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Fish tank water cooling.

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Younglin

Younglin

Member
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Joined
Jan 18, 2010
Location
Calgary, Alberta, CANADA!
I'm planning on setting up a loop using a canister filter for fish tanks. It will pump water out of the tank through the cpu block ( it will be filtered first) then back into the fish tank. It's just an idea for now so any advice or problems you see would be a huge help.
 
Would you drink the water from your filter?

Considering most loops have water that is more filtered than drinking water, I don't think it's a good idea...
 
It's doable, however a better plan is to submerge the radiator in the fish tank.
Even good filters can't get everything out of the water, and little bits will slowly get lodged in the block. Bacteria cover every surface in a fish tank, and that'll include the waterblock.
If you put a filter and a UV sterilizer between the aquarium and the cpu block you should be pretty much all set from that standpoint.
 
I gotta hop in here for the fishes, the heat dissipated into the tank would not make them happy campers...not sure if you're planning on having fish in the tank, but it's called thermal pollution if you want to look it up, and it's why companies aren't allowed to dump hot water back into water sources (even if it's clean) in some places.
 
Once you try this you'll be amazed how fast the water heats up to the point of increasing CPU/GPU temps and how long it takes to cool back down.

Good luck, maybe it will work for you.
 
That water will act as a large heat sink, but will eventually heat up without additional cooling. Also if there is any bio activity in that tank (fish or bacteria) and no chemicals to prevent any bio activity, you'll get an insulating coating of slime built up in the tubes and blocks.
 
this gets mentioned at least twice a year im guessing and for all the same reasons listed above it is usually shot down. in the its one of those" looked good on paper" ideas but in reality will be a "wish i listened "
 
I would not even put the rad in the tank due to slimage...

As for "thermal pollution" during the winter it would be a good way to heat your tank without running heaters for tropical fish :) (assuming it is a LARGE tank)
 
I was thinking of having a rad cool the water before it goes back into the tank. There will be fish but I'm not worried about them. In fact they will be dead before the water temp starts to stress them out. The tank will just be for feeder fish for my bigger cichlid and giant gourami. ( don't have the gourami yet) and I assumed there would build up in the cpu block but it wouldn't be that bad. The pump I would be using has a flow rate of 900GPH so build in the block doesn't worry me a whole lot.
 
So... how well do your filters filter out fish poop and algae? :) Just not sure if I'd want that sort of questionable stuff in my loop, considering I have distilled water an silver coils in it. Having fish means you can't really add any chemicals to the water, right? Sounds like a fun idea though ;)
 
Younglin said:
I was thinking of having a rad cool the water before it goes back into the tank. There will be fish but I'm not worried about them. In fact they will be dead before the water temp starts to stress them out. The tank will just be for feeder fish for my bigger cichlid and giant gourami. ( don't have the gourami yet) and I assumed there would build up in the cpu block but it wouldn't be that bad. The pump I would be using has a flow rate of 900GPH so build in the block doesn't worry me a whole lot.
Click to expand...
Yes it would.


If you use that tank as a heat sink, then it would be best to use a closed loop for the block and a heat exchanger in the tank.
 
Yep, there are way too many organisms in fish tank water to reliably filter out to keep your loop clean with a direct feed from the tank. You would have to use a closed loop setup into the tank. And as for the feeder fish and keeping the tank viable for fish; there is an easy way to test to see how much the tank will heat up. Simply get yourself a 200 watt heater and put it into the tank, then crank the thermostat all the way up and this will simulate the heat dump of a modern processor into the tank. I wouldn't be surprised that the temp will shortly get over 100 F in that aquarium. And aquarium does not make a good radiator for heat dissipation.
 
The temp of the tank doesn't really matter. If the fish die then they get fed to my other fish. And why would there be build up in the block if there isn't any build up in the hosing? With regular water changes ( which should be done anyway ) there won't be enough nitrates in the water for algae to become a problem. What would build up in the block? The filter removes pretty much everything.
 
@neonblingbling, I wouldn't put a bottle of Poland spring drinking water in one of my loops... and I probably wouldn't drink the distilled gallon water I use. Certainly not after I add antifreeze, and not after any exposure to ANY of my WC hardware. Doesn't mean the water isn't clean.

I once did this with my HTPC. It was an Athlon XP 2000+ and I used a home made copper cap block, fish tank pump, and 10 gallon aquarium. The block had no fins or pins so clogging wasn't an issue. My goal was silence and it was reached :)

Modern WC gear, higher heat producers and living fish require more consideration.
 
I was trying to convey the idea that there are other things in aquarium water to worry about, other than nitrates, that would lead to who-knows-what growing in the computer loop. My guess is that all the bacteria and what-not in the aquarium water would lead to some sort of growth/build up. Kind of the same reason why one would boil river water before consuming (or so I'm lead to believe).

I could imagine that occasional cleaning would take care of what ever gunk that builds up on the block. Take a brush to the block every time you clean your filter? Perhaps you could also use a 'water polishing' filter media to make block cleanings less frequent.
 
Even people who put just distilled or DI water in their loop will eventually get some buildup. It's amazing how little some bugs need to live and grow.
 
Younglin said:
The temp of the tank doesn't really matter. If the fish die then they get fed to my other fish. And why would there be build up in the block if there isn't any build up in the hosing? With regular water changes ( which should be done anyway ) there won't be enough nitrates in the water for algae to become a problem. What would build up in the block? The filter removes pretty much everything.
Click to expand...

Actually, the temp of the tank does matter as far as cooling goes. The hotter the water, the hotter your processor will run; it's that simple. And a fish tank doesn't have that much surface area to cool the water with, unlike a radiator. That's why I said to put a 200 watt heater in the tank and see what temp it hits equilibrium at.
 
Actually, the temp of the tank does matter as far as cooling goes. The hotter the water, the hotter your processor will run; it's that simple. And a fish tank doesn't have that much surface area to cool the water with, unlike a radiator. That's why I said to put a 200 watt heater in the tank and see what temp it hits equilibrium at.
Click to expand...

I was thinking of having a rad cool the water before it goes back into the tank.
Click to expand...
 
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