Oh my god - the heat!

[Melnick]

Help!

I just set up my 30 gal cube + 20 gal sump and after running all night with an ambient temp of 75-71 the temperature of my water is 84.5! :eek2:

This is my setup so far:
Velocity T2 pump on a closed loop
Mag 7 submerged in the sump as the return
Coralife Superskimmer with some sort of Rio powerhead

Thats it!

I have a 250 watt MH fixture to install but I am afraid I will melt the acrylic!

Any ideas other than the obvious buy a chiller or blow a fan across the sump? I have live rock arriving in 2 days and I think I am about to cook it whether I want to or not.

Help!

 

[Cutiewitbooty]

I know rios produce alot of heat, i actually use mine as a sort of heater lol I'm guessing it's the 3 pumps thats going it. My MH/PC fixture only raises the temp about 1-2 degrees. 84 isn't that bad though, i would say just keep the temp below 86

 

[Agu]

Have you confirmed that the thermometer is accurate ?

 

[ClownNut]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=6862780#post6862780 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by Agu
Have you confirmed that the thermometer is accurate ?

+1/

 

[Blazer88]

I've seen thermometers that are inaccurate too many times. I would double check that first and then consider how to cool the tank.

 

[Melnick]

Yea, I thought about a faulty thermometer (actually praying it is faulty) but have not been able to get a second one yet. The thing is the water feels rather warm so I am inclined to believe it. I plan on going out and getting a second thermometer later today.

84 degrees is not bad? I thought most mixed reefs were kept in the 78-82 degree range. If I can go all the way to 86 then things are not as bad as I thought.

I have turned off my Rio skimmer pump and the Velocity T2 pump (the velocity does run hot and I knew it would add 1-2 degrees) to see how hot I run with only the the Mag 7 return. If the Rio is my problem I might be able to switch it out or run my skimmer at night opposite the halides.

Thanks for the suggestions!

 

[Cutiewitbooty]

most people run their tanks at around 78-79, but there are some people that run their tanks between 83-86, which is actually more like like that temps around real reefs.

 

[icenine2005]

Since you don't have your rock yet, do some trouble shooting. Run the tank with one pump at a time off for a bit to see which has the biggest impact on the temp.
...and yes make sure your therm is working.

 

[newhere]

I have a mag 7 and they run very warm. I would say you are getting most of your heat by having it submerged.

 

[Melnick]

I am trying the one pump at a time thing right now. With just the Mag 7 return pump running I am at 80.7. I did get 2 more thermometers and they match my first one so I feel pretty confident that the temps are accurate.

 

[eums]

the velocity pumps put alot of heat into the water. thats what is most likely causing the issue.

 

[BethanyM]

during spring and in the fall before its time for home air or heating, my tanks run 82-84 (2-4 months of the year). I have never seen my corals or fish in distress.

 

[Agu]

My tanks get up to 85 in the summer without any problems. The risk is that there's very little margin for error if things go wrong. Personally I don't like to get too close to the edge with any parameter.

However if you're getting up to that temp without lights it's only going to get hotter. A small clip fan will cool the water but it'll also increase evaporation. Perhaps you might want to experiment with a fan varying the speed and time it's on to maintain temp?

 

[Melnick]

I figured I would need to use a fan on the sump and a couple of fans in the hood. I have been using a sump fan but so far it has not really helped much. I am still running it because it does not hurt but I have not seen a drop in temps because of it.

In the hood I was going to put in a sheet of glass between the MH and the top of the tank leaving about 2 inches between the tank top and glass for gas exchange. I was then going to wire in 3 computer fans to blow air in/out of the "space" in the hood containing the MH. I was hoping that this would reduce the amount of heat transferred into the tank but I do expect some. That is why I was freaked out that I was up to 84.5 without the MH.

It is good to hear that other people are running tanks in the mid-80's without problems. I had thought you needed to stay around 79-81.

 

[Melnick]

Looks like I might have spoken too soon. I turned off the sump fan and my temp went up a degree so it looks like it does make a difference after all.

It also looks like the Coralife 65 Super Skimmer is the culprit as the temp holds steady at 82.7 degrees with my return and closed loop pumps running but jumps to 84.5 when I turn on the skimmer. I think I will put it on a timer to run opposite my MH setup and live with temps in the 84-85 range. I just hope the 250w MH only adds 2 degrees!

Thanks for all the advice.

 

[snarkes]

I dont mean to hijack your thread, but I'm having a similar issue with my JBJ Nanocube 12DX. That thing is always hot! Its not near a window or source of heat, I have the canopy lid cracked and the sucker is still at 85-86 degrees... what gives? I've replaced the pump that came with the unit, but nothing happened. Anybody else experience this type of problem on the nanocube? Fixes?

 

[rljlll]

i got a 24dx and it does the same thing runs about 83-85 during the day if your water level is to high the lights are like an inchor two away and adds about 2 degrees when the level drops so does the temp some

 

[aleiodubua]

I run my 20 Long about a constand 82 in winter, and it raises to around 84-85 in mid summer. Been that way for a full year, and haven't lost anything, and everything is happy and healthy.

 

[surfnvb7]

i just got one of those thermometers that will show the temp of the tank, plus the air temp in the room. you just gota make sure the temp sensor on the display isnt under the lights, and has good air flow around it.

i've found that the temp in the room greatly dictates if the tank is overheating or not. this will depend alot on if you have air conditioning in your place.

 

[snarkes]

Thanks for the help guys, I just wanted to make sure I wasnt going to be killing anything in my tank. I'm really new at this and the LFS guy was basically telling me I was melting my corals.