Maintaining Temperature

[Random Aquarist]

Well, my tank's temperature is currently a nice 78.8F due to tonight being nice and cool. However, last night was was horribly hot, and the tank got to 86.6F.:eek1: I'm thinking about buying a fan to run over the sump, but how else can I keep the temperature stable?

 

[ahullsb]

You definitely need a fan if the tank is getting that hot. A fan across the surface of the sump helps, as well as one along the tank surface itself. Especially if you have hot, powerful lights. You will get much more evaporation though. You could also shorten the lighting cycle by a few hours. If it gets bad enough you could even try placing a large prefilter pressed against the back of your sump, and drip water down it with tubing or even a spraybar. That and fan might help. And if you have lids on the tank, removing them will help a lot. I'd do whatever you can to avoid buying a chiller...$$$

 

[Aaronovky]

i know what you mean looking on ebay and saw one for $600 for a little thing!

 

[LobsterOfJustice]

Fans work wonders. If you get tired of watching the thermometer constantly and turning it on/off, get a ranco dual stage controller. Turns the heaters on when the temp is to low, turns the fans on when the temp gets too high.

 

[mcrist]

I did the same thing that LobsterOfJustice recommends and it works great for me. I used a different controller but with the same effect. My temp never fluctuates more than one degree.

 

[Random Aquarist]

I'm looking at the Aqua Logic Controller for my tank. Is this the controller you're referring to mcrist?

Now I just need to find a nice, small, clip-on fan.

 

[mcrist]

Nope but that controller will do fine. I have the Medusa HC-150 but the only reason I purchased it was that it was available at my local fish store.

http://www.sealifesupply.com/medusa.htm

The fan I use is a Honeywell and I purchased it at Target for 12 dollars. It works great and is wall mountable. Itââ"šÂ¬Ã¢"žÂ¢s strong enough to cool my 450 gallon tank so it should work for most people.

http://www.target.com/Honeywell-Sup...-0779034?ie=UTF8&index=target&rh=k:fan&page=1

 

[ReidiLoverLinds]

Alot of people use the fans designed to cool a computer. Maybe someone will chime in on this because i know it is a popular choice.

 

[ReidiLoverLinds]

p.s. i use frozen waterbottles that i rotate twice a day to keep my temps down and stable.

 

[danceswithfish]

I am having the same problem as you Random. I have two fans, but when my lights come on my tank temp goes up too high and its not even summer yet.

I think I might be getting heat from pumps and such in my tank. I am thingking of re-plumbing my return and using less 90 degree angles. Also, I might use the pump inline, and take it out of the sump.