heat is comming at us fast/ need idea's please

[weaponusmc]

its starting to warm up around here and my tank temp goes from 78 in the mornings and up to 82 or even tad higher. I have a fan blowing on my tank 24/7 to help speed up evaporation. Can any of you give me further guidance in the form of tips or tricks to keep the temp between 78-80.
My house doesnt have AC in it as of yet, but were working on that part. I'm worry that its rising like this now before summer hits, what are my temps going to be like them. Thanks for any info you may be able to give......Bill

 

[meg&ran]

Ice...

 

[viet-tin]

Youll need a truck load of ice if you want to use them to cool your tank. Your best bet would be investing in a good chiller. My tank crashed due to my temps reaching 90+. Chiller keeps my temp between 78-80.

 

[meg&ran]

I agree, Ice isn't a permament solution.. but it will have to do for a day or so until he can get a chiller or fix his AC.

 

[viet-tin]

I can see it working on smaller tanks. I tried freezing 12 2 liter bottles of water for my 100 and most of them melted within an hour or so and my temp didnt change a bit.

 

[meg&ran]

I can see that it may not work for a large tank.. Though your talking to someone from ohio that doesn't see much of high temps..

 

[viet-tin]

If you do end up using ice I suggest you dont use tap water. It may contain copper which is deadly to inverts, phosphates and other nutrients that will cause an algea bloom.

 

[chadman]

do you guys really think that this change is a big deal? the temp in my tank is around 78 and with the lights on all day it gets up to around 81 or 82 by days end....i haven't noticed it being a problem

 

[viet-tin]

Well if you have coral or inverts the change in temp can be stressful on them. Higher temps can cause them to expell their zooxanthellae and bleach. Temps around 80-82 shouldnt be too bad jus as long as the temp doesnt take dramatic swings during the day, but I would suggest trying to keep them below 80.

 

[chadman]

yeah i guess i just can't imagine that a few degrees would make a difference...but i guess these things are very delicate

 

[nereef]

why don't you just set your heaters for 82 degrees. that way there won't be a swing. that sounds high, but i'm sure some people keep their tanks that high anyway. the main thing is keeping the temp constant.
ps you might want to feed your inhabitants more at this higher temp (if you decide to do this)
also, i wouldn't get ac on the whole house just to keep the fish cool. surely a chiller would be cheaper. of course ac is always nice. just my thoughts.

 

[bronco300]

yea...i keep my reef tank at 81-82 always...so maybe just put it up to 81...a 1degree difference isnt that much and not nearly as bad.

 

[supalupa]

Be careful about setting your temp higher you could have your water spike even higher in the day if the tank isn't cooling off a couple degrees at night.

 

[fishy7]

My tank is set at 80
end of light cycle 82
House temp keep at 78.
I drop a frozen 2ltr bottle(salt water) in the sump when I get home to keep from going above 82
I bought a fan last night to blow on the sump to get away from the ice trick. My tank takes 12 hours to drop from 82 to 81 and it drops to 80 just before lights on. I let the fan run all night and the water was at 80 this am.
I have 4 computer fans in the canopy and that makes a BIG difference.
I have been told that a 2 degree change is not all that big of a deal but still want to keep it at 80 if possible
Keeping the temp stable is a process and takes time to find that perfect balance. Keep trying.....

 

[ctgretzky9]

Originally Posted by WeaponUSMC
its starting to warm up around here and my tank temp goes from 78 in the mornings and up to 82 or even tad higher. I have a fan blowing on my tank 24/7 to help speed up evaporation. Can any of you give me further guidance in the form of tips or tricks to keep the temp between 78-80.
My house doesnt have AC in it as of yet, but were working on that part. I'm worry that its rising like this now before summer hits, what are my temps going to be like them. Thanks for any info you may be able to give......Bill

I am assuming you have an open top?
SOme other suggestions are to move your light a bit higher away from the water surface.
Agitate the surface of your water by pointing a powerhead up at the surface, or add a hob wet/dry emptied of any filter medium, or even a small powerhead for this reason. It will help with evaporative cooling to have good surface flow, and as well help with the tank's gas exchange anyway.
The fan you are using...is it pointing across the surface of the water, and is it a decent air flow?
Make sure direct sun isnt on the tank.
Other than that, a chiller may be your next option.

 

[weaponusmc]

seems to be the only good option. The fan is pointed down/across the watter and i have a powerhead dirrect up twords the surface. The lighting is what cause's my water to get hotter, 2 x 250 Watt MH's. they are about 12" off the top of the tank and the tank is open topped.

 

[rusting]

I put my sump in the basement, keeps a more even temp.

 

[wax32]

Two words.
CHILL
ER

 

[jamie814]

You can do what I am doing for the time being until I break down and buy a chiller,
I took a 1/4" waterline (RO tubing) and hooked it up in my basement to the main cold water coming into the house with a saddle valve. (The water that comes in the house is around 50 degrees.) Then ran the 1/4" line up next to the return register for the furnace behind my tank and into the sump where I coiled it around a number of times then back down to the basement into the drain. So it is essentially a closed loop with a continuous stream of cold water running through it. The flow is really slow just enough to keep the water cold inside the loop It works good for now. BTW water cost next to nothing where I live. Monthly water/sewer bill is less than $20. Heaters turn on a bit on through the night but I figure running a 150 watt heater is cheaper than running a 280 watt 1/10th horsepower chiller during the day.

I could turn the water off every night and on every morning but that is just to much work for me

Temp stay constant now around 78-79 :joy:

 

[slappy]

that is a great idea gonna have to try that