I am setting up a new mini fridge for dosing food and phyto. I've done this before, but this time I want to be able to run cables/tubes into the mini fridge and be able to make changes, add/remove cables as needed.
Here was how I did it before:
Drill three holes in the top, run dosing tube through two holes and the doser power cord through the third hole.
Used silicone to close off the holes.
As you can see, there are a few problems:
1. Once the silicone sets, it is not possible to make any changes to the tubes/cables going in/out without digging out all of the silicone.
2. As the silicone sets, I am wondering if it doesn't put pressure on the tubing, causing the inner diameter to shrink a bit.
This is how it was when I finished setup:
Food gets pumped out of the tube, through a T barb, and then the second head starts pumping RODI from a tub through the T barb, pushing the food into the tank and flushing the tubing (the third head was for All For Reef).
For my next project, I will set up a larger mini-fridge with a 4-head doser. It will have roughly the same setup, but now the AFR is being pumped outside of the mini fridge by a Hydros Minnow. Inside the fridge, I will have a container with about a gallon of phyto on a magnetic stirrer, and it will dispense directly into the sump, flushed by RODI. It will also have the Reef Nutrition foods pumped in. I would also like to get an additional pump with larger tubing to be able to pump liquid mysis into the tank (e.g., Reef Nutrition Mysis Feast, AquaForest or Nyos mysis).
My questions are:
1. How do I drill a hole for power cords into the mini fridge and seal the hole so that I can easily make changes (more cables in, cables removed, etc.)?
2. How best to connect the tubing through the drilled holes? Previously just slathered silicone in the holes with the tubing passed through. Would a bulkhead be better?
3. How to do the above while keeping the cold from escaping the fridge? The silicone plugging seems to work well, but looking for other solutions that would work and still maintain the cold temp.
Thanks!
Here was how I did it before:
Drill three holes in the top, run dosing tube through two holes and the doser power cord through the third hole.
Used silicone to close off the holes.
As you can see, there are a few problems:
1. Once the silicone sets, it is not possible to make any changes to the tubes/cables going in/out without digging out all of the silicone.
2. As the silicone sets, I am wondering if it doesn't put pressure on the tubing, causing the inner diameter to shrink a bit.
This is how it was when I finished setup:
Food gets pumped out of the tube, through a T barb, and then the second head starts pumping RODI from a tub through the T barb, pushing the food into the tank and flushing the tubing (the third head was for All For Reef).
For my next project, I will set up a larger mini-fridge with a 4-head doser. It will have roughly the same setup, but now the AFR is being pumped outside of the mini fridge by a Hydros Minnow. Inside the fridge, I will have a container with about a gallon of phyto on a magnetic stirrer, and it will dispense directly into the sump, flushed by RODI. It will also have the Reef Nutrition foods pumped in. I would also like to get an additional pump with larger tubing to be able to pump liquid mysis into the tank (e.g., Reef Nutrition Mysis Feast, AquaForest or Nyos mysis).
My questions are:
1. How do I drill a hole for power cords into the mini fridge and seal the hole so that I can easily make changes (more cables in, cables removed, etc.)?
2. How best to connect the tubing through the drilled holes? Previously just slathered silicone in the holes with the tubing passed through. Would a bulkhead be better?
3. How to do the above while keeping the cold from escaping the fridge? The silicone plugging seems to work well, but looking for other solutions that would work and still maintain the cold temp.
Thanks!
