Tank Temp Increase

[Editour2]

My tank temp has risen to approx 86 degrees. The heater is set to approx 80 to 82 degrees. I haven't added any new equipment. The temp has been stable for about 5 months, (Dec 07 to current), and as of last week I have this rise in temp. I tried a different heater and also tried a second temp probe and still getting the same reading, (85 to 86 degrees). The house temp did increase but is still lower than the temp set on the heater. I don't have a chiller. Is this attributed to the hotter weather? Any comments is appreciated.
Frank

 

[billsreef]

Yup, it's the hotter weather. Even the house temp is lower than the heater is set for, it can't cool off the tank as fast as the pumps and lights heat it up. If your lights aren't well ventilated with fans, a fan or two installed into your canopy will drop the temp a couple of degrees. For the hot summer months, a chiller would be best

 

[Editour2]

Bill,
I have T-5 lights and the fixture has 2 built in fans. The house is approximately 5 to 7 degrees warmer that it was before the increase.
Frank

 

[billsreef]

Time to look into chillers In the meantime, ice packs can be useful to keep the temp from going over 86.

 

[bigsink]

Freeze some 1-2 liter soda bottles full of water and cap them. Float them in the sump and rotate them as they defrost. Worked for me before I had a chiller.

 

[Editour2]

Thanks John.

 

[Monkeyfish]

Do you have a glass top on your tank? If so, remove it and add a fan to the inside of the canopy - a computer fan or even a little clip on blowing across the top of the tank water. This will increase evaporation and lower the tank temp a few degrees. Just keep up on the top-off so your salinity doesn't get to out of wack.

 

[cdamiano]

I have MH lamps over my tank and havent' had the need for a chiller. Tank temp never goes over 80. I installed 3 fans that blow across the top of the water and are attached to a ranco temp controller to control when they go on and off. That has worked for me. Although, I have my lights suspended over the tank.....not inside the canopy...so I'm sure that is helping a lot also. Certainly worth a try with the fans if you don't want to invest in a chiller. You should probably also change the set point on your heaters. IMHO 80-82 is too hot. I would set it at 77 or 78.

 

[qy7400]

For those worried about temps climbing over 80, the following excerpt is from this article by Dr. Shimek; http://ozreef.org/library/articles/temperature_on_a_reef.html

...The average temperature calculated for all 1000+ coral reefs was 81.7°F. Over all reefs, the average annual lowest temperature observed was 76.4°F, and the average annual highest temperature was 86.4°F. Probably the best way that these data could be interpreted would be to say that for most corals and coral reef animals, the best conditions would be between 76°F and 86°F, with the average being about 82°F, and fluctuations of as much as about 5.0°F on either side of that average being acceptable....

 

[ralphie]

I removed half the glass covers from tank and also will have a fan blowing across the water when it gets hot out. With that combination, my heater may turn on, even in the summer.

Now, my evaporation goes way up, so to combat salinity swings I install an auto top off which keeps my salinity steady.

 

[Editour2]

I have an acrylic tank with 2 cut-outs that are approximately 8X12" each. The light fixture is built into my canopy however the protective plexyglass for the lights sits pretty close to the top of the tank, (approx 1/2 inch). The T-5 fixture has 2 fans built in. I will try a 3rd fan blowing off the top as well.

 

[onegreenray]

to be honest my tank was starting to climb as well. from 79 as usual to about 82 in the last few days. i just unplugged the heater in the summer months. it has dropped back down to 78 at night and goes to 80 during the day.

i know the flux in the temp is supposed to effect the corals but i am keeping just softies and haven't seen any change in there growth or condition.

fans do help even if it is blowing over your sump.

 

[2slo4me]

id suggest taken ur heater out for the summer.

also u can get bottles of water and freeze em throw em in ur sump for the time being too cool down the temps... also fans aim a fan directly at ur sump itll bring the temps down as well...

and if worst comes to worst i have a brand new chiller for sale i paid 740 for it willing to let it go for say 600... never been used just opened to make sure everything was there.

its a 1/4 hp chiller and its very very quiet.. if interested pm me good luck... this summer is gonna be hotttt

 

[BZOFIQ]

86 already. you're heading for a disaster if you don't do something now. I usually have half the softies close around 82 degrees.

 

[Editour2]

Set up a fan to blow directly onto the sump and the temp was down to 84 and dropping. We'll see how this progresses. Thanks to all.

 

[seldin]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=12656077#post12656077 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by qy7400
For those worried about temps climbing over 80, the following excerpt is from this article by Dr. Shimek; http://ozreef.org/library/articles/temperature_on_a_reef.html

For me, I decided it's much cheaper to heat my tank than cool it. With my controller, my temperature in the winter fluctuates between 81 and 82 degrees. On rare occasions such as tank maintenance it went down to 79 degrees. The reason, is my heater only fluctuates 1 degree with the controller.

For my chiller, my temperature has been fluctuating between 81 and 83 degrees. I may lower it by one degree.

I think in reality it's the range that can hurt the most. I have read that the temperature range for a reef tank, should not fluctuate more than 4 degrees.