Keeping cool

M

mark

Guest
any hints on keeping fire salamanders cool in a heated living room
mark
 
Try to temp map your room and find the coldest location first off. If there's no place in the room that can come close then i would recommend moving them to another room. Studying your facilities to find the coldest places is obviously the cheapest thermal control option. If nowhere in the house can meet your needs then you'll have to resort to some form of active cooling. I think the first thing I would try would be to make a chilled water system using an old mini-fridge. Run some copper tubing through the fridge then route it through the tank, maybe through the substrate. Not sure if this is more ambitious than you're looking for or not but it would be a fun project.
happy.gif
 
could be fun trying to build something like that whats the smallest usable fridge you've seen that could be used for such a project,would the copper pipe have any effect on terrestrial salamanders.
mark
 
Mark

I think the idea with a refrigerator and circulating water would work good. I have a small one sitting around, and might give it a try sometime.

I use a thermoelectric cooler to keep my salamandra cool. This is something that is fairly versatile, as you could configure it in different ways to suit your enclosure. They do not cool a great deal though. I have one that cools a space of 24"*34"*28", and it just keeps it about 8 degrees below ambient temperature. For my situation, this works perfect. Room temperature is about 75-78 during the day, so the cooler keeps things about 68-70, which is just right. In a smaller space, it would be cooler.

Thermoelectric coolers usually cost $50-$80, and if you wanted to fiddle with it, could be home-made. They run on DC power so you have to use a DC power supply.

Let me know if you want more info.

Travis
 
thank travis ill do a bit of research on the net and come back for the finer points of thermoelectric coolers
mark
 
by the way has a thermoelectric cooler got a fan on it as in a computer cooler
mark
 
no it hasn't to answer my own question. So how would i use one to cool a tank down would i put it inside or could i just fix it to the out side of the glass ,The cooler i was looking at was just like a flat plate with two cables coming from it
mark
 
Remember that if you significantly cool an enclosure below ambient (room) temperature, you'll probably get lots of condensation on the outside of the enclosure. This can be hard to deal with.
In the long run, it's much easier to find a spot with a suitable temperature - shed, garage, porch, or shady spot in the garden?
 
sorry alan this would not be suitable for me as im in a ground floor flat(apartment)no garden no private outside space what so ever. but thanks anyway
mark
 
ive decided im just gonna set the tank up in the coolest part of my room and go from there thanks everyone for your help
mark
p.s alan like the setup for fire sals you show on yor site are the ferns in shallow pots or is the slate fixed to the side of deeper pots.
 
The ferns were in shallow pots and did well. This tank was located at floor level in a cool room and the animals were moved to an unheated porch at approximately 10C for 2-3 months in winter to stimulate breeding.
 
Travis, what's your source of supply for that TEC? I'd definitely be willing to give that a try. typically they don't generate that many degrees of cooling over such a large area.

Mark, if you're still interested in trying a fridge, I've seen them around 2.5 cubic feet that would be more than sufficient. I would recommend coiling the tubing inside the fridge. It's certainly a possibility that the copper tubing in substrate could eventually alter the pH. It might be better to route it through the top of the enclosure. Natural convection should be enough to circulate the cooled air. As far as condensation is concerned, it could be a problem but that may also depend on your heating system. Natural gas heat puts moisture in the air but if you use electric or wood fire then you're air could be very dry in the winter time.

(Message edited by stormcrow73 on September 26, 2005)
 
Mark

This is a thermoelectric cooler. It should work well. The setup may or may not be very easy depending on your expertise with wiring and soldering, etc. You will need a power supply to give you DC at no more than 16V. The foot print is very small at 40X40mm so you should probably mount a heat sink to the cold side and use a standard PC fan to circulate the cooled air through the enclosure. Make sure you use high thermal conductivity interface material like Cho-Therm between the heat sink and the TEC to maximize your cooling.
 
Building a refrigerated system is fun if you have the time and knowledge. Ebay had a 1/10 th system, fully enclosed just needed a pump. A canister filter with the proper gpm will work just fine. I'll have the tank drilled to fit supply and return fittings. Water flow rate will be set for trickle into a small shallow pool. Trying to emulate natural conditions as best as posible,

Alan
 
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