High temp

[ugluk]

I am just starting up my aquarium. I have added the sand and base rock and was using my heaters to get my temp up to 80. As soon as I turned on my Maxijet 1200 (2 + 1 for my protein skimmer) the temp shot up to 85 where it has been holding steady. I turned both my heaters to their lowest setting but still no change in the temp overnight and I dont even have my lights running. Do the maxijets really make the temp so high? What can I do to lower the temp?

 

[keyah1]

What size tank do you have and how is your system set up? :thinking:

 

[earlybird]

What is the temperature with the heaters off?

 

[watson3]

I think that Bang did an "experiment" where he busted this myth..Maybe do a search for it or look through his old posts...

 

[ugluk]

72 gallon bowfront FOWLR. The temp started out around 70 then I got it up to around 75 when I turned on the powerheads and its been holding steady at 85 ever since.
I have the two powerheads on the lower extreme left and right on the back of the aquarium a emperor 400 HOB filter and aqua remora protien skimmer about a 1/3 of the way in on the back of the tank. 80 lbs of sand 50 dead/30 live and 70 lbs of base rock with 20 lbs of live rock coming.

 

[watson3]

I would say that when the water is settled it just gets a temp reading from around the heater..When you start circulating, that warm water is not just sitting around, it is moving, causing it to not be so warm near the thermostat..If you turned on a fan in your house above the thermostat, your house would get hot..

 

[ugluk]

Originally Posted by watson3
I would say that when the water is settled it just gets a temp reading from around the heater..When you start circulating, that warm water is not just sitting around, it is moving, causing it to not be so warm near the thermostat..If you turned on a fan in your house above the thermostat, your house would get hot..
I could see that because the temp shot way up as soon as I turned on the maxijets and then I unplugged them because I figured a 72 gallon tank could not go up in temp so quickly but when I unplugged them the temp only very slowly lowered.
So what you are saying is I should give it a few days with the heater at the lowest setting. Then if the temp is still up I should take it from there?

 

[mandarin w]

If you have your house closed up, and the furnace running that will help get the heat up in the tank.
If you think it may be one of your pumps, either from the maxi jet or the skimmer. Go one by one and turn one off for a day, see if it brings the temp down. If it didn't, then plug that in and try the next. If one brings the temp way down, then that pump is producing too much heat, replace it. I know when I first set up my 180 my tank wanted to run at 85. I went through one by one and found out it was one of my seios that was running hot. As soon as I took that one out, my temp dropped down to 78. So yes one pump can add a lot of heat. I usually does it though when something is wrong with the pump. My seio turned out to have a butt load of sand inside of it, and the motor was overheating trying to work.

 

[bang guy]

Waterflow causes heat. There's no way around that pesky first law of thermodynamics. You need the waterflow so you must find a way to remove the excess heat.
My suggestion is to mount a small fan and point it toward the water surface to increase evaporation. That will remove a lot of excess heat. If you still need to remove more heat then try two fans.

 

[ugluk]

Originally Posted by Bang Guy
Waterflow causes heat. There's no way around that pesky first law of thermodynamics. You need the waterflow so you must find a way to remove the excess heat.
My suggestion is to mount a small fan and point it toward the water surface to increase evaporation. That will remove a lot of excess heat. If you still need to remove more heat then try two fans.
I understand about waterflow but I think I have a fairly normal amount of flow for my 72 gallon tank (3 maxijet 1200s (one to run the protein skimmer) and an emperor 400) yet this is not something I read much about on these boards. Is this something normal that everyone has to deal with? I mean the people with reef tanks have tons more flow yet again its not something I have read about often. I also have 2 200w heaters on their lowest settings. I guess I will take one out now and see if that has any effect. I got home from work today and the temp was 86.5!!! Crazy, and I still am not running my lights.