Fish tank water chiller

Errorbyproxy · August 22, 2020

Looking at using a Poafamx 10GAL Aquarium Water Chiller to replace my radiator and fans. Found this water chiller for $220usd and it looks like it may be a easy retrofit for my computer. I’ll be cooking 2 rtx 2080ti’s and a amd 3000tx cpu. What are your thoughts? My goal is to have a temp of 40c under load.

Electronics Wizardy · August 22, 2020

Can you show the spec list of the chiller? DOn't see a model online. Is it this guy https://www.amazon.com/Poafamx-Aquarium-Temperature-Constant-Aquaculture/dp/B08FHZKYHZ/ref=sr_1_3?dchild=1&keywords=poafamx+10+gal+aquarium+water+chiller&qid=1598125279&sr=8-3?

From the ratings, that is way under what you will need to cool those ports.

Im guessing your planning on overclocking, so you will need probably 400w per gpu, and 200+w for the gpu, probably more. That model is rated at 200w.

From the pics of the unit I think its a peltier based model(can't really tell, but thats what the fins look like). Those won't cool a pc of those specs. Your gonna need something much bigger.

Also how much power can you use, this is probably gonna use over the power of a normal home power plug under load, and make a lot of heat into your room.

SolarNova · August 22, 2020

2 hours ago, Errorbyproxy said:

Looking at using a Poafamx 10GAL Aquarium Water Chiller to replace my radiator and fans. Found this water chiller for $220usd and it looks like it may be a easy retrofit for my computer. I’ll be cooking 2 rtx 2080ti’s and a amd 3000tx cpu. What are your thoughts? My goal is to have a temp of 40c under load.

Aquarium water chillers can indeed work, in fact that what people use, however u need to oversize them significantly.

Under normal operation Aquarium water chillers only have to deal with the heat of the ambient air on the water, and any light sources. For pC use i wouldnt go below a 1/2 HP chiller designed for aquariums up to 800L. (this means it is designed to keep a 800L aquarium at 25c).

Koolance for example actually makes one built for PC's , but its VERY overpriced, and weak, it uses a 1/4 HP compressor and is rated for 450w of cooling, BUT thats at 25c ambient temps, that will drop fast once u go colder.

These chillers also arnt intended to stay on (as in compressor on) ALL the time, so ull want to use a large reservoir if it doesn't have one built in, u can use something like a Igloo cooler (the ones for beers and picnics) as they are pre insulated. The large res gives the chiller a buffer so it doesnt turn on and of as often, but it will take longer to get down to ur target temp initially.

FYI 40c under load will likely require u to aim for well under ambient temps on the chiller, this will likely cause condensation. Be careful and take the necessary precautions if u go this route.

Also note, Modern Chillers tend to use the inferior r134a refrigerant, which is cheap and good for the environment but boils at only around -20c , so has far less efficiency at lower temp targets, if u can still find one, get one with r22, or similarly low boiling point refrigerant (-40c or better)