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GoFish
07-02-2015, 06:13 PM
I keep coming home from days on the water to find my temperature climb, so far my display tank has been as high as 84. Lost my Setosa but no big deal. Started throwing ice cubes in the tank to cool it off but that affects salinity and I don't use filtered water to make ice cubes, so instead I started using those plastic sealed ice packs used for coolers, take out of freezer, turn off ATO, drop ice pack in , wait for it to melt completely, remove ice pack turn ATO back on, rinse ice pack, put back in freezer, repeat... It works

Yes I could use a chiller, or make a DiY chiller but I like the simplicity of using ice packs, the freezer is running anyway right. Sounds pretty economical.

I just started freezing a large ziploc with 4 cups of water and will be putting that in a tank volume of 45 gallons. I use a Digital Aquatics controller so it should give a pretty accurate tank temp change before and after. Will post results later on.

Anyone else do this? And is there any calculations that someone knows of in figuring out how many cups of water worth of ice will chill a certain number of gallons by a certain number of degrees.

NU-2reef
07-02-2015, 06:15 PM
Freeze some water bottles and float them but take some water out so they don't burst in the freezer of course.

Those cooler freezer packs would worry me. What's in there anyway. Whatever it is I don't want it leaking from a cheap manufacturer seal.

GoFish
07-02-2015, 06:16 PM
Or that, same idea as above :) but ziploc freezer bags won't burst

Aquattro
07-02-2015, 06:26 PM
Probably a calculation somewhere, but would include water temp, ice temp, air temp, surface areas of those parameters. Not something you work out in your head. Trial and error, unfortunately.

lastlight
07-02-2015, 06:45 PM
i threw in about 10 water bottles (didn't drain any water and they never burst in my freezer). took about 2F off my tank temp and quite fast too. took about 10 min for ~ 130 gallons. too fast for my liking and my hot main floor (29C) raised the temp back up in less than an hour. a fan on the display is a better idea i was just too lazy to set one up.

Bblinks
07-02-2015, 06:49 PM
I keep coming home from days on the water to find my temperature climb, so far my display tank has been as high as 84. Lost my Setosa but no big deal. Started throwing ice cubes in the tank to cool it off but that affects salinity and I don't use filtered water to make ice cubes, so instead I started using those plastic sealed ice packs used for coolers, take out of freezer, turn off ATO, drop ice pack in , wait for it to melt completely, remove ice pack turn ATO back on, rinse ice pack, put back in freezer, repeat... It works

Yes I could use a chiller, or make a DiY chiller but I like the simplicity of using ice packs, the freezer is running anyway right. Sounds pretty economical.

I just started freezing a large ziploc with 4 cups of water and will be putting that in a tank volume of 45 gallons. I use a Digital Aquatics controller so it should give a pretty accurate tank temp change before and after. Will post results later on.

Anyone else do this? And is there any calculations that someone knows of in figuring out how many cups of water worth of ice will chill a certain number of gallons by a certain number of degrees.

I use 2 2 liter bottles fill almost to the top but leaving enough for expansion. Toss it in when needed and also 2 fans hooked up to my profilux set at desired temperature on and off when its cool enough, lately they have been the work horse of the tank, always on. I don't care about the temperature drop as if it gets too low my heater will kick on.

Animal-Chin
07-02-2015, 07:19 PM
I bought a clip on fan from Rona for $14 and so far my highest temp during this heat wave has been 81.4 degrees. That little fan on my 125 takes a few degrees off for sure and it's easier than having to do the ice thing I did for years in my 55...

Bblinks
07-02-2015, 07:25 PM
I bought a clip on fan from Rona for $14 and so far my highest temp during this heat wave has been 81.4 degrees. That little fan on my 125 takes a few degrees off for sure and it's easier than having to do the ice thing I did for years in my 55...

I bought those too and the dame shaft keep on popping out and hit the shield, I am going back to claim warranty again...:mad:

input80
07-02-2015, 07:29 PM
I bought a clip on fan from Rona for $14 and so far my highest temp during this heat wave has been 81.4 degrees. That little fan on my 125 takes a few degrees off for sure and it's easier than having to do the ice thing I did for years in my 55...

+1 works great with the controller (set in chiller mode) on both tanks.

GoFish
07-02-2015, 10:43 PM
I guess I'll trial and error the ice packs in the next couple days, good idea using the fan on the controller but the only reason I haven't done that is it's based on evaporative cooling which will raise the humidity in the house. I live in a 1 floor house with literally zero air flow when the house is locked up, I don't even have a fan above the stove or in the bathroom.

There must be many variables to this as well, but is there an approx amount of additional top off water I could expect to use when running a fan 24 hours a day. Going camping next weekend for 4 days so will most likely be using a fan. Currently the tank in reference (45 gallons of water) uses a 5 gallon bucket of water every 5 days. So that's 1 gallon per day. If it raises my top-off water use by much I'll need a larger bucket

Coasting
07-03-2015, 04:05 AM
I use dollar store plastic ice packs....
Largest size of cryowhatever was $1 and is easier to get family to use in the tanks. They poopooed the water bottle idea but then again some people lack common sense in some areas.... anyway works well so far. Been using that brand for a few years as i beat them up for work and travel and dropping on cement and everything else and no leaks.

davej
07-03-2015, 05:01 AM
My $30 chiller. Tank is at steady 77.8 to 78.3. Heater comes on now and again . Rich if you want I can help you set one up.


http://images.tapatalk-cdn.com/15/07/02/e492976480a80639878b5ca2fbafbe8f.jpg

http://images.tapatalk-cdn.com/15/07/02/360daef27337e963ffcf781a78323a46.jpg

http://images.tapatalk-cdn.com/15/07/02/98bcf36f8a622b5a6c91b9a7ceb9fcb2.jpg

http://images.tapatalk-cdn.com/15/07/02/0704f9124cccfc45e97ccc818ef130bc.jpg

My next step is to use a solenoid I already have to cut off flow when temp gets low enough.

GoFish
07-03-2015, 05:48 AM
My $30 chiller. Tank is at steady 77.8 to 78.3. Heater comes on now and again . Rich if you want I can help you set one up.

My next step is to use a solenoid I already have to cut off flow when temp gets low enough.

This isn't another how to waste water thread Dave ;)
Looking for something a little more environmentally friendly, I'll buy a chiller long before going that route so I can be responsible for my own consumption. Those of us who don't have water meters or pay for our water should consider ourselves lucky, for now anyway

GoFish
07-03-2015, 05:51 AM
Update
I floated the 4 cups of frozen water in the ziploc to the tank a while ago. Left it in for about 1/2hr and was totally thawed

Before 81.8 f
After 80.8 f
Ambient temp in house is 83 f (based on digital thermostat)

Tomorrow I'll be using 8 cups in a ziploc and see how that goes

dcw1sfu
07-03-2015, 07:45 AM
I've given in and have a quote tommorow on a central AC unit as both the tank any the family need cooling. House has been upwards of 87 and the hottest my tank has gotten is 82 and it's only the beginning of July...

reefmandan
07-03-2015, 11:55 AM
I don't know why people bother with frozen water. Water has one of the highest heat capacities of anything on this planet, that is, the ability to absorb or give off energy without greatly affecting the temperature.

Evaporative cooling (i.e. using a fan) works wonders, and is far more economical than using frozen water. Placing a fan on top of your tank or in your sump is usually enough to deal with any issues, and when combined with a controller works wonderfully.

davej
07-03-2015, 03:55 PM
This isn't another how to waste water thread Dave ;)


Takes a bit more than an hour to fill a 5 gallon bucket. Many households flush that down there toilets on a regular basis.
As well my neighbor sprinklers tons more on his lawn to keep it green. Mine is brown.
Ever meter out how much waste water your rodi dumps down the drain? But we won't turn this into a debate will we. A few days a year to not kill all my corals, not feeling all that guilty. Would feel worse killing off my tank.
Chiller is great if you can vent hot air it pumps out. As well consumes a fair bit of power, most likely from a hydro electric dam.
Fan helps ( which I also have hooked up) but puts tons of moisture into your house.

GoFish
07-03-2015, 04:40 PM
No debate needed. This is a thread was created to chat about ice packs. :smile:
Ever meter out how much waste water your rodi dumps down the drain?
Yes
My RODI creates 6.5 gallons of clean water for every 10 gallons that goes through it. Which is why I bought a permeate pump a couple months ago, feeling pretty good about that purchase just not wanting to take a step back in my effort to conserve water in this record breaking dry summer

Animal-Chin
07-03-2015, 04:41 PM
I've given in and have a quote tommorow on a central AC unit as both the tank any the family need cooling. House has been upwards of 87 and the hottest my tank has gotten is 82 and it's only the beginning of July...


Excellent, I'm loading my live stock into buckets and moving my coral/fish/dogs/family into your place! Maple Ridge is INSANELY hot this year...lol

e46er
07-03-2015, 05:52 PM
I've given in and have a quote tommorow on a central AC unit as both the tank any the family need cooling. House has been upwards of 87 and the hottest my tank has gotten is 82 and it's only the beginning of July...

Who is coming to quote it?

Bblinks
07-03-2015, 11:16 PM
My $30 chiller. Tank is at steady 77.8 to 78.3. Heater comes on now and again . Rich if you want I can help you set one up.


http://images.tapatalk-cdn.com/15/07/02/e492976480a80639878b5ca2fbafbe8f.jpg

http://images.tapatalk-cdn.com/15/07/02/360daef27337e963ffcf781a78323a46.jpg

http://images.tapatalk-cdn.com/15/07/02/98bcf36f8a622b5a6c91b9a7ceb9fcb2.jpg

http://images.tapatalk-cdn.com/15/07/02/0704f9124cccfc45e97ccc818ef130bc.jpg

My next step is to use a solenoid I already have to cut off flow when temp gets low enough.

That looks good buddy, I can always use the waste to water my plants.

gregzz4
07-03-2015, 11:51 PM
Bryant, I tried the ice idea years ago in desperation. I was running freshwater tanks back then and even went so far as to put the canister filters in buckets of cold water.
With a 36g and 125g I went through 2 bags of ice in a couple hours and no help on the big tank. The little tank faired a bit better, but it wasn't enough. Although the bucket trick kept the 36 below 85f ...
I bought chillers the next day.

As for the heat they put out, ya it can add up. It could be 80 in the living room where my 75g is, but it would easily hit 85 in my office where the sump and chiller are. Don't know if you caught it last year but I run the chiller exhaust outside now using a couple fans etc. BIG difference.

canadianbudz604
07-04-2015, 12:38 AM
I have never had a tank bigger then a 40g and I never have a problem with heat. A couple years ago when it was 40+ Celsius I put a solid frozen block (in a sandwich bag) In my aquaclear and the tabk stayed no higher then 80. Now I have air conditioners so I don't have to worry. Then again I have never really had any sps asides from monti plates. But the filter circulated colder water into the tank and kept the temp down.

GoFish
07-04-2015, 08:04 PM
Update
Added 8 cups worth of ice in a ziploc

Before 81.4 f
After 79.6 f

I'm not really doing this in desperation. Just wanting to reset the temp at the end of the day as the house doesn't get cool enough overnight to bring it back down to the 79 f range where I want it. Everyday during this heat wave the temp climbs higher than the last, because it doesn't cool enough during the evening. So far this is working.

So as of last nights addition.
1.9 litres of ice cooled 170 litres of water by 1.8 degrees.
I'll try to utilize this calculation either tonight or tomorrow and see if I get the same results.

gregzz4
07-04-2015, 11:02 PM
That's good news Bryant
I forget, did you say what your house temperature is reaching?

GoFish
07-05-2015, 12:13 AM
That's good news Bryant
I forget, did you say what your house temperature is reaching?
I did last page :)
Not sure what the hottest it's been haven't been paying much attention but for example right now it's at 83 in the living room with doors open and pedestal fan running. Tank temp is sitting at 79.4 but was 78.8 this morning, so not bad at all. The ice pack gets a day off

martinmcnally
07-14-2015, 12:24 AM
I just use a fan. Its small 4 inch diameter. If it gets to hot it comes on and blows across the top of the tank. I notice it can lower the temperate quite quickly.