What to do when lights over heat the tank?

[cnlight]

I have a 37 gallon tank and I just installed 130 watt pc lights. Its now the fourth day and its starting to overheat my tank. Yesterday the tank temp was 79, today its up to 82. I think its starting to stress my fish. Any suggestions?

 

[robchuck]

Here are a few ideas for cooling the tank, though 82 degrees is not bad at all:
-Remove any glass tops that may be inhibiting evaporation
-Set up fans to blow across the water to promote evaporative cooling
-Cool the room the tank is in
-LAST RESORT: hook up a chiller

 

[cnlight]

I do have a glass top that came with the tank, but what could I do instead that my fish won't jump out and I can rest the lights on.

 

[ireven]

get a eggcrate.
i just put one on my tank.
you can find one at homedepot.

 

[dskidmore]

Originally posted by ireven
get a eggcrate.
i just put one on my tank.
you can find one at homedepot.
Note: Eggcrate = a plastic grating, often found in the lighting department, usually white. It's the stuff you see on some of the larger florecent light fixtures.

 

[cnlight]

Thank you dskidmore for clearing that up, how thick is it usually?

 

[cnlight]

Also will having the eggcrate help to keep the lights from overheating the tank, I used to have a fowlr, so this high light and reef info is new to me.

 

[viet-tin]

Eggcrate will allow evaporation which will help you keep your temp down.

 

[fishking]

u can also put a fan blowing in the sump and turn ur heater off

 

[dskidmore]

No, don't turn the heater off. If the thermostat on it is working properly, it should keep itself off when the tank is too warm. If you turn it off completely and get a cold night, you can get a major temperature shift in the aquarium.
Egg crate is fairly substantial stuff, it's designed to reflect light downwards, so it's a bunch of thin vertical fins in a grid pattern.
There's a couple pics in this thread, but I really don't recomend the paint job: https://www.saltwaterfish.com/vb/show...k+and+eggcrate

 

[fishking]

ooops srry bad me thanks for correcting me about that heater thing skidmore

 

[cnlight]

Thank you for the thread, I guess that will be my project for the weekend.

 

[golfish]

if you have a canopy the best thing to do would be get rid of it and use a hanging pendant, plus a fan.

 

[thomas712]

Buy a small collage size fridge, run a line through it...Call it a chiller.
Drill holes in the top of the canopy, add ice cap fans,...done. Just the holes alone will help dissipate heat.