[jimw369]

I have been cycling LR in my tank for 10 days now. Everything is going fine with a little brown algea starting to show up. However, I cant seem to get my temp below 80. sometimes rising to 82 after the lights have been on for 10 hours. If I shut my skimmer off (skimmer pump in sump) It doesnt change at all. If I leave the lights off for 24 hours, unplug heaters and leave just the wave makers on the lowest temp I can achieve is 79.5.
Can I live with this?

[darkwolf29a]

I'm no expert on too much heat, but I'm thinking you might want to think about a chiller. I used to live in Covington, Georgia. Those summers can be warm down there.

[glampka]

What size MJs do you have? The 1200s are known for adding considerable heat. They use 20 watts. If you do have the 1200s you might want to consider the 900 which only uses 8 watts.

[jimw369]

I have the MJ 600s. They only push 160 gph and do not feel like they produce much heat at all. I am going to start shutting them down a little at a time to see if that brings the temp down a little. What I read is 72-80 degrees where temp should be. Is that so? That seems like a big window for optimum temp. Any suggestions for correct temp for a reef tank?

[ACE]

I keep mi tank at 76 so it has room to fluctuate.

[glampka]

Doubt the problem is the powerheads. They only use 7.5 W. Probably a combination of heat from return pump & skimmer.

[jimw369]

Yes, maybe. I didnt realize the return pump could add a lot of heat but it is the only thing besides the light that is hot to the touch. Its not burning up hot but very warm. So this pump could do that? External Velocity T-4. If that is what it turns out to be I will try another pump before we go to a chiller. If so what kind of pump would you suggest. My sump is full so it would have to be an external pump. Please forgive me for this question but...is any heat generated thru the cycling process? (had to ask)

[jimw369]

I did use a ball valve on the return line in case I felt the pump needed dialed down for whatever reason. The opening in the ball valve ia a little smaller than the clear tubing I used. Is it possible this could restrict some flow causing the pump to run warmer?

[mtfabel]

I dont think that 82 degrees is too hot, but I would try to prevent it from getting any hotter. I have my heaters set on 78 and at night it stays at that but during the day it gets to about 82 degrees also. Everything in my tank is thriving.

[jimw369]

I took the glass off the tank this AM and with the light on I am at 81 degrees. With the glass on I top out at 82.5. Can leave the glass off? I know I will have more evaporation. I called Premium Aquatics where I purchased the pump and yes they told me the pump runs very warm. (very quiet also) Thought I might try a little fan blowing directly on the pump. Is that crazy or might it help a little?

[darkwolf29a]

Of course you can leave the glass off, a lot of people do. I would suggest running to the hardware store and buying a piece of egg crate though, to take the place. Just in case any critter decides to go a jumpin.

[barbra]

You should definitely leave the glass of, for gas exchange reasons if not for heat issues. It sounds as if you are choking down your pump as well, and that generates heat. MJ's are known heat generators. 82 is not too hot, it can go to 86 or better before you really have problems, but an ambient 82 doesn't give you much wiggle room with summer coming on.

An external pump will generate less heat than an internal one. Go for an Iwaki or a Mag. A fan blowing on the pump is silly, but one blowing across the top of you tank or your sump will do wonders and you don't need anything bigger than the $7 clip on from Wally World.

[jimw369]

Sorry for being "Silly", but its better than overbearing.

[barbra]

You'll get over it.

[Fishhead Junkie]

i have a question about using a fan to cool down the tank. i have the 29gallong bio-cube which is completely sealed up from front to back with the lid on so blowing a fan across the top doesnt do any good for me. i dont want to take the lid off, no place to put it plus i like the look. do you think if i cut a hole in the back of the lid and put the fan behind it i might get enough air flow into the lid area to cool it off, or do i also need to cut a 2nd hole for the warm air to be pushed out?? chillers are too expensive. i saw that probe chiller but dont see how that would be feasible in my tank. i think i will also keep some RO ice cubes on hand in the freezer to throw in there if it gets too hot..do you think they would hurt the fish having something so cold floating in the water melting??

steve

[barbra]

Use either cold packs or frozen Tupperwares of water to cool the tank so you don't upset your chemistry, lots of us do it without problems all summer (who can afford a chiller? Sheesh).

I am not sure that I would cut a hole if I didn't absolutely have to. If you run a sump you can always blow the fan across there instead. Keep in mind that fans do increase evaporation (that's what cools the water) and you will need to watch your top off routine more carefully.

[fisheyes]

I had the same problem my lfs told me too put the lights up off the glass. I used some jenga blocks too get it up off the glass top and the temp seems to be alright now. Hope this helps.

[lynnvangsnes]

If necessary, I found this site for a DIY chiller. DIY Saltwater Aquarium Chiller
It has all the instructions and is basically a small refrigerator with about 100' of plastic tubing inside; through which you pump your tank water. I live in south Texas and normally from April - November, temps stay very high here. good luck!

[jpmwjm]

I use three MJ 1200's in my 75. I had the temp hovering around 82 degrees. I opened up the top and it dropped to 80.5. I saw some posts on the web about modifications to the nossle and drilling extra inlet holes on the PH's to get around a 125 GPH increase per PH. I tried it on two of them. It did inprove flow in my tank alot. But I also noticed that the PH does not seem as warm to the touch now as it used to, and my temp dropped down to 79 now (and seems stable). Just thought this might help some.

[jimw369]

Thanks for all your suggestions. I did some modifications to my plumbing, took the glass off the top and raised my light up 3 inches. I start out the day at 78.5 and finish after 10 hours of lights at 81. With summer coming on I was a little panicky about those earlier temps. And the tip Barb gave about the frozen water in tupperware containers was a great idea to get you thru a short term problem. I am going to buy another return pump and try that and go with the one I like best. No matter what I will then have a spare.

[Krazy]

Jim,

I agree with alot of the things barb has suggestd...

2 liter bottles filled with water and frozen will lower tank temps...

Remove those glass covers !! You'll have a temp drop there as well..

A simple fan blowin over the surface will also help for sure... I rather top off alot then over heat..

I dont like seein tank temp over 82, IMO that is as high as you wanna go...

The maxi-jets are causing some heat for you for sure...

Mag drive in-sump pumps are pretty good. I dont think they produce alot of heat...

Good luck on gettin those temps down !!!

[jvharding]

Blueline T4 is major culprit of heat I have 3 of them and I agree with Barbra on the Iwaki pumps these run much cooler. Having a spare pump is a good idea. I can not count how many times that a spare comes in handy! T 4 require a cleaning every now and then. I had to spring for the chiller though because of my lighting setup. There have been times when my T 4 does not start I keep my tank in the 78 to 80 range depending on the weather to save on chiller cost.

[pogodzib]

A temp of 82 degrees have always been fine for me, but in the summer when my tank temp would climb into the 83-84 range is when I'd have problems loosing a few SPS corals or fish. I've always heard that Mag drives add alot of heat to tanks. Adding fans over your tank and sump would definately help lower your temp some. Although, after three years of dealing with rising temp during the summer, I opted to buy a chiller and not need to worry about pushing the fine line with the tank's temp anymore.

[darkwolf29a]

Speaking of pumps and heat....has anyone used a Catalina Aquatics pump?CA Pump

Now, that one is a bit big for my 55 gallon. But, they make a smaller one that I can get from Amazon (Is anything they don't sell now?) for $25, that will push 600gph, which I think is what I need for my return pump.

Thoughts, opinions, etc.

Thanks

[Danakor]

Something that you can do for a fan that is hidden, is go down to wally world or best buy and buy an 80mm ball bering fan. They run off of 12v dc current(you can actually wire them for AC but be an electrician please). They are easy to hide in the top of the tank under the lid and they work great...in fact if you look at that nice box next to you with all the nice purty lights...yeah they use them.

oh and btw a fan on a piece of electrical equipment is not a silly idea. it might not be practical in this sense of the idea but trust me more3 electrical devices than you know have fans attached to them.