Aquarium Temps

[BassandReef]

Ok I am getting concerned about my aquarium temperature. I have been keeping my aquarium at 78 degrees. This is my first summer with a saltwater tank. For the last two days my tank has been approaching 82 degrees. How warm is too warm? Do I need to start drilling holes in my recently installed canopy?

 

[Fun $ Pit]

Yes - I believe that is getting on the warm side as well as a decent amount of temp swing. Open your canopy door for now and get some fans installed into the canopy venting the air.

 

[BassandReef]

Will do. Back to the old design board. Time to drill some fan holes.

 

[Woodycv62]

I added a $7 clip on fan to my sump. Drop my temp 3 degrees. Just watch for faster water evap.

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[Rudolph]

If you have MH lighting you may need a chiller and/or keep your AC low 24/7 in the summer if it gets any higher. If you turn your AC up during the day, you may have a hard time getting the fans to drop 4 degrees.

I just ordered a reefkeeper to avoid the heater failure (auto turn off) issues and to automatically turn my fan on if it gets too high. I have T5's so mine never really gets too bad, however, it did get to 80 the other day. I went back to chaeto and I think I can reduce the wattage of the bulb to get mine back down. The basic reefkeeper runs around $120, but you would lose a lot more than that if you heater sticks or the heat gets too high. I also bought a fan designed for aquariums that will hide/fit on the back of my tank off ebay.

If you max out at 82 and you find the fans will get you back down, you may want to consider a reefkeeper so that you don't have to keep turning the fans off and on manually (especially if you are not there when they need to be turned on).

 

[jabo]

I know where a nice chiller is cheap...in my garage

 

[Reef264]

My Halides Get Pretty Hot, I aim for 80F.I keep a big fan in my sump to keep it cool.Works well.

 

[BassandReef]

I have LEDs. The are the TaoTronics. Blue line knockoffs. Say what you want. My SPSs are growing like crazy and my lps are showing new colors My mushrooms aren't that happy but frankly I don't care. They were free.

I installed two pc fans today. I've already ordered a Reef Angel Controller to keep my heater in check as well. It will cut my lights off as well if it gets too hot. We will see how tomorrow goes. The fans are in the same strip as my white LEDs. So the fans will come on with the lights. When my Reef Angel Plus comes in, I will dedicate a circuit to the fans.

Thanks for the tips guys.

 

[BassandReef]

My Fans

My Fans

Here are some pics of the fans I added. I ran over to Patton Computers and got two three speed PC case fans. They have speed switches on them. That allows me to select their speed. I found an old 12v AC adapter, my drill and some wire and a hour later I had fans. Right now I am trying one taking in air and the other blowing air out.

 

[jabo]

With Led lights you shouldnt see a huge temp spike. The Leds on my nano generate very little if any heat. The fans should work fine but you should try a cheap one over your sump too.

 

[BassandReef]

Yeah. Something is up. The lights have been out for a few hours and the tank is still 79 degrees. I am tempted to unplug the heater but that could make matters worse. I may have to look into a sump fan. I don't have room for a chiller.

 

[BassandReef]

My LEDs produce heat. They have three fans on top for a reason. It has 54 3watt LEDs.

 

[BassandReef]

I just had a revelation. I have lids on my sump to reduce evaporation. They could be trapping heat from the skimmer and return pumps. I'll see how tomorrow goes.

Thanks for the tips.

 

[BassandReef]

How big is your chiller? What model is it and how much?

 

[nam2212]

I just had a revelation. I have lids on my sump to reduce evaporation. They could be trapping heat from the skimmer and return pumps. I'll see how tomorrow goes.

Thanks for the tips.

This is most likely your problem. My LEDs generate very little heat. My heater has to stay on quite a bit while the lights are on to keep it at 79 and I have a closed top.

I also think that a 3 or 4 degree temp swing during the day is no problem at all. Corals are much hardier than people believe. They experience much larger temp swings in the wild. My very first reef back in college would go from 78 too about 85 daily. Everything thrived except for xenia.

 

[BassandReef]

Well the fans are working. They are at half speed and my temp hasn't budged from 78 degrees all day.

Nam2212 I would love to put my glass back on the top. My evaporation has increased significantly since I took them off. We will see whether the cooler canopy will reduce evaporation.

 

[Defuse]

Evaporation is your friend in dealing with temperature fluctuations. Outside of a chiller using evaporative cooling is probably one of the most efficient ways to cool a tank down.

It's a bit late now since you have already drilled holes in your hood but you might want to consider adding some fans that will force air opposite of the direction of your water flow in your sump. Ideally at a baffle as well since the water depth is thinner at that location and thus easier to cool.

 

[Defuse]

This may or may not help illustrate but I have my fans set to turn on if the water temperature is > 0.4 degrees over the desired temp. A result is that the fans do turn on quite a bit but this is a good thing. Salt + humidity = dead electrical parts that need to move to operate and my temps stay very very consistent.