DIY Peltier chiller vs in-line chillers

[shawnlim]

New nano tank of 15 gallons.. not in the sun but everyday hit temperatures of about 29-30degs

when im not home and fan is off can reach until 31degs.

 

anybody experienced with diy peltier chillers? will it work to chill tank to 25degs?

 

im using a fluval flex FOWLR convert and i want to preserve the hood, so as for now no option of using evaporative cooling with fan

 

reason for not buying conventional chillers:

scared make room hot

noise

price

 

 

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[R0B]

I built a chiller unit for my quarantine system. (Attached are a few photos).

Now my experience is that they can reduce the temp about 2 - 3 degrees on a small nano tank but struggle to go any lower. This maybe due to the quality of components, I used, or my DIY skills or even the design. They aren't that cheap to build but are fun fairly projects. Good luck. PM me if you need any help.

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[shawnlim]

wow.. thats a very nice build! I wish i could do something like that too. haha.

how many of those peltier heatsinks did you use? from the photo i’m assuming 2? If more of those are used im not sure if temperature can be brought down lower, what do you think?

just curious. about how much did that build cost in total?


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[R0B]

Thanks. Yes there are two. You could place two water blocks back to back and have a total of 4 peltier devices. You could then have the output of one water block go into the input of the other increasing the cooling effect. Personally I find the heat created offsets any true benefit. GHL are coming out with an electric chiller you may want to check that out. Personally I would just get a traditional chiller. It wont be on very long as it would chill the water quickly. Otherwise you would be running the electric chiller 24/7 which is what I have to do on my quaratine system.

If after all this you are still thinking of making one, happy to guide you. They are fairly easy to be honest.

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[R0B]

Build costs....

12volt 20amp power supply $20
2x Peltier 12706 $7
Thermal paste $6
4x computer fans $15
Water block $12
Digital Temperature Controller $20
Acrylic Box $30

I also added some sockets in the back to power pumps when temperature is activated. Extra $10...

So total was approx $120. (Which is the price of a secondhand chiller!)

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[shawnlim]

haha. great! I’ll take my time to decide while my tank is still cycling atm. I might just end up doing it for the fun and experience! I’ll pm you if i need any help with it. thank you!


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[CharlieBrown]

I have a similar sized tank and was using a quiet fan when I had plants it in. Works well but high evaporative loss of about 1.0-1.3L daily.
Running a peltier 24x7 for a 50L will need min 4 to 6 chips. Its then drawing approx 420W 24x7 - don't make sense for the performance and inadequate if intending to have corals. Rather stick to a quiet fan for a FO tank if possible.
  
Took a risk on a group buy in Carousell for a Made in China 1/10HP chiller (significantly cheaper than comparable Hailea). Its performance is great so far. Very pleased with it though reliability yet to be to proven of course. Shall see. Evaporative loss is now much lower, about 0.25L 

 

 

[Junyan]

There will be heat no matter which chiller it is, and the lower the efficiency the more heat it produces. TEC (peltier) chiller has by far the worst efficiency, you're better off with normal chiller and try to exhaust the hot air out of the room.

Edited August 24, 2020 by Junyan