fishtankable ice cubes... questions...

[dadstank]

so... we were just sitting here thinking about tank temps. here is the question.

ice cubes in a glass transfer cold temps to warmer, yadda yadda... how big of an ice cube would be needed to take the temp of 45 gallons of salt water from 84 degrees, to 80 degrees?

room temp will be anywhere from 87-90 degrees.

how quick is the temp drop?
how big a water a container? liter? gallon?

can the effect of cooling last the day?

anyone with experience?

 

[SnowManSnow]

id think you'd need a pretty big chunk of ice. You'd also have to keep the ice from melting in order for the "Cube to Tank Ratio" to remain constant. I donno! I don't think you'd want to drop it too awefully fast either and add stress to your denizens.

I assume a chiller is out of budget>?

B

 

[dadstank]

a chiller is not out of the budget, it is out of the picture. the only way to get an affordable unit in the tiny space is to do some kind of "ghetto" venting to get rid of the exhaust heat...

and that is not allowed... we've been through this.

ideas?

 

[fyrefysh]

Do you have a fan blowing acrossed the top of your water?

 

[trido]

If things are that desperate I would recommend trying a frozen gallon milk jug or two. It should float. You would have to rotate a couple into the freezer each day to keep up with demand if is a cronic problem. Sounds like alot of work. A window AC is out f the question?

 

[trido]

On second thought. If your living room Sits at 87-90 degrees in the summer I would suggest moving to a cooler climate. :lol:

 

[Anonymous]

Ok math time

45 gallons of water is about 170 kg of water.

Now doing an extremly rough back of the napkin order of magnitude estimate (ie just assume regular water, neglect the rock/substrate also needs to be cooled).

Total heat needed to extract= mc dT = 170*4186*2.2 C = 1.6x10^6 Joules

Now assume your ice cube is at 0C (ie no colder), then the total heat needed to turn it from a solid to a liquid (which is the majority of energy required) then to tank temp.

Q = mL + mc dT
1600000 = m 335000 + m * 4186 *28.9C

m = 3.5 kgs (approx) so about 7.75 pounds of ice.

Again this is neglecting the ambient temperature heating up the water, since that thermal transfer is a whole new ballgame, and I refuse to calculate that without getting paid.

 

[MartinE]

a chiller is not out of the budget, it is out of the picture. the only way to get an affordable unit in the tiny space is to do some kind of "ghetto" venting to get rid of the exhaust heat...

and that is not allowed... we've been through this.

ideas?

Fans, one of the new "portable room air conditioners," or a window air conditioner unit, are probably just as affordable as a chiller anyway.

 

[trido]

Ok math time
m = 3.5 kgs (approx) so about 7.75 pounds of ice.

So to make a long answer short. Since water weighs just under 8 pounds a gallon and I doubt that freezing it will alter its weight. A gallon milk jug should do the trick. :wink:

 

[Anonymous]

Ok math time
m = 3.5 kgs (approx) so about 7.75 pounds of ice.

So to make a long answer short. Since water weighs just under 8 pounds a gallon and I doubt that freezing it will alter its weight. A gallon milk jug should do the trick. :wink:

Bwahahahahaha :lol:



Why is the room temperature so high? 90 degrees? Are you putting a reef tank in your steam room?

 

[dadstank]

it may as well be a steam room. we are on the sixth floor of an old WWI builing in the center of NYC with direct sunlight from morning to night...

and i would love to move to a cooler climate...

the whole idea is to be able to turn off the a/c unit while the apt is empty.

i have a clip on fan blowing across the top of the tank, but only since yesterday. and it's only within the canopy.

i am going to change the lights to run full cycle through out the night while it is 1. cooler, and 2. we will have the a/c on...

i really want to be able to be a normal person this summer and keep the a/c off. if i must, i will. but....

the wife HATES having to do that.... she can't stand seeing a $250 electricity bill, so naturally it's my fault summer gets hot.

 

[Anonymous]

it may as well be a steam room. we are on the sixth floor of an old WWI builing in the center of NYC with direct sunlight from morning to night...

and i would love to move to a cooler climate...

the whole idea is to be able to turn off the a/c unit while the apt is empty.

i have a clip on fan blowing across the top of the tank, but only since yesterday. and it's only within the canopy.

i am going to change the lights to run full cycle through out the night while it is 1. cooler, and 2. we will have the a/c on...

i really want to be able to be a normal person this summer and keep the a/c off. if i must, i will. but....

the wife HATES having to do that.... she can't stand seeing a $250 electricity bill, so naturally it's my fault summer gets hot.

I live in Miami...the AC is on 24/7 for all but 10 days total out of the whole year. :lol:

I don't even turn it off when I leave my apartment because I hate to come back to a hot place.

Comfort costs money. Reef tanks cost money. Bite the bullet and set your thermostat to 80 degrees when you leave the house. :lol:

 

[dadstank]

i can't stand thinking rationally.....

i suppose that's why i am always last minute and currently residing in
"la château de bow-wow".....

c'est la vie n'est pas????

 

[Anonymous]

i can't stand thinking rationally.....

i suppose that's why i am always last minute and currently residing in
"la château de bow-wow".....

c'est la vie n'est pas????

oui
:lol:

 

[Anonymous]

it may as well be a steam room. we are on the sixth floor of an old WWI builing in the center of NYC with direct sunlight from morning to night...

and i would love to move to a cooler climate...

the whole idea is to be able to turn off the a/c unit while the apt is empty.

i have a clip on fan blowing across the top of the tank, but only since yesterday. and it's only within the canopy.

i am going to change the lights to run full cycle through out the night while it is 1. cooler, and 2. we will have the a/c on...

i really want to be able to be a normal person this summer and keep the a/c off. if i must, i will. but....

the wife HATES having to do that.... she can't stand seeing a $250 electricity bill, so naturally it's my fault summer gets hot.

Sheesh, mine gets up to 450 when its hot...