new cheap water chiller idea for outdoor 300gal stock tanks

[eddie]

need input

here's my brain storm

ok ...the 300 gal vats will set on bricks to elevate them off the ground some

A box framed around the 2ft high rubbermaid stock tank with a liner will hold cold water from a well thats constantly overflowing from a bulk head into the woods behind the house. The vat will set in the water in the frame.

The ground and the frame will have styrofoam instulation & the frames plywood will be painted flat white

There will be poly pipe wrapped all around the stock tank which will have a small pump that pumps salt water from the grow out vat into the frame of cold fresh water that the vats sit in

seems like it'd work well & be easy for me to install

any ideas would be apperciated

[eddie]

to make it realy cool I've thought of running the fresh water from the chiller into large homemade rock cureing vats and mabey even a small Koi pond also with a water fall that over flows into the woods
constantly changing water in the Koi pond and the homemade rock curing vats slowly

FWIW the rubbermaid 300 gal is only $164 localy for me

[bstruss]

You're on the same wavelenght as me. I currently have a 55 outdoors that is being cooled by 160' of 3/4" thinwall pvc underground in which the tank water flows through. It has kept tank water at constant 81 deg even on 96 deg days in the sun. My next step is a 300 gal outdoors and I was thinking of using my 78 deg artesian well in the manner that you described. Another option I considered was to epoxy coat some copper tubing (like one of the chiller makers does). This tubing would be coiled tightly like a car radiatior on either ends of the tank (two sets of tubing). Flow rate of well water through the coils could be modified as needed. I would monitor copper levels and coils would be removable for inspection or replacement as needed. So far I am having good coral response in the outdoor 55 gal.

Keep the thoughts coming!

[eddie]

this idea requires no digging

just a insulated frame above ground mabey lined with 2 poly tarps or a pond liner the 300 gal vat will sit in the frame with cold water all around it & tubing in the freshwater vat pumping salt water to further chiller capacity(I think)

I have a 46 gal steralite I'm going to try it with also

my other plan( someone elses idea)

is 10 1-1/2" pipes capped at the bottom sunk 20-30 foot deep like a well pipe with 3/4 run almost to the bottom all connected like a manifold at the top powerd by a small pump

very good idea & fairly easy

I think my new idea may be way easyer to set up quicker & cheaper for me that will still achive the same goals & last for a long time if I use a pond liner for the fresh water chiller pool

[eddie]

I've thought of the under ground manifold/tubing type chillers for smaller tanks installed with a ditch witch

acutualy still thinking of this for a 135 gal inside

connecting it to a underground chiller

[Mescalito]

Tom1356 runs something similar on his tank. I, in fact, have set-up something similar to his idea. Because my tank is cycling, I have not had the need to run it, but I'll definitely share my experiences when the time comes.

[eddie]

can you explain how it works & which idea its similar to

[Mescalito]

The way Tom's system works is similar in the respect that it is less expensive than the conventional chilling system by using freshwater rather than electricity to chill.
This set-up could also be used outdoors as well. First you tap into your coldwater pipe, outdoors it would just be your main line. Second, through the use of a solenoid valve or timer the cold water flows through the appropriate size tubing cooling your saltwater whether the tubing be immersed or coiled around the exterior of the body of water to be cooled. If you use the solenoid valve it must be hooked up to a controller indicating on/off times based on temperature.
Mine is set-up with 200 ft. of 3/8 in. ID tubing in my sump, the tubing then exits my sump and waters my garden. Do a search for Tom1356 and you'll see what he has done. I like it because I saved $700 on a chiller, I don't have the heat transfer from the chiller, I don't have the electrical costs of running a chiller, and there is no noise. Heck, I saved money on plumbing as well. HTH

[eddie]

thanks