Coralkeeper Posted April 7, 2008 Share Posted April 7, 2008 Hello everyone! I'm new to this board and I already have two FW tanks, two 120 gallon FW ponds, and one 8 gallon reef tank and I'm now ready to set up a 50-60 gallon coldwater cube tank. I've been doing a TON of reading about coldwater tanks. My name is Moses, I'm 14 and I live in CA. I've been emailing and talking to stevewest for a while and he helped me with a lot of things. So, here is the drawing I made. The tank will have a over flow, I already built the chiller, I'm going to be building EVERYTHING my self with some help of a friend who has experience in building tanks, skimmers, and tons more stuff. The tank is going to be made out of 1 inch thick acrylic. I'm going to be using 50 watts of T-5s and the tank will be 24 inches high, 24 inches wide, and 24 inches long. So, its basically a big biocube thats 24 inches by 24 inches. So, tell me what you think and give me some good info on coldwater tanks! I don't think I'm going to be buying any of the live stock. I'm going to be getting everything from the CA coast. I'm still reading about the laws and stuff of what I can and can't take. Tell me what you think about the granite under the tank on helping it stay cool and what you think about my drawing/plan. Oh, and I think(if I can) I'm going to be getting all the Live Rock, Live Sand, and the natural ocean water from the ocean. I'm also going to cover the skimmer, tubing, and all the sides of the tank that I'm not going to be looking at with styrofoam to help keep the tank insulated. Any help/info would be appreciated. Thanks!! http://s274.photobucket.com/albums/jj245/C...nknumber3-1.jpg Link to comment
jeremai Posted April 8, 2008 Share Posted April 8, 2008 Hey Moses, it all sounds good so far, there's some incredible stuff off the CA coast, if they'll let you take it. But I want to hear more about this chiller - how is it constructed, and what kind is it? Link to comment
Coralkeeper Posted April 8, 2008 Author Share Posted April 8, 2008 Hey Moses, it all sounds good so far, there's some incredible stuff off the CA coast, if they'll let you take it. But I want to hear more about this chiller - how is it constructed, and what kind is it? Yeah, but first you have to find the stuff. The chiller is a DIY chiller, its made out of refrigerator parts. Its got a little controller to control the temp and an on and off switch. We checked at it works perfect! Its so cold that it would freeze water thats around it. lol My dad said it will coll down the tank easily because its from a frig Here are some pictures of the chiller. http://s274.photobucket.com/albums/jj245/C...=Picture119.jpg http://s274.photobucket.com/albums/jj245/C...=Picture113.jpg http://s274.photobucket.com/albums/jj245/C...=Picture123.jpg http://s274.photobucket.com/albums/jj245/C...=Picture111.jpg Link to comment
jeremai Posted April 8, 2008 Share Posted April 8, 2008 Looks good; the temperature regulation is the big thing, but it looks like you have that worked out. Where are you in CA? I grew up in La Jolla, and I remember accidentally stepping on anemones and stuff all the time when I was a kid exploring the tidepools. If you don't mind getting wet, it's not hard to find stock. Link to comment
Coralkeeper Posted April 8, 2008 Author Share Posted April 8, 2008 Looks good; the temperature regulation is the big thing, but it looks like you have that worked out. Where are you in CA? I grew up in La Jolla, and I remember accidentally stepping on anemones and stuff all the time when I was a kid exploring the tidepools. If you don't mind getting wet, it's not hard to find stock. Yeah, I live in Sacramento. My family and I go to the ocean EVERY month. Sometimes we go 2 times a month. I also remember when I stepped on a few anemones because they looked like rocks/sand when they close up. I love getting wet when I go to the ocean! I always bring a few extra pairs of clothing. I've found TONS of awesome stuff in the tide pools!! Its really awesome. Hey, what does everyone think about the Granite under the tank? Link to comment
Necros Posted April 8, 2008 Share Posted April 8, 2008 Love this idea. It sounds really cool in general. Not sure how much the granite will help keep the tank cool, though I guess it would do something, maybe not enough. You might want to look at how people cool down environmentally friendly homes for ideas. Thread Devoted to California Aqualife In the thread above Airinhere talks about collecting local California wildlife and seems to have a handle on what the rules and regs are. You might want to check it out. Link to comment
mmelnick Posted April 8, 2008 Share Posted April 8, 2008 sounds awesome!!! I've been contemplating a DIY chiller for a while. Do you have any specifics on how you did it? From those pics it looks kind of like you may have the water in metal pipes. That's probably not a great idea, especially if they are copper, but I may be looking at it wrong. Link to comment
dshnarw Posted April 8, 2008 Share Posted April 8, 2008 Granite wouldn't work well to keep the tank cool - it has a low thermal resistance, thus making a poor insulator. You'd be much better off with an equivalent thickness of styrofoam. Link to comment
Coralkeeper Posted April 9, 2008 Author Share Posted April 9, 2008 sounds awesome!!! I've been contemplating a DIY chiller for a while. Do you have any specifics on how you did it? From those pics it looks kind of like you may have the water in metal pipes. That's probably not a great idea, especially if they are copper, but I may be looking at it wrong. Thanks! I didn't really do it myself. A friend of mine did it for me. The water isn't going to be touching those copper tubing. There is that frig gas in the copper tubing, the R134a gas. Love this idea. It sounds really cool in general. Not sure how much the granite will help keep the tank cool, though I guess it would do something, maybe not enough. You might want to look at how people cool down environmentally friendly homes for ideas. Thread Devoted to California Aqualife In the thread above Airinhere talks about collecting local California wildlife and seems to have a handle on what the rules and regs are. You might want to check it out. Thanks for the info and the video! Granite wouldn't work well to keep the tank cool - it has a low thermal resistance, thus making a poor insulator. You'd be much better off with an equivalent thickness of styrofoam. Ok, Thanks!! Link to comment
Coralkeeper Posted April 10, 2008 Author Share Posted April 10, 2008 Hey everyone, I have a question for you all. What would be the best way to cool down the water with the chiller? Get the copper tubing and cover it up with 2-3 garbage bags and put it into the tank or get rubber tubing and wrap it all around the copper tubing and hook up a pump so water can pump threw the rubber tubing thats going to be wrapped around the copper tubing and then cover it up with styrofoam? Thanks! Link to comment
mmelnick Posted April 10, 2008 Share Posted April 10, 2008 Hey everyone, I have a question for you all. What would be the best way to cool down the water with the chiller? Get the copper tubing and cover it up with 2-3 garbage bags and put it into the tank or get rubber tubing and wrap it all around the copper tubing and hook up a pump so water can pump threw the rubber tubing thats going to be wrapped around the copper tubing and then cover it up with styrofoam? Thanks! I have been thinking about this for a while. I just started a thread on this so follow along if you want. http://www.nano-reef.com/forums/index.php?...=153465&hl= Link to comment
Coralkeeper Posted April 10, 2008 Author Share Posted April 10, 2008 I have been thinking about this for a while. I just started a thread on this so follow along if you want. http://www.nano-reef.com/forums/index.php?...=153465&hl= Ok, Thanks!! Link to comment
hijiwii Posted April 10, 2008 Share Posted April 10, 2008 After reading a bunch of threads about coldwater tanks, I'll say have definately caught the bug. I'm surprised these aren't more popular. Link to comment
Matty1124 Posted April 11, 2008 Share Posted April 11, 2008 you think that chiller will work? if you put it in an enclose space your just asking for heating problems... they work by removing the heat through a heat exchanger (copper, or more popular in SW titanium) and pump out tons of hot air... you dont want that in an enclosed space especially not one connected with your tank... also copper is a big no no in SW... how are you going to regulate your temps? is there a controler? Link to comment
Coralkeeper Posted April 11, 2008 Author Share Posted April 11, 2008 you think that chiller will work? if you put it in an enclose space your just asking for heating problems... they work by removing the heat through a heat exchanger (copper, or more popular in SW titanium) and pump out tons of hot air... you dont want that in an enclosed space especially not one connected with your tank... also copper is a big no no in SW... how are you going to regulate your temps? is there a controler? I know that copper is a big no no. There is a temp controller. Link to comment
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