Low cost chiller, is there such a thing

[desertiguana]

I have been searching the internet for a low cost chiller. So far the lowest I have found is the iceprobe, which is still $120. Any ideas.

 

[SpaceCadetHayde]

There's a number of DIY methods that seem to be the cheapest route. I'm not familiar with the iceprobe. Are you looking to cool an aquatic or terrestrial set-up? There are a few methods found in this article.. I've used methods similar to number 5 and 9b with good success in the past. I'm currently working on one for next summer that uses a used canister filter and a cooler which cost less than 60 bucks total.

 

[SludgeMunkey]

Sadly, no. Everyone's definition of low cost is very different.

I utilize a stockpile of 20oz soda bottles of frozen water for emergencies on my 10 gallon tanks and 2 liters for my big tanks.

I thought everyone in Arizona had AC?

 

[Jennewt]

The Iceprobe is about the least-expensive type of chiller you'll ever find, but it is not very effective. Some of the low-tech methods in the article that Hayden linked are equally effective.

 

[wargar]

I've tried this which is about as cheap and low tech as you can get. It's a polly box with 5m of tube running through it.

The box is packed with ice blocks and last about 10 - 12 hours.

A small pump pushes the water through. I have found this drops my water temp by approx 2 - 3 degrees.

I have used bottles of frozen water but I found they only last about an hour.

Dave

 

[desertiguana]

Well the purpose of getting a chiller was to cool down my tank enough to breed my H. Orientalis. Are there any other suggestions.( I already looked at the aquarium cooling methods page on Caudata Culture and am thoughtfully eyeing the fan method)

 

[suztor]

Sorry if I'm missing your joke/sarcasm buuuuuuuut I find this state to be pretty interesting in terms of weather and biomes.

Unfortunately...Not everyone in Arizona has AC and although I can't imagine someone not having one in Phoenix and Tucson... even then the AC just cannot keep up.

In Flagstaff we have heaters but AC is a commodity.

Arizona actually has an insane range of weather and climates in just a few hours drive its really kind of cool.

Right now I live in Flagstaff,AZ and we have gotten well over a foot of snow the last 2 days. In Phoenix (2 hrs away) it's been raining pretty hard from what I hear (or they are just whiners :grin

In the summer, Its rare to get a day over 100 degrees in Flagstaff we are usually whining and melting when it hits 90 (at 7000 feet the sun burns a heck of a lot more too!) but in Phoenix that's pretty much your summer temp 100 and OMG dieing degrees (I have no idea how I lived in Phoenix for so long must have been because it's so dry)

There's the lesson for the day