Cooling an aqua pod

llewella

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I have a 24g aquapod. It has stock PC lights and runs 2 fans to cool the lights. I am running one PH and the pimp for the return. No heater. The tank stays around 82-83 degrees. I have tried turning off the lights earlier, and opening the little feeding door on top to vent it, but it still stays too hot. Do they make a chiller for pods? Any ideas on how to cool this thing off? I want to make it a seahorse tank but can't do it with it this warm..
 
I believe they make 1/15 HP Chillers for a nanos. Not to expensive either. What pump are you running? If you are running the stock pump you may be able to get a Maxi1200 which I think runs cooler.

Schwimm
 
Yes, I am running a stock pump. I believe I might have a maxi 1200 around here somewhere. I will also look into that chiller.
Thanks!
 
Dont seahorses require something like 18"-20" inches of vertical height. I thought I had read that somewhere because I was considering doing the same thing for my 29 gal nanocube.

Additionally, you could get a college dorm room refrigerator from goodwill or a yard sale for nothing, and then drill an in and out hole in it, coil a long length of tubing inside running from and back to the tank, and you will have nice coolwater, and a place to keep a drink or two.
 
Shadow6;474815 wrote: Dont seahorses require something like 18"-20" inches of vertical height. I thought I had read that somewhere because I was considering doing the same thing for my 29 gal nanocube.

Additionally, you could get a college dorm room refrigerator from goodwill or a yard sale for nothing, and then drill an in and out hole in it, coil a long length of tubing inside running from and back to the tank, and you will have nice coolwater, and a place to keep a drink or two.

I think dwarf seahorses can do okay in AIO setups, lots of LFS' seem to have them.

And the dorm room fridge won't work well, or will burn the motor up quickly.
 
A refrigerator is meant to keep cool stuff cool, not constantly cool warm things. The motor does not run continuously, only when the temp needs to be lowered a bit. If you keep introducing heat, the motor just runs the whole time.
 
Definitely swap out the pump if it is the stock one, but I would use a Maxijet 900 rather than a 1200 since you get just a little less flow but a lot less watts which equates to heat. When I bought mine the hood only had one fan even though there was a slot for two so I replaced the stock fan with a stronger one and added a second. I also opened the slits where the fan is a little more with a dremel.

After doing all that I took the hood off completely and used a 20" Current PC Fixture. I didn't have any heat issues again.
 
I have an ice probe chiller that Im not using if that would work for you. $50
 
Stevhan;474851 wrote: I have an ice probe chiller that Im not using if that would work for you. $50
Do I have to drill the tank for that or does it come with a bracket? Will it fit into the overflow area of the pod? I've never used a chiller before.


Shadow, It depends on the species of seahorses you keep. I successfully kept hippo erectus in a 30tall before with no problems. Sometimes smaller tanks are better because it helps them find food easier.
 
I have 3 seahorses in an aquapod and they seem fine, no hood on it just the class top that comes with the 150W fixture and a fan angled towards the water. I'm running 2 heaters in the back compartment and it's stable at 75F.
I also replaced the pump with one of the newer MJ and took the directional flow thing out. Stock pump was crap and that may cause the over heating in your case
 
llewella;474948 wrote: Do I have to drill the tank for that or does it come with a bracket? Will it fit into the overflow area of the pod? I've never used a chiller before.
Yeah you would have to drill it or you could put it on a cheap cannister filter like a fluval that is more square. It would take a little crafting if your handy.
 
When I had my Aquapod 24 I used a maxijet (think it was a 1200) and a heater. Never experienced any heat issues. As mentioned earlier, the stock pump probably runs warmer. A chiller cost a lot more than a maxi.....
 
Yeah, not very handy at all, and am so scared to drill a tank. I'll try the maxijet and see if that works..
Thanks everyone..
 
IMO and in my reserch any thing from 78-86 is fine.The average temperature of about 1,000 coral reefs in the world in 81 degrees. The temperature range of 81-84 is what i consider optimal and normal temperature to maintain all reef animals. i am reading from the Marine Invertebrates book , by Ronald L. Shimek, Ph.D.
 
But everything I have read says seahorses like it cooler.. I don't know why.. most are found in shallow waters which seems like they would be warmer, but I just dont want to go against the experts and do something wrong..
 
Ok so I changed out the pump to a maxijet and the temp came down YAY! No need for a chiller. actually have to put a heater in now. Temp without a heater got to 76 overnight. Thanks for all the advice. I love this club :)
 
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