Summer temps - how high can tank temp go?

[celticreefer85]

hey guys,

summer in boston is heating up and my tank is too. right now has been as high as 82.5. usually around 81-82 now everyday. makes me extremely nervous! how high can my tank temp get?

any recs for chillers? is a chiller a necessary item or are there other ways to lower my tank temp? currently i am aiming a fan at the tank and lights and hoping this help. any other ideas?

 

[frankpayne32]

In most cases chillers are not necessary. In the summer my tank swings from 79-83 at the most. I have a mixed reef packed with many different types of corals and fish that grow and are healthy year long. I would not be worried until you hit 85, even then that is not a death sentence, just likely stressful. Turning off your halides as well as pointing a desk fan at the surface of the tank will lower the tank temp by several degrees.

 

[Palting]

It is said that 83F and up is stressful, and can result in loss.. What's your room ambient temp? I have 3 metal halides, 8 T5's, and an assortment of pumps and equipment all generating heat. With my room temp set at 74, the tank stays around 79-82 in summer.

 

[rxcomm]

I have a desk fan pointed at the sump for evaporative cooling. Its probably 6 in or so in diameter. Room temperature is set for 76F and my total system volume is about 90 gallons. The fan cools the system very well, and the temperature is regulated to about 1.5 degrees F throughout the day by the interplay between the evaporative cooling and my heater.

I have the fan set to turn on with the same timer as my MH lighting - I don't seem to need the extra cooling when the MH's are not on. Temperature stays in the 79.0-80.5 range throughout the day.

You will want an ATO system due to the extra topoff requirements from the evaporative cooling.

Dave

 

[snorvich]

Temperature controlled (or time controlled) fans are an excellent way of moderating heat.

 

[hayes112]

My tank was hitting 85 last week and that made me really nervous ( no loss of life). I went and picked up a small desk fan and have it blowing on the water surface. My tank temp is now staying in the 79-80 degree mark ..

 

[Lynnmw1208]

if your weather is anything like Ohio's right now, I'd either turn AC on, get some fans going, or buy a chiller. It's 90 outside!

 

[Palting]

if your weather is anything like Ohio's right now, I'd either turn AC on, get some fans going, or buy a chiller. It's 90 outside!

You ain't kiddin'! NE Ohio doesn't seem to get spring for any good period. We seem to go from winter, straight to a hot, humid summer!! Bummer!

Sorry, off topic, but had to vent. :angryfire:

 

[jlong11]

well from experience i had a few fish tanks at 90 for a few hours and dont get me wrong im sure my little buddies were pretty mad but they were all alive and eating like nothing happend. i like to try things to gain experience and i wanted to see how a tank run around 81-88 would do normally it was like that for about a month and i had no changes in really anything im not saying to go ahead and do it but i know that fish are pretty resilient and as long as the temp doesnt jump 5-10 degress in the matter of a minute or two they will be just fine but that is my experience i like to see what is and what isnt i tend to test things out from personal experience to know for a fact not go by what "experts" say thats just me

 

[sporto0]

85 degrees is pushing the limit, i lost dwarf angels before i bought chillers for both my tanks, i came home from work on a 95 degree day and my tank temp was 88 degrees & rising, dwarfs all dead and other fish in distress. fans blowing on surface will probably work up to 81-83 degrees but if you want security, invest in a chiller.

 

[cloak]

I've seen my tank hit highs of 87, 88 multiple times during a summer without any problems. (softies, LPS, sps) It usually varies between 80-86 though. 75-80 in the winter.

 

[kissman]

I have seen my tank at 87 and nothing died, I do keep a 2liter bottle in the freezer so that if it does get that high again I can put it in the sump and try to bring it down some. I have since installed a fan over the sump and it stays between 78-81

 

[yehchien]

hey guys,

summer in boston is heating up and my tank is too. right now has been as high as 82.5. usually around 81-82 now everyday. makes me extremely nervous! how high can my tank temp get?

any recs for chillers? is a chiller a necessary item or are there other ways to lower my tank temp? currently i am aiming a fan at the tank and lights and hoping this help. any other ideas?

It really depends on the size of your tank and what type of livestock you have. Typically fish will do ok with higher temperatures but they tend to metabolize much quicker. You'll have algae blooms and such. SPS corals will tend to brown out with higher temperatures. I would say that with smaller tanks it might be better to invest in a chiller to keep temperature stable. My 210 barely moves 3-4 degrees during the summer and I'm using temperature controlled fans.

 

[Anemonebuff]

Fans directed at the top will cause evaporative cooling. That is usually enough for most tanks.

 

[jlong11]

the cause of the dwarfs dying could have been another deciding factor as well i mean i have had a few different type of dwarfs ran around 88 and did fine im sure it was a little warm but no significant changes and they all survived

 

[Kyleben]

I have a 56 column tank and my temp hit between 83 and 84....cost me my BEAUTIFUL nep...my fault for not keeping up with the temp....Im not running 10 fans....a 6 fan array on the rim 3 on the MH and PC hood and 1 on the 10 gallon fuge/sump. just added the 6 fan array 2 hours ago but the little fan dropped the temp slightly....Im too poor for a chiller (and by too poor i mean stubborn and cheap!) I maintain the fans with evaporative cooling will do the job. my question is how much RO water will I lose.....Im loosing like 1.5 gallons per day now.....Ps ac is set at 75...MH seams to be BRUTAL

 

[sporto0]

the cause of the dwarfs dying could have been another deciding factor as well i mean i have had a few different type of dwarfs ran around 88 and did fine im sure it was a little warm but no significant changes and they all survived

there were no other factors involved, they died from the temp rise, this is an expensive hobby to say the least, i can't figure out why anyone would not spend the $ on a chiller to protect such a precious investment, i would spend my last dollar on my tanks, they give me far more joy than money does.

 

[jlong11]

no to be mean but how are u so sure there was nothing else going on they could have had internal parasites or alot of different things that were in play before the fact i have had many different fish in water at 88 or a little higher and the fish were all great i even fed them they ate like nothing changed its my experience but i find it hard to believe that is the only thing that took them out

 

[sporto0]

no to be mean but how are u so sure there was nothing else going on they could have had internal parasites or alot of different things that were in play before the fact i have had many different fish in water at 88 or a little higher and the fish were all great i even fed them they ate like nothing changed its my experience but i find it hard to believe that is the only thing that took them out

your not being mean, but your not hearing me, 4 dwarfs are not going to die on the same day from internal parasites! feel free to run your tank at 88 degrees, whatever works for you.

 

[Kerreefer]

if your lights are really adding to the increase of tank temp. try offsetting the on-time towards the earlier part of the day or the later. i run 2 photo periods per 24 hours and my tank stays at 77-78max. of course switching from halides to t5ho's made a dif. as well.