Ok...Bad Pictures of my "chiller" set up.

[Mac Myers]

OK.... some of you have foolishly asked to see pictures of this monstrosity so here it is.
Water is pumped by a filtering Repticlear 350 through a closed loop outflow (1/2" Vinyl Tubing) and into the water cooler tank where it makes 4-6 coils and then returns to the aquarium (tubing covered by 1/2" foam pipe insulation). The tubing end where it flows back into the tank is covered by a Zoo Med 501 Foam filter (for now... it's ugly) to minimize currents and provide another bacterial "haven". It's about 10 feet of tubing. The Water cooler has Resin residue on it so the wife is going to make me get a new one once I have all the kinks worked out. I was getting a 3.9 to 4.5° F drop from 72.5° initial water temps with ambient room temps being 75 to 76° F. No evaporation.
After reading an article about another guys cooler I noticed that he had added a small water pump in the cooling tank to keep the water from stratifying which is something that never even occurred to me. I worried this would add another heat source so in the cooler tank so I just stuck an airstone in there and got a drop of another .75-1.3° F.
It's not as efficient at cooling as I had hoped (vinyl tubing is a lousy conductor) but it does enough to keep me under 69° F maximum even at the hottest part of the day (currently about 95° F).
I'm looking into making a titanium coil (or some similar shaped object that will fit on the cooling tank and provide enough exposed surface area) to increase the cooling efficiency. The Pump area doesn't look this lousy when it's all together.... I pulled it apart to photograph the stuff in the back... (plus a couple of Ghost Shrimp that aren't camera shy). Once it's together it looks lousy instead of "this lousy". :happy:
I tried this as I got the cooler for free. I did not want to actually flow my water through the cooler plumbing as it has Aluminum in it for sure and possibly (it's hard to see) some copper fittings. Even Stainless Steel seems as if it could possibly leach some chemicals into the water which is a shame because I have access to some of that cheap.
Total cost so far is would be about $140 US but since I got the cooler for free and already had the filter running it's more like 10 bucks.

 

[tomkeogh]

I was trying to figure a way of using a pump but housing the water in the reservoir it self , but could make a plan as efficient as I had hoped.

I don't like to rain on your parade Mac, but I got comparable results buy running a closed loop through a £20 mini fridge that had a lowest setting of 8degree, All be it with lower ambient temperatures. It was too loud for me and I do not use it. I did worry the fridge would burn out quiet quick but this also worried me with a water cooler I believe the element is most efficient when maintaining a temperature and cooling when needed I am not sure a water cooler would appreciate constant use over a long period of time

 

[cellowithgills]

I've got mine in a 40 gallon breeder with a glass top, so I put a mini fan on the side and close the top on it. It keeps the water at about 69F during the day and about 65F at night. With just a mini fan, I'm dropping the temp about 7F or 8F.

 

[Mac Myers]

I was trying to figure a way of using a pump but housing the water in the reservoir it self , but could make a plan as efficient as I had hoped. I don't like to rain on your parade Mac,

Hi Tom.... I have no parade... so don't sweat it! I ruled out using the cooler tank itself due to the various metals that come in contact with the water. I read up on what leaches out of them and it's quite literally scared the Axolotl poop out of me. I may still try Titanium for the coils though.

but I got comparable results buy running a closed loop through a £20 mini fridge that had a lowest setting of 8degree, All be it with lower ambient temperatures. It was too loud for me and I do not use it. I did worry the fridge would burn out quiet quick but this also worried me with a water cooler I believe the element is most efficient when maintaining a temperature and cooling when needed I am not sure a water cooler would appreciate constant use over a long period of time

The water cooler I have uses a compressor and R134A (or whatever it is) refrigerant. It's one of those tall 5 gallon water bottle units. It cycles on and off about 3 times per hour. They last for years as opposed to the Peltier sink units. It's amazingly quiet as it's made for an office environment. It's the proverbial "water cooler".
I'm happy with the temp drop as the tank is 55 Gallons (48" Long), completely full, and the lids are closed. I may switch to a screened lid though I'll still use the unit since I got it free!. The minifridge I used wasn't much bigger than I six pack and it didn't work for me at all.

 

[Mac Myers]

I've got mine in a 40 gallon breeder with a glass top, so I put a mini fan on the side and close the top on it. It keeps the water at about 69F during the day and about 65F at night. With just a mini fan, I'm dropping the temp about 7F or 8F.

Where in the US do you live?

 

[tomkeogh]

Well the fridge I used could maybe fit 4 cans at a push so really not to big.

 

[Mac Myers]

It must have been better than the one I used. Vinyl tubing is a very poor temperature conductor and the one I bummed was useless.
I would have stuck to fans if I hadn't gotten the cooler for free.