temp of tank

[brettinteriors]

Trying to find the sweet spot for the new tank. I have a fan in the canopy and I am getting day time temps in the 82.5 to 83 range. Is this to hot? I turned the heater up to about 82 and I will see what it tops out tomorrow with the lights on. I could put the glass canopy cover on but I would hate to block some of that expensive light, plus its a pain to clean.

 

[fishaholic911]

Both my tanks run from 81 - 83 with no issues. Glass will only increase the Temp.

 

[brettinteriors]

great, thank you

 

[aquaph8]

Both my tanks run from 81 - 83 with no issues. Glass will only increase the Temp.

Me too. Ive had chillers in the past but they produce too much heat themselves unless you can have them vented outside or in another room. I havent even used a heater in 3 years.

 

[sillygoose]

I like to keep ours under 82 in the summer. Run a fan across your sump if it gets too warm - of course you'll get more evap but it's a good way to cool it down quickly.

 

[jeepinreefer07]

I like to keep ours under 82 in the summer. Run a fan across your sump if it gets too warm - of course you'll get more evap but it's a good way to cool it down quickly.

Agreed. The ideal temperature would be around 76 to 80. The key is is how much fluctuation. You do not want more than 3or4 degrees in a day. This can stress out coral and even fish. The Great Barrier Reef has a average of around 78 however during the summer months it has reached up to 85 and winter all the way down to 71. So to make a long story short keep it between these two temperature but try to control the fluctuation

 

[phenom5]

My tank ranges between 76 and 83.5 over the course of the year. Usually 79-83 in Summer, and 76-81ish in Winter. I keep it above 75, and 83.5 is about the max I've ever seen, but other than that I really don't worry too much about it.

 

[victornator333]

+1 on controlling fluctuation

 

[Tucson Reef]

Depending on your budget and if you are swamp cooled or AC there are a bunch of ways to skin that cat. I run fan on Neptune controler and have a safety program to turn off halides if temp goes above 83. Having open top/hanging lights lets heat disipate before heating aquarium as much. Have 40 Gal Brute with RO in closet on Tunze Osmolator to auto top off, only have to fill Brute week and half, two weeks depending on temp.

Tank stays around 79 unless I have doors open or something.

 

[brettinteriors]

My tank wants to stay at 83.5. do you think I should get a second fan to cool it or leave it as is.

 

[Tucson Reef]

AC or swamp? AC might be ok but swamp means you will be in trouble come July, 2nd fan or not. I've had tanks at 84-85 when I was on swamp, not good but they survived. But if your at 83.5 now on swamp you might look at heat sources, such as pumps or lights and see if you can save off heat. Such as if pump is submersed, get cooler(lower wattage) or get a outside pump. Powerheads for example, you can get same flow and lower wattage, which means less heat. Look at your lights and maybe find a better flow to keep generated heat from going to water. Just directing your air from swamp cooler can help tank temp a little, but come July forget it.

You can use liter bottles of frozen water in an emergency but risky because inconsistant.

 

[brettinteriors]

AC or swamp? AC might be ok but swamp means you will be in trouble come July, 2nd fan or not. I've had tanks at 84-85 when I was on swamp, not good but they survived. But if your at 83.5 now on swamp you might look at heat sources, such as pumps or lights and see if you can save off heat. Such as if pump is submersed, get cooler(lower wattage) or get a outside pump. Powerheads for example, you can get same flow and lower wattage, which means less heat. Look at your lights and maybe find a better flow to keep generated heat from going to water. Just directing your air from swamp cooler can help tank temp a little, but come July forget it.

You can use liter bottles of frozen water in an emergency but risky because inconsistant.

I have ac but I think I identified the problem. Bad protein skimmer pump. It was on the noisy side and I have been waiting for a new one to come in. Tank spiked at 85 last night. (no fish in it yet). So it is not heat from the lights doing it.

 

[oscarslr]

what return are you using/ what lights?, Photo period?/ what power heads/ what is the skimmer pump. Tucson Reef is right you might have more issues as we get into the 100's. What temp do you keep your house at? I know you said you have a fan in the canopy but is there an exit point the air can escape? A lot of questions but all of these have an effect on water temp and slightly adjusting one or two of these can make all the difference

 

[Tucson Reef]

If closed canopy, check direction of airflow, fan pulling out is better then fan blowing in and fan in sump is a must

 

[brbrem]

80-83 most of the year. Fan in sump, as Tucson Reef said, is a must. I have my sump fan programmed with my ACjr. Made a big difference.

 

[brettinteriors]

If closed canopy, check direction of airflow, fan pulling out is better then fan blowing in and fan in sump is a must

i am using an 8 bulb t5. it is a closed canopy. I will turn the fan around and I added a fan in the canopy to increase air circulation while the lights are on. the exhaust fan is temp sensitive andi am going to run it 24 7

 

[Tucson Reef]

Also then try to have the intake vent/vents be at a cool side so it draws in cool air all the way across the canopy and out the exhaust fan. Not a deadspot in room where hot air sits. And try to have fan blow towards AC uptake, my AC goes down hall to the AC uptake vents so when I had a canopy fan it blew into hall way.

 

[brettinteriors]

Thanks guys. It was a closed canopy fan issue. I have it stable in the 81.xx range. I assume that temp fluctuation of less than a degree are ok? I also found the coralife dig. thermometers are largely inaccurate. I put two of them along with a regular glass and found the two digital to differ from .2 to 1.5 degrees.