Hi everybody, joey here again and welcome back.
So today, I'm going to show you how to build an aquarium chiller.
some hobbyists live in areas where it might get very hot in certain months.
Cooling their aquarium water on a constant basis is something they might need to consider.
In today's video, I'm going to show you how to build a chiller that you can do at home
that will not only work well, but look good, be functional and be cost effective.
I wanted to keep this project under $100 and be universal for any aquarium.
As with all my videos, I also needed to create a project that many people would actually
be able to do.
So simplicity is always key.
Smaller chillers start around $500 for a chiller rated for aaround 50 gallons.
This project will only cost around $100 for the same size tank, and use less power.
More so, this project will serve to inspire you with a simple idea.
So let's get started.
I started off with buying a mini fridge second hand.
I built the chiller out of one of these as they are commonly available, cheap, and easy
to work with and look pretty good.
Since I bought mine second hand, I only paid $30 for it.
Even new, they are only $100.
You will be able to find many mini fridges on crags list, kijiji or other similar sites
for around the same price or even less.
I started by removing everything out of the fridge.
I removed the grating, and all small doors inside.
Most mini fridges will have a small "freezer" inside.
Removing the door from it will allow for more circulation of the cold air.
DO NOT freezer tray as this is what actually produces the cold air.
With the fridge now emptied out, I got some garden hose.
I used garden hose as it is rigid and cheap.
It also has excellent insulation properties compared to other types of hoses.
You can use whatever you find is cheapest.
BUT you will need a lot of it.
If using garden hose, running some water through it for a few minutes will insure there is
no dust or anything else in the hose making it more safe to use.
I got two 50 foot hoses for $15 total.
I just picked up the cheapest ones I could find and they were on sale.
You will want to Test fit the hose in the fridge first, to make sure it fits.
Again, the more hose you have the better.
I would start with at least 100 feet...
If using garden hose, don't bother unraveling it.
It is better just to leave it alone and not cause any kinks.
Plus, it's already nicely coiled for you.
Now prepare the hose.
Start by cutting off one end of each hose.
Cut off opposite connectors.
We need to still be able to connect the hoses in the middle.
If you only have one long hose, you can simply cut off both ends.
Then connect the two hoses in the middle.
Using your spade drill, drill the holes where you want the hose to enter and exit.
Location doesn't matter as long as you don't go through the back or top of the fridge.
This will general be harder to work around and more risk of hitting something you don't
want to hit!
The spade should be slightly small then the diameter of the hose, as this will insure
a tight fit and allow the hose to form a seal with the fridge.
Slide the hoses through the holes.
If you notice it is a loose fit, fill free to silicone them in place.
You can even use some expanding foam to help insulate that area.
While not needed, and will drive over all costs up, the benefits of it are slightly
better than silicone.
Notice the thermostat is still intact and the "freezer" is still fully functional.
It is only now ventilated and the colder air can freely pass through the whole fridge.
Turn the fridge on, and let it run on its own for at least 24 hours with the temperature
set to the coolest temperature...
This will get the fridge ready for use.
Now before we talk about connecting it to your aquarium, let's first talk about how
this works.
Water will be pumped into the fridge through the hose and back out to the tank.
Water is cooled because of the time it spends in the fridge.
The more hose you have in the fridge, the longer the water will be in contact with the
cool hose and the cooler the output of the water will be.
To control temperature, changes must be monitored over time, until you get the right temperature
of the tank.
By simply turning down the flow of the pump, you cool the water.
Turning it up, warms the water.
You might also find playing around with the thermostat useful as well.
This style cooler will be good for tanks up to 50 gallons.
However, that will also depend on just how cool you need your water to be.
This might work on larger setups.
So how do you connect this to your aquarium?
Well, this is where YOU get creative.
Every aquarium is unique.
You might not want a pump inside your aquarium, so you decide to plumb the pump "inline" outside
of the tank and simply make a couple of PVC intake and output for the chiller.
Maybe you don't mind an extra pump in the tank and you just run a pump down to the chiller
and the output hose back up to the tank.
Ultimately, this is easiest and cheapest if you are running it to a sump.
This way you only need to use a cheap and low powered power head or small pump.
What I also like to do is on the output hose, I connect a ball valve so I can control the
flow a little easier.
This is basically a must to be able to control the temperature more precisely.
The thermostat in the fridge will help with that as well.
Anyways, I hope you guys enjoyed this project and it gave you a few ideas to use on your
own.
I also want to thank you guys for watching and we'll see you next time.