Stainless Steel Immersion Chiller

[Shrimp>Wife]

Hi Everyone,

I was inspired to make the stainless steel immersion tubes found in the following thread: 

https://skfaquatics.com/forum/topic/9455-cooling-multiple-tanks/

I made mine with the following materials

- x metres of annealed seamless stainless steel tube grade 316. Outer Diameter 12.7mm, Wall Thickness 0.9mm, ASTM 269. I got mine from Midway Metals in Sydney for $5 per metre.

- A hand bender, rated to bend thin walled stainless steel. Got one from ebay for $99.

- A tube cutter, again make sure it will cut thin wall stainless steel. I got mine from ebay for $32.

For 60cm tanks I recommend 3 metres of tubing

For 30cm tanks I recommend 2 metres of tubing

Your hand bender will have an inherent bend radius, using this you can calculate the length of tube that you will use up with each bend whether it be 90 degrees or 180 degrees and pretty much how much tube you will need depending on your design. 

NOTES: I used 12.7mm tubing as you can then squeeze 12/16mm aquarium hosing on to it snugly (if you are paranoid use hose clamps as well). I also used 12.7mm OD tubing as its the maximum diameter you can get a hand bender for that is rated to bend stainless steel. Do not get thicker than 1.0mm walled stainless steel it will be a nightmare to bend. Make sure your stainless steel is annealed seamless tube this is specifically made for severe manipulation. This is for freshwater application only... the guys at midway said this would last 3 months in a saltwater tank lol. Good hand benders are each made for one specific diameter only, make sure you get the right one for your tube diameter.

I am happy to post links to the ebay items if I'm allowed to.

I'm pairing this with an Eheim 2213 and a Resun cl 200 chiller to chill 2 x 60cm tanks and ultimately 3 x 60cm, I'll update once this is done and give some feedback on the temp differences. I hope the info is useful.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Edited August 5, 2017 by Shrimp>Wife

[jayc]

Very nice @Shrimp>Wife.

BTW, has your wife seen your forum name yet?

 

Anyway ... would love to see more pics of this when you have it all hooked up to the chiller, Eheim and tubes.

A drawing wouldn't be a bad idea either. 

Edited August 5, 2017 by jayc

[Shrimp>Wife]

Quick update now we are all melting....

Ehiem 2213 paired with 2 x 60cm tanks, water flow is too slow. Temp difference between tanks is less than 0.1 degree. However on hot days the tanks slowly creep up in temp to 25 degrees, even setting the chiller to 21 degrees. Water has to travel to a max height of 210cm, the canister is sitting on the bottom shelf just a few inchs off the floor so I guess there just isn't enough grunt with flow loss via all the tube bends. Tried removing all the media,this made very little difference.

Replaced the Eheim with an inline Resun King 2FLV 1000l/hr, I run this externally with 2 x 12mm hose barb fitting to 1/2in bsp male adapters (package only comes with one of these other is a 19mm hose barb to 1/2in bsp). I set the chiller at 22 degrees and now both tanks sit at between 23 and 23.6 degrees. The delta between the 2 tanks varies from 0.1 to 0.3 of a degree.

The loss of filtering I compensate with Qanvee QS200 sponge filters packed with media and modded to run off an Aquael Mini Patfilter rather than an airpump. (Much quieter too).

 

 

 

[jayc]

Thanks for the update.

Any pics of the final product??

[Cesar]

Very cool, would be great to see picture of final setup!

Thanks!

[richiep]

Like it. Yes more pics please

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[KaridinaGal]

Ooh, yes. I'm following this with great interest to see how it works for you.

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[Shrimp>Wife]

Few pics...

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Pump to chiller.

And securing immersion chiller in aquarium.

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[Shrimp>Wife]

Dinnertime.

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