Cooling idea

D

david

Guest
I was shopping for some cooling systems for my PC when I came across a device called a peltier. Has anyone tried these for cooling a newt tank. In case you don't know what one is http://www.frozencpu.com/cgi-bin/frozencpu/exp-02.html is the address of the site you can read what it is. I was thinking that you could use it like it was in your PC with a pump system hooked up to it to pull the heat away from the hot side of the device. Would putting them on the outside of the tank do any good?
 
They do sell these for pet setups (look for Ice Probe). I hear that they only cool a couple of degrees though. In a big tank, it would be too little to make a difference. Also, I think they have to be bulkheaded (i.e., attached through a hole in the glass or into a filtration system).
 
The problem with using a peltier to cool a tank is one of size. You will need a massive peltier to make much impact on a normal size tank. CPUs are great in that they are small, so there isn't that much area to cover in order to deal with most of the heat.
 
I've made one for a 1.5 gallon tank and it does cool well for small volumes. I just used a water bath as the heat sink.

If you are interested in photos, you can send me a note (look in my profile).
 
<blockquote><hr size=0><!-quote-!><font size=1>Pin-pin Wei (Apples) wrote on Friday, November 19, 2004 - 13:50 :</font>

"a 1.5 gallon tank "<!-/quote-!><hr size=0></blockquote>

I rest my case :p.
 
An easy method to cool somewhat larger tanks is to use the hoods of cool boxes (by the way, these work with Peltier elements) with a transfo. If you isolate the terrarium well, these work pretty well.
 
i am trying to cool my tank down and i came up with an idea. What i want to do is get a pump that will pump water out of the tank and going directly down through my floor and into the basement. In the basement there will be a bucket of cool water that will stay cool. The water from the tank will cycle through the bucket of water without ever leaving the tube that left the tank. Then after about 10 feet of tubing spiraled around in the bucket the tube will travel back up and into the tank. It would take a few days to make an equilibrium but i think it would diffenatly cool the tank some. And it is winter here so the water in the bucket will be around 45 F but will never freeze over. So between the temperatures of the tank and the room temparature the tank should get down to about 55-60 F. Hopefully. Any suggestions would be appreciated.
Thanks,
Andrew
 
Andrew, I had that idea too. I would add an external filter too while you're on it.

Let us know how this method works out for you.
 
I have a problem keeping my two tanks cool. I live in an apartment and its the top floor, so in summer its always hot about 85, and then during winter time its about 75. To keep the tanks cool I have four reusable ice packs that I keep in the freezer and just switch out twice a day, once in the morning and once at night. I dont have any problems with bacteria and I havent lost a single newt! is there any other way of keeping the tanks cool until I get a home that has a nice basement?
 
What would anyone suggest if I have a 20 gallon long, and I wont move it, I dont have a basment, and dont have air conditioner, besides ice packs or whatever?
 
WOW! never thought they made things like that. Hmmm how does one cut a hole in their aquarium without shattering the glass? and how far below the waterline does the hole have to be? Looks like a great idea though, think Im going to try and find one on ebay if I can! thanx Bernardino!
rofl.gif
 
Any one have any experience using the ICE Probe chiller?

I was also thinking of different alternatives, and had a few thoughts. If you have an air pump, all the air comes in through the small filter in the pump, so what if the pump was put in a cooler (that had bottles of ice in it) and the pump was kept dry wouldn't the air it is pumping into the tank/airstone going to be cooler? Or would the air pump heat up too much?
 
"i am trying to cool my tank down and i came up with an idea. What i want to do is get a pump that will pump water out of the tank and going directly down through my floor and into the basement. In the basement there will be a bucket of cool water that will stay cool. The water from the tank will cycle through the bucket of water without ever leaving the tube that left the tank. Then after about 10 feet of tubing spiraled around in the bucket the tube will travel back up and into the tank. It would take a few days to make an equilibrium but i think it would diffenatly cool the tank some. And it is winter here so the water in the bucket will be around 45 F but will never freeze over. So between the temperatures of the tank and the room temparature the tank should get down to about 55-60 F. Hopefully. Any suggestions would be appreciated.
Thanks,
Andrew"

This is actually a pretty common thing to do in the salt water hobby. But instead of a bucked of cool water, people will coil a few hundred feet of tubing inside a small refrigerator. from all the accounts i have read, it works like a charm.
 
I float a quart sized block of ice! It lowers the temp about three to four degrees farenheit. This is in a 29 gallon tank filled 2/3 full.
 
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