Tank Heat

hnf2k

hnf2k

Active Member
my tank is always at about 79-80 degress...i thought my heaters might've been broken so i took them out. and it still stays at that temperature. my room is at about 75 degrees and the tank is just always at 80 degrees...is that too hot? why does my tank stay at such a high temp? is there anything i can do or buy to get it cooler?
 
richard rendos

richard rendos

Active Member
That temp seems fine, but to answer your question about why it gets hotter than the room temp... any powerhead, pump, filter will transfer heat into the tank. Lights also heat up water. Easiest way to lower temp, remove glass tops (this increases evaporation which cools water), add fans aimed across the top of the water surface. you won't get a drastic drop, but it will go down a degree or two.
 
finland

finland

Member
Your temp is just fine. I keep mine at 78-80 and everything is doing good. Just try to keep the temp stable. Tempurature swings are stressful to life in the tank.
 
hnf2k

hnf2k

Active Member
if the temp is fine then i dont need to go out a spend a few hundred dollars on a chiller, but i will go and return the 2 heaters i dont need...hehe...also the water in both of my overflows is only like a few inches, maybe an inch or two higher than my sand bed...it feels hot inside the overflows(due to evaporation and low water level i guess). should i fill up my overflows with more water? and if so how do i do that? i try to dump more water in them but it just immediately gets sucked down. anyway possible?
 
frankl15207

frankl15207

Member
The recommended size chiller for that tank is a 1/3 hp (handles 160-300 gallons so it is well within your tank range with lots of room to spare). The prices vary by manufacturer and in-line vs. drop-in, but you are talking in the mid $700 up range.
You really don't need one. I have kept fish at 78 for over 30 years. They actually seem to get stressed if the temp goes below 76. Corals actually do better in the low 80s. If you are in that range, you have no need for a chiller, and if you go up a little in temp you still have plenty of margin. Save the money on the chiller.
 
jeo

jeo

Member
I'm gonna have to go ahead and sort of disagree with what you guys are saying, I think the ideal temp is in the low 80's, I keep my tank at 83 and everything in it is happy. Older sources will tell you that the ideal temp is in the high 70's but more recent studieds show that the average reef temperatures are higher, and therefore our tanks should have temps higher than that too. Check out this article to see what I am talking about (they also mention salinity) http://www.animalnetwork.com/fish2/a.../1/default.asp
I hope that clears it up for you :cool:
 
killyah

killyah

Member
i too keep my tank at 80 and everything is doing great, just watch ur salinity. most meters read salinity in room temp so u have to adjust according to ur heat...higher the heat lower the salinity...
 
hnf2k

hnf2k

Active Member
when my canopy lights are on my tank is at 81 degress, when they are off about 79-80. my salinty is 1.023...all that sound fine or do i need adjusting before i start to add some fish?
(im not sure if im doing a reef tank if that matters) i do have live rock though.
 
jeo

jeo

Member
if you are just adding fish that should be just fine. You might consider turning your heater up to 81 so there is no temperature swing when the lights go out. If you decide to do a reef I would bring the salinity up to 1.025.
 
hnf2k

hnf2k

Active Member
arent we supposed to keep it as natural as possible? and doesnt the temperature drop when the sun sets?
 
jeo

jeo

Member
um, I don't think so, the ocean has such a large volume that the temperature doesn't really change within the small time period without the sun.
 
hnf2k

hnf2k

Active Member
so keep my tank at a steady 81 degrees with a salinity level of 1.023 and my fish should thrive?
 
hnf2k

hnf2k

Active Member
how hot is too hot? so if my tank would to get to 84 would that be too hot(it isnt, but im just trying to get an idea of the margin)
 
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