DIY Chiller system using a KIC 160lt deepfreezer

[Leslie H]

one of the things i love about reefing is the technical challenges it presents and with that the mind gets working on new ideas and often overthinkin, now i know this isnt the fist time this has been done but i built one of the very first aquarium chillers back in 1990 for my 300lt reef system (mostly softies and LPS), back in those days

 

[Leslie H]

I then had to secure the in and out connections with soudaflex, this stuff is incredibly sticky and on a hot day drys FAST!!

I put a teflon block up against the inner and outer of the fiberglass lining to allow a bigger area to offer a better seal.

Then i added the second coat of poolcoat to give it a smoother white finish.

 

[Leslie H]

Slowly getting there!
I decided to paint the outer of the unit black to have it match the rest of my filtration.

 

[Leslie H]

The Wp1000 was plumbed externally off my returnline piping and the chiller will return into the same line after the inflow section, this will ensure the coldest of the water gets to the main DT first.

I also installed a filter to stop any debris from entering and clogging the pipework, we all kbow how irritating a single snail can be !

 

[Leslie H]

Ive finally purchased the PVC pipe and im going to to a wet test over the next few days by pumping water through the piping to ensure there are no leaks.

 

[Nano_Man]

Nice to see how good it works. Looks good

 

[twentyleagues]

Looking forward to how this works for you.
Years ago my ex was always cold even in the summer when the ac was set to less than 72f. With halides and the reefflos running and ambient temps in the rooms the tanks were in hitting 82+f was pretty common. My sump was in the basement and even with the temps there rarely hitting 70f it was an issue. I used a small fridge roughly the size of your freezer it helped but really couldnt do much more than 3-5F drop. It helped, maybe the freezer will do better.