Cheap Aquarium Chiller Alternatives

I know everyone might not want or be able to afford a big aquarium chiller - the most common question I get is how you can make a cheap aquarium chiller to cool your aquarium without spending a lot of money. Here are the most popular solutions that I’ve tried, and the pros-and-cons of each approach.

1. Clip-on Mini Fans

You’ve probably got 10 of these little fans lying around your house right now, or clipped onto your desk at work, but did you know they’re a popular piece of aquarium equipment? Lots of people have used these fans to cool off their aquarium, from 10 gallon nanos, to rows of fans on a 300 gallon reef tank.
Why are they so popular? Easy: they’re like a cheap aquarium chiller, and they work.

Cost: $8-10

Pros

• Cheap - you can get these for $8-10 bucks at Target, Walmart, or Amazon
• Fast - I’ve had 5 degree temperature drops in half an hour using fans on a really hot day
• Efficient - they don’t use much power , and they can cool your tank multiple degrees

Cons

• Evaporation - and TONS of it! I had to top off 2-3 gallons per day on a 24 gallon tank.
• Salinity and pH swings - imagine what 10% evaporation or more does to sensitive corals and invertebrates. It’s not pretty.
• Gunk - the screens tend to get covered in salt-creep from the evaporating water, and cleaning it can be a real pain.

2. Bags of ice cubes/frozen bottles of water

This is what it sounds like: take a bag, fill it with ice cubes, pop it into your tank, filter or sump.

Cost: $0-5

Pros

• Dirt-cheap - I’m sure you’ve all got water and a freezer
• Super-fast - Ever put ice in a soda? This works, and in no time
• Easy - you’ve probably already got the supplies you need under your roof right now

Cons

• Poisoning/Contamination - saltwater’s hard to freeze, and RO/DI is expensive. But if tap water leaks from the bottle or ziploc, and chlorine gets out, your tank is toast /li>
• Rapid temperature swings - ice works well, but ice works fast, and you could lose livestock if the temp goes too quickly. Been there, done that - it sucks.
• Plastic problems -I’ve heard rumors of plastic bottles cooking under halides; this is a disaster, but should be ok if it’s in the sump.

3. Heat sinks/CPU Fans

If you’re a DIY fan, using heat sinks and computer exhaust fans can be a very cheap way to keep your tank cool.

Cost: $30-50

Pros

• Cheap/Efficient - low energy costs, and low entry costs, if you can do the wiring yourself
• Powerful - this is a serious machine, if you can build it. The technology is sound, and works like a charm..

Cons

• Electronics skills - I don’t know about you, but I can’t wire this. It’s better for me to buy a professional chiller than to hire someone to set this up. /li>
• Only room temp. - while these systems are very efficient, they can’t cool a tank past room temperature; that means they can counter-act hot lights, but not beat the summer heat
• Complications - if you’re doing your own electronics, you’d better do them well; if my chiller craps out, Current USA will fix it, and I don’t have to pull an all-nighter rewiring my system.

I hope this gave you guys some good information about DIY aquarium chiller solutions; let me know if you’ve tried anything like this in the comments, I’d love to know how it went.