Question: Where to get a cheap chiller in australia?

[rexx]

Hi,

I live in australia and next summer i am going to need a chiller for my axie! I know they are expensive about $250-$300 is the cheapest i have found so far on ebay. Does anyone know where else i can get one from? Or is this really as cheap as they come!?

Or any other ways to keep a tank cool , rather than ice bottles? ... i have a tank fan that i can use, but i just see that attracting hot air and putting it into the tank? am i wrong?

 

[grius]

Maybe here?
Chillers*|*Aquaholics Online Australia

I also found this shop, looks like all product are very expensive however. But you can always give them a call and ask if they have some cheaper chillers.

Aquarium Products Wholesale :: Welcome to AquariumProductsWholesale.com

I dont think you can come under 250-300, that seems rather cheap.

But of curse there is other ways to cool down a tank. Some use methods with a cooling box, pvc pipes, computer fan and unfortunally a cool source lite bottles or similar(for terrristik tanks, im sure it work to cool down water as well). But i was thinking about another method, dont know how good it can work though.

Shall do a setch and then come back to you.

 

[rexx]

Maybe here?
Chillers*|*Aquaholics Online Australia

I also found this shop, looks like all product are very expensive however. But you can always give them a call and ask if they have some cheaper chillers.

Aquarium Products Wholesale :: Welcome to AquariumProductsWholesale.com

I dont think you can come under 250-300, that seems rather cheap.

Thanks for that, i found a rather cheap one on there. I think its cheaper to get one online and delievered rather than buy one in store! thanks

 

[grius]

That sounds great!

 

[blackdog]

www.guppysaquarium.com.au

 

[Cas]

www.guppysaquarium.com.au

I think the correct website is is Guppy’s Aquarium Products Online they probably changed it since you were last there Blackdog

I brought mine, Hailea HC-150A from here a month ago, including postage it was $317 if i'm remembering correctly. It was the cheapest I could find in all my searching.

 

[grius]

I think the correct website is is Guppy’s Aquarium Products Online they probably changed it since you were last there Blackdog

I brought mine, Hailea HC-150A from here a month ago, including postage it was $317 if i'm remembering correctly. It was the cheapest I could find in all my searching.

How many degress does that chiller lower your tank? and in how many gallons/liter?

This is a method that maybe can work if one want to cool down more then one tank. If insulated with thick foam inside, an extra wood layer inside to cover all insulatuion that should be enought to keep the coold from escape. And if neccessary dubble glas front. Can be exspensive if it also shall look like a nice furniture.

Basicly a larger wood terrarium that you open in the topp when feeding or maintence. The hole wood enclosure cools down by a freezer that is placed under. Coold air blows out with help from a fan in front of one pipe opening inside the freezer, cools down the hole area and of cure then all tanks.

Another method that perhaps would require a strong freezer. But i dont know much about freezers and their capasity, maybe most could work. Looks extreamly bad however.'

Lots of strange sulutions =)

 

[pegasus]

Hi Rex,

I'm in Perth too, i bought mine from Guppy’s Aquarium Products On line

they are the cheapest i have found and I'm my local pet shops the identical chiller retails for $600, i payed just over $300

 

[iChris]

A chiller is on my list of must haves by next summer, this perth heat can be brutal.

I'm just not sure how I would go about running it with my trickle filter.

 

[rexx]

Thank you so much for all of your help guys! After the summer we have had in perth, next summer i am definately going to need a chiller! Just finding the right one for the tank is not going to be easy! I have my eye set on a few though.

 

[Cas]

How many degress does that chiller lower your tank? and in how many gallons/liter?

I've seen my tank get to 27 degrees without it, and it easily cools to 16 (when I first introduced my axie from the fridge). It is now currently at 20 degrees, because I find although I set the tank at 20, its always half a degree to a degree cooler in the tank. I assume this is because of the water going through the internal pump of my filter and it warms due to the heat before heading to the chiller.

On the box it claims to go up to 400L, theres also a website that calculates from what temp your tank sits at and what temperature you want it to be and tells you how many hp you require to do the job for the size of your tank. My chiller is a 1/10 which is ooodles for what I require in a tank with 120L 3/4 full.

And wow, that looks great I could see that looking awesome if done right in my lounge room, but I would require a more powerful pump. The pump runs off my internal filter, perhaps canister filters would have enough grunt to push the water back up with enough speed to be effective? No point in having the water warm again in the pipes before getting back into the tank

 

[rexx]

And wow, that looks great I could see that looking awesome if done right in my lounge room, but I would require a more powerful pump. The pump runs off my internal filter, perhaps canister filters would have enough grunt to push the water back up with enough speed to be effective? No point in having the water warm again in the pipes before getting back into the tank

I have ordered a new external canister filter 1400L so that should be here within the next week im hoping! but the tank is still in the cycling process with now 3x goldfish in there..

Why cant they sell cheap chillers? haha.

 

[rexx]

Another method that perhaps would require a strong freezer. But i dont know much about freezers and their capasity, maybe most could work. Looks extreamly bad however.'

Lots of strange sulutions =)

That tank would look and be great if i hadnt already just bought another one last week!

 

[grius]

And wow, that looks great I could see that looking awesome if done right in my lounge room, but I would require a more powerful pump. The pump runs off my internal filter, perhaps canister filters would have enough grunt to push the water back up with enough speed to be effective? No point in having the water warm again in the pipes before getting back into the tank

I dont know if we missunderstand each other now, but you will not need a pump to cool down with those constructions. That fan in front of one pipe hole will blow out cool air from the freezer into the big terrarium(first method in my post)

The same applies with construction two. No need for a pump to help cool down the water, coold air will just circulate around and around and in that way hopefully cool down a aquarium when the pvc pipes got really coold=) If it gets to coold one could also conect the fan to a termostate with both warm/coold source intake. When water gets to coold the fan will stopp, and start if it gets to hot.

However, i dont know how method two would work. Perhaps( like sludmunkey once told me in thread) aluminium/stainless steel pipes would make the cooling much more effektive, but also exspensive unfortnally. I wish i had a freezer at home so i could try method two with pvc, im quite curious about the effect!

You can also place the freezer at one short end, that would require less pipe length wich of curse make it more effektive. If placed som dm up from the ground on a bench you will get even more cooling effekt

 

[grius]

Another idea I have thought about.

Instead of placing pipes in the water you can do like this. Coold air will first cool down surface and probably the water after a while.

I drew out a solid silicone acrylic disc with holes for the tubes, and a cover glass plate.

But if aquarium chillers works good go with that. Looks better and dont take up this much space..If one have a freezer standing this could be a cheap sulution thoug.

 

[pegasus]

Re: Where to get a cheap chiller in Australia?

Looks interesting, but u couldn't control the temp, so would be worthwhile just buyng a chiller to control the temp, what my be cheap now, not ness cheap in the long run

 

[grius]

Re: Where to get a cheap chiller in Australia?

Looks interesting, but u couldn't control the temp, so would be worthwhile just buyng a chiller to control the temp, what my be cheap now, not ness cheap in the long run

No probleme. Just conect a thermostat to the fan, the fan will then start as fast as temperature gets over the desired degrees. You can buy thermostats for both warm and coold source (for heat mat and some sort of cooling advice)

http://www.dusk.se/mthtn.jpg

This one for example; )

"Set the desired humidity and temperature and allow the unit to control connected humidifiers and heating / cooling sources.

Thermostat section has a light sensor that automatically switches to night temperature with freely adjustable night setback
0 ° C - 15 ° C.
Switchable between cooling and heating systems.
Temperature range 0-40 ° C
Operating humidity range 5-95%
Tolerance RH% + -5%

Waterproof sensor for temperature and air humidity with 1.5 meter cable.
220V"

 

[Cas]

Re: Where to get a cheap chiller in Australia?

Your right, I completely misunderstood!

In my mind for some reason I thought there was water flowing from the tanks into the box cooling it below and then back up into the tanks.

I remember reading somewhere once about a DYI chiller. The guy wanted it for a reef tank, so he needed constant chilling more than achieved by fans alone. I'm not sure what temperature he managed to get it to, maybe one day I'll test it out, here was his setup.

He brought an old bar fridge and cut out two sections in the seal lining just large enough to fit the plastic hoses he was using. Inside the fridge he placed a container (I don't recall what size, but with experimentation you could work out the best size) In sure you can see where Im going with this, the tube ran from the tank into the container in the fridge, back out the second tube and into the tank again.

The container was of cause watertight so that pressure could built up in the container forcing the water back through into the tank. I suppose it would also be possible to install a pump in the fridge to push water back out but this would heat in part your water again if you used an submerged pump. It's pretty much the way a chiller works, but you can pick up old bar fridges for $60-100. So it makes it a tad cheaper with the added bonus of you can chill your beer in it also.

 

[grius]

In sure you can see where Im going with this, the tube ran from the tank into the container in the fridge, back out the second tube and into the tank again

I think i understand the method he used. I have construct/modified some "chillers". Insulation is importent of curse, so a tick foam-plate on the back, and if possible one or both sides depending on were i should place the tank would be good. The pipes should also have to be well isolated.

For my different "tests" i have tried pipe demension 75mm(80x80mm fan for that) and 111mm(120x120mm fan for that) And i dont know if this is something i imagine now, but i defenitly got best cooling effect with 75mm diameter. Or is that obviously ?

I suppose it would also be possible to install a pump in the fridge to push water back out but this would heat in part your water again if you used an submerged pump. It's pretty much the way a chiller works, but you can pick up old bar fridges for $60-100. So it makes it a tad cheaper with the added bonus of you can chill your beer in it also.

This is nothing that I have thought about. But it sounds like it could work with a strong pump and perhaps smaler pipes or tubes. Would have been interesting to play a little and try different methods.

 

[Cas]

He justs used plastic tubing, the same plastic tubing I use with my chiller. I do get condensation on the tubing and insulation would probably help control that. However my pump pushes the water into my chiller at a fairly fast speed so I am not worried about it heating whilst traveling.

Assuming I used the same pump I have now on my filter, I think my biggest concern would be maximising the container in the fridge so I have optimised chilling potential rather that heating whilst traveling.

I wonder if it would work if you have a canister filter inside the fridge, or else that would reduce the life of the filter mechanics.