavel

the best way is to use evaporation. As the water molecules "break free" they take more than their fair share of heat energy, so the object cools down. This is why canteens have cloth exteriors, you wet the outside and the evaporating water cools the contents!

You can do it two ways, active or passive.

"Active" would consist of a fan blowing across the water surface. You'd need an open top, or at least semi-open to allow the water to evaporate. This will work better, but is more difficult to do.

"Passive" would be like placing a wet towel on the tank, as it dries it will cool the tank. I'm not sure this will work very well, so try to do the fan first.


A third option would be to pass the output of the filter through a radiator. This can only get the temperature down to ambient temperature, which is fine if the weather is cooler by you.

Obviously get a NEW radiator from the auto parts store and clean it well. You seem clever enough to even MAKE one out of copper pipe or something.

You'll also need a fan, hose barbs, and other goodies, but it shouldn't be too hard ;-D

aquarist48

Hello Speed. I like the idea Tavel mentioned about having a fan to blow "over" the tank. make sure the fan isn't blowing directly on the tank but "over" it. Remember heat rises and this method should help to cool it down a good bit.
Best of luck!
Ken

speed0factory

hi Tavel, thanks for your reply i think i would use the first method. i'll try to make an opening at the cover and mount a fan on top, so that the fan will suck away the evaporated water. i hope that this method would help me to bring the temperature to 28 C.

if it prove to help, i'll do a report on this and share it with everyone.

and Tavel so about how much low can i get if i do this

Thanks again
Speed

Nutter

I just had a look at your thread about building this filter & there were a couple of things that I noticed. The first is that you have the filter sited in a plastic box in what looks like a pretty cramped position. Get it out of the box & into a more open position. The next is that the filter body is small in comparison to the pump size. What size in litres is the canister body & what lts/hr is the pump? The most obvious thing is that you are using restrictor valves to impeed the water flow. If you have the valves set so that it restricts the pump alot that will make it work harder & get hotter.

The first thing I would do is point a fan towards the filter. If the filter is the reason for the heat, then it makes sense to me to work out how to get it running cooler. Second thing I would do is to extend the length of the inlet & outlet hoses & coild them up into a foam esky or fish box. Fill the box with water & add some frozen 2lt bottles of water. Point a fan at the surface of the water in the box to help keep it cool. That will dissipate much of the heat out before it reaches the tank. Then I would simply remove the glass lid on the tank & point a fan straight at the water in the tank. This can bring down the temp in the tank significantly. It's no good trying to blow heat away from the water. It will not work unless the fan is blowing towards the water. The fan MUST be pointed at the surface to create ripples. Turn the light off during the hottest part of the day. I reccomend doing that to most with planted tanks as it helps fight algae problems but leaves the plants mostly unaffected. Have your light on for 4-5hrs, then off for 4-5hrs then back on again for 4-5hrs.
See my thread in diy on the emergency chiller. I know you said adding ice a couple of times a day is a pain in the backside but it's better than ending up with dead fish.

speed0factory

i had a problem with the temperature of my fish tank, now the temperature is 26c to 31 or 32c.

i wanted to try using two 5V computer fans, one for the inlet of the air and the other for the outlet of the air which suppose to bring the temperature down by a bit.

but what i need is to hit the temperature of 22c to 24c, but i do not want to buy a chiller (which is very EXP). i'm now thinking whether i could use a car radiator to cool down the temperature. but would it be safe for my fish, or will i kill them all

if i'm going to use the car radiator, it must be small and effective.

i had another plan which is much easier to DIY, and much safer. but the problem is that, the temperature wouldn't go down that much if i'm right.
this method is by using computer heat sink with copper piping, the water will enter the copper pipe and pass through the heat sink, then hopefully it will help to cool the water down.

so what do you guys thinks about it which one you will prefer

now i'm going to try the computer 5V fan, i'll record down the temperature before and after it's installed.

aquarist48

Hello Speed. I'm sure you'll get some tips on helping to cool your tank soon. I highly suggest you avoid using anything copper in combination with your tanks. It could be fatal to your fish and inverts if you have them not to mention destroying your cycle.
Ken

speed0factory

thanks for the tip, but isn't our drinking water pipe made from copper
if copper is really harmful, then i'll try thinking of other alternative. so how about the car radiator

aquarist48

Morning Speed. I don't have copper pipes in my home. I have PVC pipes. As for the car radiator...not a clue I'm sorry. It sounds scary though to be honest. I'm sure you'll get some more tips.
Have you tried placing a fan close to your tank so that it can blow "OVER" the tank and not directly on it? Heat rises as you know. Raise the lid if you don't have any jumpers.
Ken

speed0factory

good point you have there, and now i'm at singapore so it's evening here, anyway good morning to you too.

ya you got a point there, so when i go back to malaysia this week i'll try with the fan first. hopefully this work and i can save lots of money, and my fishes would be safe too.

ok now i'm going back home from work, talk to you soon.

Thank you so much for your reply, you really give me good advise.

aquarist48

Glad to help! Keep us posted!
Ken

speed0factory

yes i agree with you this is what i had noticed too, that is why i'm asking for help you really open up my mind and take mi to a whole new world .

thanks for your help i'll see what i can do about it.

Gouramiguy17

I had the same problem with my tank, I floated icecubes in my tank but that didn't do the trick

speed0factory

you can go to the following Email: how am i going to do a chiller

there you can find expert who really give good suggestion, try your luck there...

TedsTank

I would strongly have to disagree with using an auto radiator...too much copper and lead soldering!!!...would leach into your water.

Moonshine is poisonous if made in car radiators too....just after a couple of swigs you don't care anymore!!!!

Really they are not designed to sustain life.

Nate McFin

They have plastic as well as aluminum radiators. The problem here is.... Radiators work by using air. You would need a large enough fan to blow across the radiator to cool.
The radiator could not be used it would need to be new so the cost involved would be as high as a chiller. The noise from a fan big enough to do cool the radiator would be too loud.
You should be able to come close to your desired by using cooling fans on the aquarium itself. Azoo makes some. Keep the lid off if possible and keep the lights off during the hottest part of the day. You can use a timer to make this more feasable.
I also turn down the temp on the heater during the summer. I brought my tank down by 6 degrees by doing all of the above except fans. Those would have dropped it another 2-4 I believe.

namehater

would a radiator used for computer watercooling have the same issue with copper and lead?

TedsTank

not familiar with those...if possible steer away from metal..especially if you water is soft and a low pH.

Different pump? maybe?

I felt my motor housing on my HOT Magnum Canister filter and is not even warm....same on my Agua clear filters.

You unfortunately may need to rethink the design of your DYI filter.

Are u using a small "home" sump pump? They can get warm. are desined for quick emergency pump situations not 24/7 pumping. or are u using a powerhead pump for aquariums?