How warm is too warm?

[NittyGritty]

As I mentioned in my previous post, I set up an apex today. And something I didn't expect happened. I set alarm to text me when the tank reached 82 degrees in didn't quite happen with my previous but cheap thermometer. Well, a couple hours ago I receive such text, lights turned off by apex (kessil, not sure if even needed as it dosent put off much heat) and I'm wondering if my tank hitting 82.5 could be the cause of a lot of recent zoas. How warm is too warm? Do I need to get a chiller to keep tank under 80 degrees?

 

[Relientkiid]

How warm is too warm?

To answer your question, 82 is warm but I don't believe it's at a point it's hurting your tank. Setup a fan to blow on the tank first. You will have an increase in evaporation but you wont have to drop several hundred dollars on a chiller. It should work to keep your tank a couple degrees cooler. If you are already doing this then disregard the above statement

 

[Sleepy22]

Just use a fan.....cheap alternative....i use a small desk fan on my 40 breeder and it brought it down to 78degrees from 82

 

[Miz40B]

I don't do anything and my temp hangs at 81.7 on a regular bases. 84+ is when I'd start to be concerned.

 

[NittyGritty]

I'm not sure a small fan will be quite as effective on a 117gallon cube. Not as much surface water per gallon as a 40 breeder. And 84 degrees seems high, or maybe I just always assumed over 82 is danger zone with 78-80 ideal and as consistent as possible.

 

[NittyGritty]

Also does PH drop with heat? The higher the temp the lower my PH gets, currently 8.4

 

[79chopperdr]

My 210 is cooled only by fans and I run MH. One over the tank and one over the sump. It's pretty amazing how effective it is, also how extra water will evaporate.

The apex temp probe can be calibrated. Was it reading correct when you setup the apex?

 

[Borchers]

Just remember in nature the temps reach 100 + when the tide drops so they can be resilient corals but over 85 for more them a few hours is way pushing it in an enclosed system like ours.

 

[greenhead]

Big swings are more detrimental than 82. If your tank normally runs at 77 then 82 is just 1 degree outside what you would like to see. I mainly grow sps and noticed that they really don't like big swings every day. Once in a while is fine but not every day.

I use my apex to turn my fan on at 78.5. Tank doesn't go over 79 most of the time. I use a SOLEUS air from frys. Has an oscillating front so it can hit top of water and side of tank without fan moving. But it is bigger than I would like. But for my 150 gallon cube it works just fine.

 

[NittyGritty]

Thanks for the input. Pics of the 150 g cube? ~

 

[NittyGritty]

Everyone in agreeable terms 82.5 is fine?

 

[toky916]

Yeah in the summer I ran my tank 82 during the winter I run 79-80.

 

[NittyGritty]

Overall coral response is fine?

 

[J_B]

I have a 120mm fan on my garage tank and it never goes above 81ish.. The ambient in the garage gets to 87-89 anytime the temps get to high 90's outside. Total 75G of water.

Good for an easy 4 to 5 deg. They make some nice quiet 120mm fans too. Can't even hear it in the room. Take a trip to fry's.

IMO, in our dry climate, a chiller is not really needed. However, I'm still a noob.

My PH tracks very close to heat. My peak water temp seems to be within 15min of peak PH daily.

JB

 

[jthao]

82 is not too bad imo. I have mines constantly at 82 during the peak hours all summer long. what i do notice is certain corals will not like it too much, but for most, it's not too bad.
on a side note: people have extra pumps in case something goes wrong, people have back up battery systems in case power fails, people have controllers controlling controllers just in case one fails. it all makes sense to have failsafe guards. When you're willing to spend thousands on corals and fish, few hundred bucks to make sure you don't have a total tank crash makes sense. With that in mind: I don't like to have my chiller run all the time, nor do i rely on it entirely for cooling my tank. I have fans doing the first part, then when it reaches a certain temperature, the chiller will kick in to make sure my tank doesn't get too hot. What am I saying? I'm saying that spending a few hundred bucks to have ease of mind that your tank will not get cooked even when you're away is well worth it.
fwiw: my chiller kicks on maybe an hours total time during the hottest of the summer days, for the most part my fans keep the tank's temp in check. but even when i'm out camping for 4-5days during those super hot summer days and have no reception to check on my tank through my phone, I don't worry about the tank getting cooked. the ease of mind when i'm away and being able to enjoy my days away from home without stressing about my tank, is well worth the money spent.

 

[NittyGritty]

Thanks for your input. I'll be looking into something just to keep it in check. I've seen something called aquatek chiller fans that are sleek and will work with my system.