View Full Version : The Fish Tank
Damien got me thinking about a neat OCIA project. I'm going to do what others have done, but i'm going to try and do it for cheaper. The one's I've seen around drill into the sides of a fish tank and mount brackets and all that. Forget it. I'm going to make it look halfway decent without all that extra work. This is for fellow slackers out there who just don't like putting in 110%. :D
I will be writing an article on this when I finish it along with some ideas on what you could do to make it better, etc.. etc.
I just need a few opinions on how I should start. I was thinking about getting a normal 10 gal tank with a fish water pump that goes inside the fish tank so it won't be as loud (i hope). People always say watercooling is silent but I've noticed the pumps are quite loud. I also want to make this as safe as possible. Therefore I am only going to run one pipe in and one pipe out just for the CPU block. I have a zalman silent cooler for the video card so that shouldn't be a problem. I haven't decided if I want to do anything to the case or not. I might just have the hoses coming out of the back.
Anyone with ideas?
Edit: Also what would be a good Gals/hour rate? Some pumps do like 79 gals/hour and the go up to 900 gals/hour. The faster the better?
Bio-Hazard
09-21-2004, 11:02 AM
With the system being external, you're going to need a pump that gives good head pressure (my Ex) to make up for the long distance between the case and the tank. I'd say one of the larger Eheim or Hydro pumps would work best.
KryoNexus
09-21-2004, 11:20 AM
agreed. you'll definitely need some pressure to be able to drive it that distance (unless your fish tank is right beside the case).
flow rates can be decieving for one as you'll never get what the pump is rated for. also, more flow isn't necessarily always best. generally it is, but it depends on the type of block you have on your CPU. the best thing is to see what PSI and flow rate your cpu block are designed for. then get a pump that exceeds that flow rate/psi.
the tank will be slap next to the case, almost touching it. So distance isn't a problem. Would 317 GPH be fine? they sell one that does 900 GPH lol
Bio-Hazard
09-21-2004, 11:44 AM
I'd say anywhere around 300-400 GPH with around 10 ft head should be fine. You shouldn't need more than that.
mmkay. next thing. could fish live in the tank? LOL
that would rock. i doubt it though, even with good filtration
Beemer
09-21-2004, 12:38 PM
Big thing there is temperature, if you have a small tank it will heat up quick and might get pretty warm. Fishies don't take kindly to large temperature fluctuations. :lol: You could always give it a try though, I would stick with tropical fish though :wink:
Disclaimer:: I am in no way a fish expert, experiment at you fish's risk.
silenze
09-21-2004, 01:02 PM
thinking more about that... I dunno, the idea of fishy water being pumped through my computer just doesn't sound cool lol (remember they crap in that...)
undergroundtech
09-21-2004, 01:13 PM
I wouldn't try it personally, the fish food/wast would make havoc with the cooling system. You might be able to get away with it for a little while using filters, but I think it would end up causing a lot of extra maintenance.
Also I wouldn't use lights on the tank, due to algae growth causing it to gunk up your cooling also . However, black lights would probably be OK, not much would grow with that.
silenze
09-21-2004, 01:31 PM
hippy fishies
yeah that's my thinking too... cruddy water.
KryoNexus
09-21-2004, 02:10 PM
if you put antifreeze in it (or an antifreeze substitute), and use distilled water, you won't have to worry about algae anyway
but I don't know to many fish that can live in antifreeze hehehe
Anyone think 10 gallons isn't enough to keep the water cool?
I'm going with distilled water cause its cheaper. Trying to find a better pump solution, but it appears the cheapest I can find that will work is 72 bucks at PetsMart.
Looking into water blocks. Any ideas for that? Danger Den always has good quality, and they are only 10 bucks more than a swiftech.
KryoNexus
09-21-2004, 03:19 PM
yeh, the maze 4's are nice.
KryoNexus
09-21-2004, 04:51 PM
depends, i'm not a fan of the "split-out" outputs on it.
leezard
09-21-2004, 05:25 PM
I preffer polarflo blocks, but they are about twice what a DD block costs.
yeah, im thinking about going with the swiftech one... 42 bucks ain't bad
Bio-Hazard
09-21-2004, 05:44 PM
I'm running a Swiftech 6002 0n one rig and a Polarflo on the other.......Both work well but the Polarflo is a degree cooler on the same system..........But the Swiftech can't be beat for ease of installing and cheap price.
got a question, what exactly is head height? i have this one pump that says 100-330 GPH with a range of 90 inches to 0 inches head height. What is that?
KryoNexus
09-21-2004, 10:42 PM
that is the vertical distance the pump will be able to push the water before the backpressure overcomes the force of the pump (aka, no flow). however, that's not necessarily for one pass. remember that the longer your loop, the more backpressure you'll have at the pump head as well. toss in a few turns up and back down to reach various components, and you'll have a head height probably well over 25in (virtually of course).
all that being said though, 90 in head height should easily take care of your setup.
undergroundtech
09-22-2004, 01:37 AM
Anyone think 10 gallons isn't enough to keep the water cool?
It should be enough for coolin your system, but it won't be enough to keep your PC from cooking the fish (should you be set on having fish). Most tropical fish will need a water temp around 80 degres.
Also if your dead set on fish make sure you don't use a micro-fin water block, it takes very little trash in the water to gunk it up.
heh, ill probably just use some of those fake fish that move around
silenze
09-22-2004, 10:16 AM
And a Scuba Steve!
And a Scuba Steve!
He can go into the sunken ship
silenze
09-22-2004, 11:40 AM
Hey since you use AMD... why not fit one of those Intel dolls with some mini cement shoes and stick him in the bottom? :lol:
Hey since you use AMD... why not fit one of those Intel dolls with some mini cement shoes and stick him in the bottom? :lol:
*Places bid on E-bay*
Bio-Hazard
09-22-2004, 06:50 PM
That's a great idea with the doll............... :twisted: My wife even thought it was a good idea............. :shock:
Roadracer_4ever
09-23-2004, 06:12 AM
Could buy a generic fuel pump from an auto parts store, as well as a generic pressure regulator(allows you dial in the flow) roughly around $100 bucks for both the last time I bought one for a car. It would pump water just fine, and if you added the coolant, would add the lubricity it needs as well. It's 12 volt, could be run off a second and rather cheap pc power supply, and offer way more pressure than you can use(thus the pressure regulator. It'll have more head than anything you can buy out of a pet store to boot. Made to suck fuel out of a rear mounted tank, and push it all the way to the front of a car and the top of an engine.....and allow it to maintain the speeds of today's cars. Even a 12 volt window washer pump would prolly suffice for what you're wanting to do here...the generic ones run around 15-20 bucks.
As an alternative. You could use the old siphon effect, providing you're willing to do the work, and not need a pump at all. You're sucking and output lines would have to be bigger than fed lines, and you'd need to create a tower that has a lower rise rate than fall rate to keep it working, but it would work, as long as you can get all the air out of it for initial priming. Used to sell fuel cell siphon hoses at a bike shop I worked at...had a ball/check valve at the bottom that would allow fuel in, and none out...all you had to do was shake it to get the fuel in it...once it was full, it ran from the fuller source to the emptier source. You'd also need to place the fish tank higher than the water block. Heat also helps, as it tends to gravitate naturally towards cold. JMT.
For the time being the Fish Tank is put on hold, I am going to get to it, but right now my car decided to be a bitch and wear out the inside tread already of my brand new Pirellis......
Lets here it for Midas! Never go there. Told me they would fix this problem back in February. I just noticed today that the inside tread is bald and I bought those tires in February. Looks like I get to go there and chew some folks out and try to get something for free. Bastards
KryoNexus
09-23-2004, 08:46 AM
hang turns pretty fast on a regular basis?
your inside tread wearing out can only be a couple things. it's either the way you drive (fast cornering), bad alignment, or low tire pressure.
This is something broken. When I took it to Gateway tire first for an alignment, they told me my camber adjustment was all the way to positive, but the car was in the negative. That meant that something was bent or broken under there. They said I would have to take it to a frame shop. I called a body shop and they said Midas does their suspension work. So I took it to Midas.
Midas then tells me this problem is caused by my struts being cracked. That's fine, I paid them 584 bucks to put on new struts. I also put on my Pirellis at this exact same time. These Pirellis have the best tread life out of any of the Z rated tires.
Plus the INSIDE tread is caused by negative camber plus a few other things. The OUTSIDE is caused by aggresive turning. Ask shawn about that in my old Firebird hehe.
I don't drive like a maniac anymore. At least not turning. I drive fast straight :D
Beemer
09-23-2004, 08:56 AM
hang turns pretty fast on a regular basis?
your inside tread wearing out can only be a couple things. it's either the way you drive (fast cornering), bad alignment, or low tire pressure.
low tire pressure would create more wear on both the inside and outside edges. I would go with allignment, -camber may be off.
Some one also told me my tie rods might be bad, that might explain the negative camber
playafly187
09-23-2004, 11:26 AM
i would back the car up to the front door of midas and burn off the remaining tread at their doorstep...... hehe
silenze
09-23-2004, 11:29 AM
yeah... uh... if you turn fast... what sidewall there is on the tire... flexes... "rolls" so to say.. and you ride on the OUTSIDE edge of the tire :lol:
low tire pressure would make the wear on the inside worse in his case... and also wear the outside.. but if his camber is so far off as to wear the inside bald, having low tire pressure would make the rear of the car feel really loose and wobbly/unstable through corners... so he probably would've noticed that... it would most likely make holeshots feel sloppy and clumsy too..
btw; midas sucks. :?
I just know the car doesn't veer to one side or the other, it goes back and forth depending on the road condition. Kinda like there is alot of play in the steering. That was my original problem.
silenze
09-23-2004, 12:10 PM
low profile tires with rear wheel drive will do that to a certain extent, but it shouldn't be excessive..
its not low profile, they are 245/50/ZR16
KryoNexus
09-24-2004, 11:07 AM
50's count as low pros ;-)
took it to Midas this morning, they said they'd take a look at it. Here's hoping for the best
silenze
09-24-2004, 01:30 PM
50's count as low pros ;-)
Yeah I gave him crap on aim about that. :D
KryoNexus
09-24-2004, 01:50 PM
50's count as low pros ;-)
Yeah I gave him crap on aim about that. :D
lol, they don't have to be rubberbands to be considerred low pro ;-)
although on a serious note, i've seen some that have to be just rubber and no air.
Roadracer_4ever
09-24-2004, 10:49 PM
Curious, are you running aftermarket rims? Perchance you didn't get the right rims for your car. Improper inset or outset on the rims will create issues like this as well. Alignment is best done with stock tires and rims, rather than aftermarket.
Curious, are you running aftermarket rims? Perchance you didn't get the right rims for your car. Improper inset or outset on the rims will create issues like this as well. Alignment is best done with stock tires and rims, rather than aftermarket.
They are Ford Racing rims... Exact same dimensions as my stock wheels. I got the car back from Midas, they fixed the alignment and it drives smooth as silk. GUESS WHAT? Now the motor is messed up. I can't win. My computer also broke friday so it was the day of breakage. I'm on my computer now, no telling when the thing is going to crap out on me.
The car is running at maybe half hp/tq. It bogs out all the time and it shakes like crazy when im trying to accelerate. At first I thought it was spark, like it was missing. Now I think it's fuel related, because it varies. It will be really bad at one point only to smooth out a touch later. I'm changing out the fuel filter today and changing the spark plugs just for shits and giggles. HOPEFULLY my car won't be a douche and I won't have to let midas screw something else up. Yay for me. I can't own anything electronic I've figured out
Roadracer_4ever
09-30-2004, 03:50 PM
Was it the fuel filter? Could be dirty injectors, or a bad fuel pump as well. Quick and easy test for the fuel pump. Twist the gas cap loose, so more air can get in the tank. If it runs better, chances are the pump is on it's way out. Have it pressure tested to be sure.
They've had my car for over a week now. fuel filter replaced, spark plugs, wires, rotor, cap. They checked the injectors with some pulse stethascope, they checked vacuum hoses... nothing
Those little bastards broke my car. I don't know if they checked the fuel pump, but i do know its buzzing.
Roadracer_4ever
10-01-2004, 02:39 PM
They've had my car for over a week now. fuel filter replaced, spark plugs, wires, rotor, cap. They checked the injectors with some pulse stethascope, they checked vacuum hoses... nothing
Those little bastards broke my car. I don't know if they checked the fuel pump, but i do know its buzzing.
A pulse stethescope only tells them if it's metering fuel, not if it's doing so properly. Pulling the injector and bench testing it for proper spray pattern is the only true test to see if it's working right. Get them to check the fuel pump pressure as well. Proper pressure is everything with an injection system.
The stupid fools said they can't fix my car. They said, after calling 2 ford dealers, that the problem has to do with wiring. I call bullshit. Fools won't give me my 300 bucks back either. They say they spent well over that trying to solve this problem in man hours and in parts they didn't charge me for. I'm just gonna call the better business bureau and maybe write the newspaper about what crooks they are.
playafly187
10-01-2004, 11:15 PM
wow, that is pretty gay...
care to check out this local guy now? hehe, he wont give you the run-around... lol
This just in.. NEVER go to a Midas.
It's official, Midas blew my motor. Ford told me my #7 cylinder was running at 22% compression. That means my motor is blown. Someone at Midas decided to hot rod the car and blew the motor up. And the SHITTY part is, I don't have any proof that they did it so I can't take them to court.
Possibilities include blown head gasket, cracked block, piston rings, or bent/burnt valve. The bent/burt valve is the only thing I think it could be becaus im not blowing any smoke. However getting those valves replaced would cost damn near as much as ford wants to put in a new motor. Not to mention what if it's 2 things wrong? So I'm going to let ford drop in a new motor and forever hate anything that starts with M or has a yellow logo.
Beemer
10-06-2004, 10:11 AM
Trust the midas touch.......
silenze
10-06-2004, 11:12 AM
So I'm going to let ford drop in a new motor and forever hate anything that starts with M or has a yellow logo.
Good, I hate clowns, too. ;)
yay!
I now find out that the previous owner was running NITROUS..... This just keeps getting worse and worse. At least I'll know what THIS motor has had done to it in the end.
I probably won't be able to drive my car when I give Ford my two legs as payment
Caj Darkmoon
10-07-2004, 01:02 PM
Just out of curiosity, are they planning on replacing the whole block?
Oh, and I love how your #7 cylinder is bad. If my #7 was bad, I wouldn't be too worried, because thats three above what my car has :)
Roadracer_4ever
10-11-2004, 02:24 AM
yay!
I now find out that the previous owner was running NITROUS..... This just keeps getting worse and worse. At least I'll know what THIS motor has had done to it in the end.
I probably won't be able to drive my car when I give Ford my two legs as payment
Odd, losing the number 7 cyl. Usually it's 4 or 8 that go(rear either side) due to not being able to cool as well as the rest of them.
I'm gathering this is a 5 liter 'stang?
Replacing the valves isn't so bad actually, but you need to have the proper tools for the job, and once you have the head off, should really have the guides checked and replaced if neccessary. A simple wet/dry compression check will tell you if it's the valves or the rings. Most times, with nitrous, it's the rings, so a new engine is probably the way to go here.
There is no telling what else is wrong so i went ahead and had the new motor dropped in. Goodness it sounds nice, got one old problem left to fix and im all set.
Back on topic, the Fish Tank idea is going to be done near chrimmas when i can get a nice block :) Look for the article on it around new year
playafly187
10-20-2004, 03:40 PM
There is no telling what else is wrong so i went ahead and had the new motor dropped in. Goodness it sounds nice, got one old problem left to fix and im all set.
Back on topic, the Fish Tank idea is going to be done near chrimmas when i can get a nice block :) Look for the article on it around new year
btw, any update on that fix? cause it was pretty much making the car useless above 2,000 RPM...
ha, no im taking it to Ford on friday
playafly187
10-21-2004, 11:11 AM
ahh ok, thought that was going down wednesday...
We should probably move this thread to the cars section lol
Got my car fixed from Ford. The reason it was dying after 3000 RPM was the lower distributor cap wasn't screwed in... AKA MIDAS HIRES DRUNKEN MONKEYS TO WORK FOR THEM.
Basically, whenever the powerband rose to the midrange, most of my cylinders were losing spark. Now it has more torque than my old motor :twisted:
The only downside is now I have less horsepower. I can feel that a little on the highway. But it still rolls with the big dogs :mrgreen:
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