preventing corals or fish from dying due to high temp

espkh9

espkh9

Member
this time of year it gets in the high 80's to 100's and I'm concerned that I will be in work 1 day and come home to see my fish dead and corals dead from burining due to high temps...i know the best thing is a chiller but i just simply can not afford one..I have 80 corals in my 125 reef and temp is always stable at 78F however now that spring has gone I fear what will be when the Mh are running how hot will it get...it never got past 80F really.. I just recently started ti run a hang on fan over the water in the sump...will this help ? what else can I do to make sure mycorals and fish do not die from the heat ?
a chiller is not possible..will the fan in the sump work ? i tried putting in frozen 2 liter bottle of water but they in 4 min turn back to water...any tips on what to do so the temp stays at 78F at night and no more than 80F when the Mh are running I run them for 5 hours a day...the actinics for 12. the MH are 8 inches from the water. but are Phoenix 14k lamps which will penetrate very deep to the SB.. I wann take precaution and I fear losing my corals and fsh but just can not affors to get a chiller for a 125 nor will it fit anywhere and my wife will kill me if I get one. any tips will be greatly appreciated
 
reefforbrains

reefforbrains

Active Member
your running a gamble no matter how you do it.
A chiller is manditory when temp is so high. You can cheat and pump your AC while your gone but a chiller sounds like its your next purchase. Pumping the AC is not cost effective to do while your not home.
Fans across the tops, ice in sump, all sorts of little things help but if your ALREADY experiencing temp issues this early in the season, then you have to call a spade a spade and say- YOU NEED TO BUY A CHILLER
 
sprang

sprang

Member
Run a couple of box fans in the room with your aquarium blowing away from the room. This will help about 80%. Do you have central air? if you have a room a-con you can set it on a timer about every couple hours at 20 minute intervals blowing cold air. either way it should help quite a bit. Also remember you'll have to top off with fresh water more due to evaporation, but I'm sure you already know that. If your wife will let you keep the room as dark as possible in the room this will help tremendously also. At any rate make sure the room has good circulation. This is whats worked for me without running a chiller. I know the box fans are ugly, but they work great for room circulation. also don't worry too much as the sea temp fluctuates up to the mid 80's in the wild anyway, which is another topic entirely. Anyways good luck and I hope you chill out! Just kidding hahah!
 
espkh9

espkh9

Member
i run a fan in the sump a midsize fan maybe 10 inches in dia. right on the water will this help or prevent the water getting too hot ?
 
espkh9

espkh9

Member
oh I also have av ery strong ceiling fan right on top of the tank...i dont think it ever gets over 78 in the room where the fish tank is we dont have central but window units...but not in that room we have window units in 3 surounding rooms that are always on and the temp in those room is 65..i think i'll be OK.
 
natclanwy

natclanwy

Active Member
The outside temps don't matter much as long as you maintain the inside temps so if you are keeping the house at around 70 year round you shouldn't have a problem in the summer if you don't have a problem in the winter maintaining your tank temps unless your ac goes out.
 
natclanwy

natclanwy

Active Member
It will help with heat too when water evaporates it takes heat with it and the fan will accelerate evaporation and in turn accelerate heat dissipation.
 
spiderwoman

spiderwoman

Active Member
When you buy a chiller, make sure you do not have the chiller in the same cabinet as your sump, that just forces the chiller to run because at the same time it's heating the water. We are researching chillers too for our 150 build and only the in-line chillers. It will be installed either outside or in the garage... away from the tank.
 
espkh9

espkh9

Member
chiller for me is not an option...we need to get by the summer with fans and other fiy projects with your help im sure we can but I can not get a chiller.
 
espkh9

espkh9

Member
any ideas ? whats the highest temp a fish can tolerate..tropical fish,purple tang,regal tang,flame hawk,flame angel,green mandarin,helfrinchi firefish,blackcap basslet,lmb,blur throat trigger fish?
and whats the highest temp corals can endure and for how long ? sps,lps,mshrooms,softies....i keep my tank at 79-81F
 
fatcat

fatcat

Member
I have a window AC unit i run the intake line from my skimmer to right in front of the AC where the cold air enters the room...And it helps
 
espkh9

espkh9

Member
any ideas ? whats the highest temp a fish can tolerate..tropical fish,purple tang,regal tang,flame hawk,flame angel,green mandarin,helfrinchi firefish,blackcap basslet,lmb,blur throat trigger fish?
and whats the highest temp corals can endure and for how long ? sps,lps,mshrooms,softies....i keep my tank at 79-81F
 
natclanwy

natclanwy

Active Member
I have no hard info on this but I would say about 83-84 max anything after that you are taking a huge risk.
 
payton 350

payton 350

Member
i let my tank sit at 84-86 in the summer with no problems. but if it hits the 86 and higher i will run a fan across the top to keep it a little cooler. Central air helps. frozen water bottle is a temp fix and a pain to keep doing. just when the temps increase keep an eye on everything and adjust accordingly..... These fish and corals are hardier than you think.
 
payton 350

payton 350

Member
Originally Posted by Espkh9
http:///forum/post/2588384
I need precise info I have expensive fish and very expensive corals.
if you've spent all the money already on everything whats a few hundred more on a chiller? what's cheaper ....a chiller or restocking the tank in the event of a crash
 
shoregirl2

shoregirl2

Member
Well, when I set up my new tank last year, it ran a constant 85 under t-5s, so we put two fans in the canopy and I ran one fan across the sump, I got my temp down to 83, and thats about where it has stayed for the last year.
I have to say all my fish, corals, shrimp etc. have been fine, I have a tang, 2 wrasses, midas blenny, pj cardinals, dottyback, and chromis all are fine. As for corals, I only have mainly mushrooms, zoas and some softies, but they all have been doing great as well.
I keep saying I want to get a chiller, but everything is doing great, so until my fish/corals tell me other wise, I'm leaving well enough alone.
I think the key is to keeping the temp. constant, no big swings I live in Florida as well.
 
payton 350

payton 350

Member
When i first began i was paranoid over keeping the temp stable and about 78-80 but over the years i've just let the tank heat up in the summer(unplug the heater) and in the winter maintain 78ish with no problems...maybe i'm lucky or maybe some of the info is a little overexaggerated
 
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