disaster999 Posted January 18, 2010 Share Posted January 18, 2010 +1 on testing the water first. Link to comment
C-BuZz Posted January 18, 2010 Author Share Posted January 18, 2010 ... Have you tested for copper? It won't make your water hazy BTW, it will make it green. Unfortunately I don't have anything to test for copper in the water. There is nothing else in the system that could possibly make the water cloudy. It's actually hard to spot but looking very closely at the water after it's been running for a while, I can see some kind of slight cloudy contamination forming, which is comming from somewhere. It does not show up straight away. There is only fresh water in the chiller, nothing else. The tank is entirely empty & the filter doesn't even have media in it, only using it for circulation. So, it can only be 1 of 2 things.. Copper contamination, or an act of God.. C-BuZz Link to comment
cptbjorn Posted January 18, 2010 Share Posted January 18, 2010 Tank is empty? I'm seeing sand. Are you running any filtration at all? I disagree that the hazy water must be caused by copper for two reasons. First of all I can't think of an ion normally found in aquariums that isn't wicked soluble as a copper salt (soluble = no precipitation = no hazy.) Second there are a number of other things that could be causing the water to be hazy from suspended sand particles to bacteria blooms to fingerprints on the glass. I'm just not seeing how or why you are making the jump to saying it is copper with such certainty. Link to comment
C-BuZz Posted January 20, 2010 Author Share Posted January 20, 2010 Tank is empty? I'm seeing sand. Are you running any filtration at all? I disagree that the hazy water must be caused by copper for two reasons. First of all I can't think of an ion normally found in aquariums that isn't wicked soluble as a copper salt (soluble = no precipitation = no hazy.) Second there are a number of other things that could be causing the water to be hazy from suspended sand particles to bacteria blooms to fingerprints on the glass. I'm just not seeing how or why you are making the jump to saying it is copper with such certainty. I took everything out looking for the cause of the cloudyness. I did jump the gun & assume that because I was very frustrated, however I have now found what was causing the cloudyness. There was a piece of white gunk stuck inside the filter suction. No idea what it is or how it got there. Feels/looks kindof like a clump of white squishy glue or somthing... Really strange. After cleaning this off, because it actually stuck to the suction like hot-glue & was very difficult to remove, the water is now crystal clear & the chiller is working perfectly ! Cheers C-BuZz Link to comment
Gutokoro Posted January 20, 2010 Share Posted January 20, 2010 Hello to all, I've registered at this forum, only to congratulate this project, really amazing. I don't believe about the copper migration through the hose, 'cause a single chemistry principle: osmosis. The salt concentration in salt water is high, when compared with the freshwater in the reservoir, so it almost impossible to have copper migration through it, except if the copper concentration exceeds the salt concentration in water. One way to avoid the copper corrosion is just change the copper heatsink to aluminium heatsink, aluminium in freshwater will be intact much longer than copper. regards. PS: Sorry by the poor english Link to comment
weta Posted January 21, 2010 Share Posted January 21, 2010 I love it! although a couple of sheets of titanium, some hose connects and some rubber seals screwed together would be much better than the vinyl tubing imo. btw 35c is crazy! I'm planning on moving to Melbourne from Auckland later this year. will def look for somewhere with ac... Link to comment
C-Rad Posted January 26, 2010 Share Posted January 26, 2010 replace tubing with the tubing they us for ice machines. the hard plastic ones thats white. +1 polyethylene tubing is a lot thinner and a much better conductor than vinyl tubing (nothing close to titanium, but dirt cheap) As far as dealing with the immersed copper heat sink corroding in the water. You could use a liquid that won't react with the copper. Minneral oil is available by the gallon at feed stores (horse laxative), or you could use the non-toxic anti-freeze made for motorhomes. It is supposedly safe for aluminum, and I assume copper. If you dilute it, use distilled water, not just tap water. Link to comment
Ru5t3y Posted January 27, 2010 Share Posted January 27, 2010 Congrats on the build. I've been looking into the diy chiller idea, as i'm from Ipswich, east of brisbane and this summer we've had 40+ degrees days quite often. My discus enjoy it but i hear corals arent quite as accomodating. Looking forward to your modifications. Cheers, Rusty Link to comment
Marteen Posted January 27, 2010 Share Posted January 27, 2010 Dude, ion migration. Vinyl tubing is porous on the microscopic level. If you don't believe me, just look into why it's not used for CO2 in planted tanks. Once the copper reaches a certain level in the cooling bath, it will begin migrating through the tubing. That's a fact, heat transfer through the tubing will only help that along. Besides that, vinyl makes a very lousy thermal conductor, as it's technically an insulator. For a cheap and easy way around that, look at stainless steel tubing in a hobby shop. You fill it with water, freeze it, then wrap it into a medium sized coil and let thaw. If you're really feeling techy, you can DIY barb fittings into either end, or you can just slip fit your tube over it and use hose clamps. ' Easy, safe and reliable. Or you could change the water in the reservoir once a month. Link to comment
lriecks1 Posted June 7, 2010 Share Posted June 7, 2010 Hello, Love your design. Where can I find some of the material you used for insulation? lriecks1 Link to comment
snortingrooster Posted June 7, 2010 Share Posted June 7, 2010 I'm new here but working on my own nano tank and have been brewing an idea for a Peltier cooling solution. I must give you props for doing this. I would suggest switching over to a mineral based oil as it won't transfer any electrical current should a leak ever occur plus it works for cooling pc's toms hardware did an article on a mineral oil submerged pc and it did well. More importantly why I felt I needed to reply is you should seal the Peltier from any water absorption from condensation or anything. Only cause it will cause your Peltier to corrode and fail. Thermal paste wont keep the water out of the Peltier a good RTV will do the job of sealing the edges. Thermal paste will only help the heat transfer. I don't have much experience in the marine hobby but I have several years in aviation maintenance. I can tell you if you add two dissimilar metals and exposed them to elements they will corrode by the anode and cathode. With the condensation of water from the Peltier and the water I would suggest continue working on sealing this project and try and make sure all metals used are the same and try and switch over to a mineral based oil as it will not cause condensation or carry any electrical currents through it ( helps with electrical leeching ). Good job I will keep this post saved so I can follow it. Sorry if I'm just rambling just throwing out some ideas. Link to comment
ajkochev Posted June 9, 2010 Share Posted June 9, 2010 Heatsink does not come into contact with the tanks water. Tanks water runs via tubing which is cooled by the cooler water in the plastic container. I must say I am very impressed with the idea of this. Well done! Ahh.... I see. Clever idea. Link to comment
coolwaters Posted June 9, 2010 Share Posted June 9, 2010 cant u get a pure titanium coil tube? only element that does rust (less u want to go with gold O.o) having a fan blowing across the top of the tank is more then enough. got my tank from high 80s down to solid 80. i guess this would be good if u want to go sub-ambient? Link to comment
ls7corvete Posted June 9, 2010 Share Posted June 9, 2010 cant u get a pure titanium coil tube? only element that does rust (less u want to go with gold O.o) having a fan blowing across the top of the tank is more then enough. got my tank from high 80s down to solid 80. i guess this would be good if u want to go sub-ambient? Yes you can. See my post earlier. I think these days most people are happier just getting an efficient T5 or LED setup and not having to worry about heat as much. Link to comment
coolwaters Posted June 10, 2010 Share Posted June 10, 2010 Yes you can. See my post earlier. I think these days most people are happier just getting an efficient T5 or LED setup and not having to worry about heat as much. i live where it hits 110F. heat from lighting is the least of my problems. theres a few people here from vegas where it hits 130s. a chiller or a 24hr AC is needed. Link to comment
ls7corvete Posted June 10, 2010 Share Posted June 10, 2010 i live where it hits 110F. heat from lighting is the least of my problems. theres a few people here from vegas where it hits 130s. a chiller or a 24hr AC is needed. Those few hardly represent the "most" I was refering to. I love TECs and they work well when used correctly. Sadly very few understand how to use them correctly and are successful. Vegas and other low humidity areas should look heavily into evaporative cooling. Link to comment
cph198 Posted June 14, 2010 Share Posted June 14, 2010 This is a great idea! I live in Florida where it is getting really hot right now! My temps were hovering around 85 every day. I am using a computer fan which is getting the temps down to 81, but the evaporation is insane! i am looking to create a peltier device type chiller but i was thinking of having the peltier attach to a heat sink and have that in the water of hte tank. What materials can the heat sink be made out of that would be safe? I was thinking of taking a heat sink i have laying around (not copper) and dipping it in epoxy, or maybe even spray painting it with a few layers of Krylon Fusion. Does anyone think this will work? Link to comment
gbplmr Posted June 14, 2010 Share Posted June 14, 2010 you need to find a tubing with an oxygen barrier i think its called tygon tubing. cross linked polyethylene (pex tubing) would work as well but I dont know the availability on it for you. also you may want to consider using vegetable oil instead of water inside the bucket it wont grow anything like water will. just a few ideas. Link to comment
superdavesds Posted June 16, 2010 Share Posted June 16, 2010 Really good read and really good idea. I have to say, I like the idea of stainless tubing, maybe even bulkhead it into the top of the chill tank. As well, always avoid using disimilar metals to avoid dielectrics. Mineral oil is a good idea (vegetable oil), but there are many safe glycols that couod be used. I have a nanowave 9 and heat is an issue. Link to comment
XIII Posted June 23, 2010 Share Posted June 23, 2010 Here's a question, could something like this, or a chiller be made, from the parts to a mini-fridge, or is that not recommended? Link to comment
superdavesds Posted June 24, 2010 Share Posted June 24, 2010 I was thinking about that. Those little ones that you can only fit a couple pops in. Just coil up a little stainless tube in there? Link to comment
coolwaters Posted June 24, 2010 Share Posted June 24, 2010 Those few hardly represent the "most" I was refering to. I love TECs and they work well when used correctly. Sadly very few understand how to use them correctly and are successful. Vegas and other low humidity areas should look heavily into evaporative cooling. im just considering dense populated areas like bayarea/LS/new york. east side is basically a desert. and new york is just hot... theres got to be a better way to do this without killing coral.going to see if i can find some thin titanium sheets then mount it to a copper heatsink. Link to comment
FishOnTheBrainCoral Posted June 24, 2010 Share Posted June 24, 2010 What about like 50/50 isopropyl alcohol would it still be flamable? Wouldnt it cool better? I have one in the makings right now... Link to comment
coolwaters Posted June 24, 2010 Share Posted June 24, 2010 What about like 50/50 isopropyl alcohol would it still be flamable? Wouldnt it cool better? I have one in the makings right now... no it will not. people use pure isopropyl in water cooling because the temps sometimes get below freezing and isopropyl doesnt freeze very easy... also we are afraid of algae grow in the tubes. Link to comment
FishOnTheBrainCoral Posted June 24, 2010 Share Posted June 24, 2010 Im sorry.. No it will not burn? No it will not cool better? Link to comment
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