Getting temperature down?

[Duddly01]

I have a 24DX nanocube I can't seem to get the temperature under 78f. I added one of the coralife digital thermometers hoping for accuracy. What are some things I could do to get it down? do I really need to?

I turned the middle chamber into a refugium with a coralife 18W miniaqualight lighting it on an opposite cycle of the daylights. The return pump is still the original 295 gph model. Does a MJ1200 run cooler and would it help here?

The tank inhabitants are 2 - H. Kuda seahorses, 2 - Black & white ocellaris juveniles (less than 1") and 1 - psyc. mandarin. Yes, a mandarin in a nano. He eats pe mysis like it's going out of style. Actually moseys right up to the feeding trough along with the seahorses at feeding time and eats right along side them.

 

[ReefNutPA]

For the well being of the seahorses, yes, the temp needs to come down. One of the main reason nanocubes and "all-in-one" tanks aren't recommended for seahorses is because of heat issues. They make great reef tanks, which is what they are intended for, but they are lousy seahorse tanks without some modifications.

My only suggestion would be adding fans and/or a small chiller...such as one of the thermo-electric chillers that run in the $200 range.

I won't comment on the tankmates.

Tom

 

[Duddly01]

I will look into purchasing a chiller. Does anyone know if the nanocustoms integrated chill assist works as advertised? Do you have a small chiller you could recommend?

I understand the normal issues of keeping a mandarin in a nano. I told my daughter repeatedly she wouldn't be able to have one in the nano because they usually won't eat anything but pods. Surprisingly we found one that eat prepared foods. Ours eats anything you throw at it and gets along with the seahorses great. They eat together twice a day side by side like good buddies. They seem to even know when it is feeding time and sit waiting at the feeding trough (flat piece of LR with a hole in it) together.

I have also read about clowns with seahorses, and from what I read in many publications the ocellaris are the only ones that can be kept with seahorses, with caution of course. I bought two small young tank bred juveniles from a local breeder hoping that growing up in a seahorse tank they would never learn any agressive eating habits. So far they stay up in the top 1/3 of the tank (don't seem to know what to think of the Live rock) and eat cyclopeeze in the water column and whatever mysis comes up when the pumps go back on.