[goof901]

could you use one of these to heat ( and cool) your vivs instead of using a heat pad, which could crack the glass?

Thermoelectric cooling - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

didn't really read thru that thoroughly, basically what it does is makes one side hotter, and the other side colder

 

[parkanz2]

The issue is that there is extra heat not how it's delivered which poses a risk to the glass.

I'm not sure exactly why that is supposed to be beneficial but if it applies heat directly to the glass, there's still a risk of cracking.

 

[goof901]

shoulda been more clear, one could make vents coming out the top and place the thermoelectric cooler there
________________
_____cooler______
| |..................| |
| |..................| |
| |..................| |
viv is down here

 

[parkanz2]

Oh so on top? I suppose that would work, the cool air would naturally displace the warm viv air. I would hook it up to thermostat though, a decent proportional one to make sure there aren't big swings in temperature. You'd also have to worry about dehumidifying the viv air because of the chimney like effect that would create.

 

[goof901]

how would it dehumidify the air? cuz i have no idea what the chimney effect is

 

[parkanz2]

how would it dehumidify the air? cuz i have no idea what the chimney effect is

If outside air is cooled and falls into the viv it displaces warm humid air which rises out the top. The movement of warm air up draws more air out which is what happens in a chimney and why you don't get a smokey living room.

If cooler was relatively sealed off from outside air it wouldn't be much of an issue, but that also means you'd expose the unit to humid tank air consistently.

It might not happen to any appreciable affect, just something to keep an eye on if you try it. It looks interesting.

 

[goof901]

i'm not going to be doing that anytime soon since summer is a long time away, but i'll keep this updated if it works. but if it does work, it would be a way to heat/cool the tank without having to heat/cool the whole house to 73 degrees

 

[chin_monster]

They work but there are some serious drawbacks to using them.

They are terribly inefficient to use and by the time you've assembled enough units and controller to get the temp pull down you need you've more than likely spent enough money to make a 1/10 or 1/15 hp chiller start to attractive (or more than pay for).

IceProbe Aquarium/Water Chiller by Coolworks

Another issue distributing the chill inside a viv/ keeping the inhabitants away from the cold probe. I'd expect that you could use an iceprobe in air rather than water, but that it's prolly not the best solution to the issue unless you are dealing w/ something rather small like a single 10 or 20 gallon tank.

 

[jakestew]

Thermoelectric cooling sounds very interesting. I will definitely check this out because I am looking for a new chiller anyway. At the moment I am trying chiller rentals because this is the best way to bypass the time until I have found the right device for my requirements. As I said I will also check if the thermoelectric cooling is an option for me.