Planning Oil cooled PC...with Fish! Just an idea...

Thanks for the advice on the double glaze. I was working on that same idea and came up with what I think should be a pretty adequate solution. I am going to use two 1/4" or 3/8" sheets of plexi separated by 3 1/2" square rods for the center divider. You can see it in the pics below. This should be strong enough to hold pressure but provide a pretty nice insulating barrier between the fish and the PC.

I have a plan for the top of the tank. The top of the oil tank is going to be higher then the top of the fish tank and the top of the fish tank will have a seal around it.

Hopefully, the oil won't get hot enough for that! I think we'll have some problems with the computer before we can get some fried fish.

The plan is for the cables to come out of the top of case.


Now, on to the pictures:

These are some rough sketchup renders I did. They are no where near complete and the design in my notebooks has been changed several times since this, but this is basically what the tank portion of the case will look like when finished.





The black rods in the picture will be clear, as will the tank. The colors are there so the difference can be seen. The rods in the corners of the tank will be 1/4" square, the center three will be 1/2" square. They should help with the structure of the tank.

The construction of the rest of the tank is going to be along the lines of the construction in this log. His design is very sound and I figure why reinvent the wheel.

Any thoughts or ideas to add? I'm still deep in the design portion of this build and will welcome any advice.

 

Glad to see someone as crazy as me. I'd recommend reinforcing the joints on the lower portion of the tank with acrylic square rod or aluminum square rod or L angle. There will be a lot of pressure down there.

Your tank is 24" tall (I think), so according to this: http://www.accontrols.com/documents/FeetHeadofWatertoPSI.pdf you'll have 0.87 PSI down at the bottom. So make sure the bottom of your tank sits on something level so the weight is evenly distributed.

And as a recommendation from someone who's didn't do it, LEAK TEST with water. If not for sake of the fishes, then for the sake of the floor. It might be a pain in the ass to get the water out of the radiators, but do it anyway and blow out the water with a compressor.

 

Looking cool.

I thought it would be wider and less tall, like an actual fish tank. But that is a pretty awesome design, my only worry is that tetras are middle of the tank fish so might just shoal in the middle a bit.

I am really looking forward to this coming together.

 

As for the type of fish you can use, I have no idea. But my oil only fluctuates about 4C. It hovers around 36C-41C. If that information is helpful, great. Maybe you'll be able to use a different fish that's more interesting.


I bought my acrylic from estreetplastics. It wasn't too expensive, but I wouldn't call it cheap either. It's high quality stuff though. Cast. I bought my aluminum from onlinemetals.com which is very expensive, but their sheet aluminum is higher quality than I can buy local. My local source for my last mod was ~50% cheaper but the aluminum was all nicked and scratched. Some of the nicks were too deep to sand out.

edit: and if you're wondering about what pump to use, my Eheim 1250 is running like a champ. Oil is flowing through there like water.

 

I very much appreciate your advice legoman. Having someone who has gone before me makes me more confident in being able to do it myself. Your math and designs have been very helpful in me doing my own designing and math.

I'm getting quotes from estreetplastics on acrylic. I don't have the facilities to cut the acrylic myself so I am ordering custom cut sheets from them hopefully.

As for aluminum, I have several local suppliers to choose from. That's the benefit of living in a developed area: lots of shopping.


The concern about the tetras schooling in the middle of the tank is a valid one. I'm still churning about on several designs and I have one that is longer instead of taller. I'm also researching fish and determining a good mix to create a good tank.

There will be more updates here in the coming weeks....

 

just a quick question but have you any idea how much extra weight the water is going to add to the section of the tank that its in as it could potentially make it awful unstable unless its counter weighted some how.

 

It is going to be counterweighted by the oil on the opposite side of the tank...

 

Does anyone remember those massive heeled shoes with fish in them?

 

thats being kind of hopefully

1 litre of water weighs 1 kilogram (2.205 lbs.) at 4 °C

1 litre of olive oil (just used as an example) weighs Appx. 970 Grams per 1 litre

so your going to be using a load more oil than water which means that you may need to slightly readjust the design so that the two separate sides of the tank are not equal in size and so that they can hold the required volume of each liquid.

 

The oil I use, Shell Diala AX: http://www.equivashellmsds.com/Display_MSDS.asp?ID=202481 has a density of 900g/L @ 15C, water at the same temp has a density of 999g/L, thus the water side will weigh 11% more.

 

No, it really isn't a perfect size for Neons at all. Its about half of the minimum tank requirements actually.

I've been deciding wether or not to recommend anything for this 'project' at all, because I think its a very very bad idea. I hope it breaks your pc before you get around to breaking any fish. I think it's stupid and irresponsible.

Having said that, something tells me that you're going to it anyway so I digress: Betta splendens.


Don't forget to properly cycle the tank, you may also need a chiller depending on how much heat the pc part puts out. I dont know what you meant by 'seal the top of the tank' but don't forget that most fish require oxygen for living and suchlike.

 

Wow...such strong words.

Don't be afraid jake, I plan to thoroughly test for leaks and problems before getting close to adding any fish to the tank. Im probably the better part of a month from constructing this monster as it is, and then I doubt there will be any fish in it before years end. There are lots of unknown variables before I introduce any live animals into the environment like temperature, leaks, oxygen, etc. I've already redesigned the tank multiple times.

The number one priority is to design a good environment for fish, then decide how to get the PC there. I don't plan to slapdash something together and then put live animals in it.

EDIT: And to show Im not just blowing smoke, here is the current redesign of the tank. It has almost doubled the capacity of the water and the oil side to around 10 gallons (12 gallons max). I also increased the size of the inner baffle and added more supports to it as I was worried that it wouldnt be large enough to insulate. The final addition is more 1/4" rod reinforcing the seams.

New dimensions:
40 inches long x 13" tall x 13" deep (6" per tank).

 

I am interested as to whether you went any further with this.
I remember some people joking about adding fish on another submersion thread but you are actually taking the idea seriously.
I am wondering whether you will be able to see the computer section at all because the acrylic barrier may act as a mirror.
Are you planning to vent the air gap between the two sections or will you seal it?

Very interesting...