Water Temperature

[prettyfishluvr]

Hello,
I have just started the cycling process on my 40 gal tank
about a month ago. I going for a FOWLR, current have 2 damsels, 30lb live rock, and live pink fiji sand.
I discovered that the location where I set up my tank, the
water cannot get any cooler than 80 deg and usually sits at 84 deg.
I def cannot afford a chiller. Someone suggested a heater, to keep
the temp around there, that way the fish can have a high, but consistant
temp.
Does anyone have any other suggestions?
Thank you for your time

 

[geoj]

Run house AC
Only use tank light when in the room or at night
A fan blowing at the service water might drop the temp by 1-2
Keep hardy fish

 

[xcdennisx]

invest in a fan for the top of the tank

 

[btldreef]

A fan isn't going to cut it any better than running an AC 24/7 (more than likely) and putting ice packs in the tank every day is really not ideal because the temperature is going to fluctuate too much which isn't good for anyone. With a temperature rising that high now, you're going to have nothing but problems come warmer months so you're going to need a chiller, or to run your air conditioner year round (which A, probably won't help and is just as costly). Unfortunately this is not a cheap hobby. Fish really want a temp range from 72-78, 84 is far too high, IMO.
Save up while you're cycling, there are decent chillers for decent prices, you're going to need one. Why not buy a chiller, THEN fish.

 

[xcali1985]

I agree, only a chiller will keep it that low. The problem is you need to run around 76 degrees, which means that the chiller will run almost 24/7 because the water will be heating up fast. Your problem sounds like it will run you about 50$ more a month chiller wise, I would hate to imagine if this is a reef tank with mH. If your looking into lights look LED.

 

[flower]

Originally Posted by PrettyFishLuvr
http:///forum/post/3146149
Hello,
I have just started the cycling process on my 40 gal tank
about a month ago. I going for a FOWLR, current have 2 damsels, 30lb live rock, and live pink fiji sand.
I discovered that the location where I set up my tank, the
water cannot get any cooler than 80 deg and usually sits at 84 deg.
I def cannot afford a chiller. Someone suggested a heater, to keep
the temp around there, that way the fish can have a high, but consistant
temp.
Does anyone have any other suggestions?
Thank you for your time

84 is NOT too high for a saltwater tank. The reef is normally 82/84 it is optimal temp for coals and fish. Hobbyists keep the tank at 76/78 to slow things down. 72 is for sea horses and those few critters that need cooler temps. Stressed out fish kept at 78 get ich easier. Raising the temp will actually help build their natural immunity.
However, if you have a normal temp at 84 and a hot day comes...your tank temp will climb much higher. Then run the air conditioner or fans. 86+ could be harmful.

 

[prettyfishluvr]

Well obviously I like your reply best because it means im okay. I am new to this bloging thing and this is so neat to get this much advice! 84 is on a hot day, 82 is on a regular day. I did loose one of my damzels though. I had the water tested and the nitrates and nitrites were fine, I hope it was not the termperature.

 

[cdposey26]

I run my tank 80-84 degrees year round no problem. In the summer when it gets real hot, I just run a fan and it cools it 2-3 degrees easy. I wouldn't worry about it to much and I certainly wouldn't worry to much about a chiller

 

[florida joe]

A few questions what is the Ambient temperature of your home what heat generating equipment do you have incorporated in your tank that is submerged? Do you have a canopy and or glass cover over your tank

 

[big]

I agree with Joe, (for a change)

. What are the rooms prams???? Power-Heads making heat, glass cover etc... And I agree 84 is not too hot, but getting close to the higher border of comfort for some critters.........
Secondly I know small fans placed in strategic locations CAN cause a considerable amount of evaporative cooling....... Just be careful in smaller systems for faster SG changes due to much quicker evaporation produced by fans....
Ohhhhhhhhhhhhh second posting.... WELCOME to the obsession and the Forum too.....

 

[geoj]

If the tank is in a window and gets sun you can move it out of the sun…

 

[prettyfishluvr]

Originally Posted by florida joe
http:///forum/post/3146995
A few questions what is the Ambient temperature of your home what heat generating equipment do you have incorporated in your tank that is submerged? Do you have a canopy and or glass cover over your tank

We have our A.C unit set at 76 in the house.. but our bedroom stays a little warmer for some reason.
I have no power heads currently in the tank. I have a heater set at 79, to safeguard any drastic cool days effecting my tank, but it never comes on.
I have a marineland eclipse canopy with the lights running all day.
The tank is not in direct sun light.

 

[cranberry]

Originally Posted by Flower
http:///forum/post/3146474
Stressed out fish kept at 78 get ich easier. Raising the temp will actually help build their natural immunity.
I keep my tanks at 78. At these temps I've kept a 10 year old lionfish, 8 year old anthias. 7 year old leopard wrasse and 7 mandarin etc and so forth. I would love to see some data or documented correlation between higher temps and "healthier" fish or a study or data collection on how fish kept at 78 get ich easier.
Originally Posted by Flower
http:///forum/post/3146474
The reef is normally 82/84 it is optimal temp for coals and fish.
Most of our tanks contain fish from different oceans, different seas and different regions within each, so there is no "optimal" for them all. The waters are not 76 or 77 or 78 or 82 or 84 etc... they are all of them. 82/84 is not optimal for every fish/coral/invert we have in our tanks. It is the upward range of the wide ranges they come from. I pick the medium of the range.
And remember, we can not arbitrarily select parameters found in our waters and apply it to every application in our hobby. As your temperature goes up, your available 02 goes down. Bringing it down just a couple of notches increases available 02. This is not something the ocean/sea has to worry about, but it is something we have to consider in our closed environments.

 

[jemshores]

We have our A.C unit set at 76 in the house.. but our bedroom stays a little warmer for some reason.
I have no power heads currently in the tank. I have a heater set at 79, to safeguard any drastic cool days effecting my tank, but it never comes on.
I have a marineland eclipse canopy with the lights running all day.
The tank is not in direct sun light.[/QUOT
Running your lights all day is IMO too much. Get yourself a timer and run them in 4-5 hour cycles 2x a day. That way during the hottest part of the day, they will be off. H Depot-20 bucks!

 

[contraband629]

A fan can decrease your temperature significantly (2 to 4 degrees) especially if you are running metal halides. I have metal halides over my tank (24 gallon) and a fan running. When I was trying to figure out the best balance between heater, fan, and light I would sometimes get a drop from 80 degrees (which is where I like to keep it at) to 75 degrees. Now these are just small fans, nothing really powerful. When you have a fan pointed directly at the top of your water it'll remove heat faster through convection. If you lower the temperature of your house by turning on the AC then the tank is attempting to reach thermodynamic equilibrium through radiation which is slower. In comparison think of a bowl of hot soup. Which method makes it cool faster? Letting it sit by itself or blowing air across it?

 

[tank a holic]

so just to get this right......
you have a 40 gallon tank, that is still cycling, with 2 fish already in it and no water circulation to create proper gas exchange.
and are not willing to pay for a chiller to maintain proper temp?
hopefully a fan will stabalize it enough for you, and it is essential that you get power heads

400 - 800 gph minimum

 

[flower]

Originally Posted by Cranberry
http:///forum/post/3148254
I keep my tanks at 78. At these temps I've kept a 10 year old lionfish, 8 year old anthias. 7 year old leopard wrasse and 7 mandarin etc and so forth. I would love to see some data or documented correlation between higher temps and "healthier" fish or a study or data collection on how fish kept at 78 get ich easier.
Most of our tanks contain fish from different oceans, different seas and different regions within each, so there is no "optimal" for them all. The waters are not 76 or 77 or 78 or 82 or 84 etc... they are all of them. 82/84 is not optimal for every fish/coral/invert we have in our tanks. It is the upward range of the wide ranges they come from. I pick the medium of the range.
And remember, we can not arbitrarily select parameters found in our waters and apply it to every application in our hobby. As your temperature goes up, your available 02 goes down. Bringing it down just a couple of notches increases available 02. This is not something the ocean/sea has to worry about, but it is something we have to consider in our closed environments.

I just noticed this question or statement...whatever.
78 does not contribute to ich at all, nor does raising the temp help ich at all. I am sorry if I wasn't clear on what I meant....So I will try again... A stressed out fish gets ich easier.
My Hippo Tang liked the temp warmer to feel not so stressed. By raising the temp, it helped him be healthy enough to fight the ich parasite that was already in my reef tank. By keeping my fish unstressed and healthy, the ich seems to have gone. Now even when a situation would normally stress my fish, (moved to a new house) still no ich.
In a reef, it is the worst situation and almost impossible to cure. I was going to just let ich take its course, and after the fish die.... let the tank stay empty for 6-8 weeks.
I tried one last thing..I gave my fish a chunk of shrimp soaked in fresh garlic and up the temp...This worked for me, so I suggested this for another person with a reef tank.
So the temp of 78 didn't do anything good or bad, my point was that healthy unstressed fish can survive and outlast ich.
I hope that cleared things up.

 

[btldreef]

Originally Posted by Cranberry
http:///forum/post/3148254
I keep my tanks at 78. At these temps I've kept a 10 year old lionfish, 8 year old anthias. 7 year old leopard wrasse and 7 mandarin etc and so forth. I would love to see some data or documented correlation between higher temps and "healthier" fish or a study or data collection on how fish kept at 78 get ich easier.
Most of our tanks contain fish from different oceans, different seas and different regions within each, so there is no "optimal" for them all. The waters are not 76 or 77 or 78 or 82 or 84 etc... they are all of them. 82/84 is not optimal for every fish/coral/invert we have in our tanks. It is the upward range of the wide ranges they come from. I pick the medium of the range.
And remember, we can not arbitrarily select parameters found in our waters and apply it to every application in our hobby. As your temperature goes up, your available 02 goes down. Bringing it down just a couple of notches increases available 02. This is not something the ocean/sea has to worry about, but it is something we have to consider in our closed environments.
+1