Controlling the temp of my tank

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eric the red
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My SetUp: Equipment: 225 gallon (72x30x24), 3 radion pros, 2 48" t5s (ato blue plus), 2 mp40s, full apex with ph probe, wxm module, brs gfo reactor, reef octopus nwb200, DIY ATO with Kalk in reservoir water, two micom dosers (dosing 2 part) Livestock is mostly zoas/palys and sps. I also have quite a selection of high end Lps on the sand bed.
Location: Ocean Springs

Controlling the temp of my tank

Post by eric the red » Sun Oct 21, 2012 4:24 pm

I recently started using a heater in my tank. Before it would swing from 76 to 80 throughout the day. Now it was 78 when i woke up and now its at 82. The heater prevented it from getting too cold but now its getting too hot. Buying a chiller is out of my budget right now. Should I get one of those aquarium fans that clip onto the side of the tank? Has anyone had any experience with these?

Xfactor1315
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Re: Controlling the temp of my tank

Post by Xfactor1315 » Sun Oct 21, 2012 4:56 pm

A fan will help

Shadow1
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My SetUp: 300DD Reef, 30 Nuvo Breeding Clowns, 30 QT/Grow out.
Location: Hattiesburg, MS

Re: Controlling the temp of my tank

Post by Shadow1 » Sun Oct 21, 2012 7:57 pm

Turn down the heater a touch. We run 2 300 watt heaters with a chiller to control within about 1.5 degrees I do not know if there is another way other than an airconditioned room with the heaters,

Redfish
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My SetUp: AGA 150g 48x30x25, Reef Octopus Skimmer, Bio Pellet, Phosphate, Carbon reactor. Mostly a SPS coral tank with a few zoas a Green Polyp Toadstool, a Chalice or two and a couple of Scollys thrown in there. Top Off System and dosing pump system for Calcium and Alk.
Location: D'Iberville Mississippi

Re: Controlling the temp of my tank

Post by Redfish » Sun Oct 21, 2012 8:22 pm

We would really need to know more about how your tank system is set up to give good advice. What type of lights are you running over your tank, what kind and how many power heads are you using, if any, are you running a sump under the tank, what kind of heater are you using, are you using a HOB filter? The heater isn't what is getting your tank to hot unless you have the controller on the heater set to high, your lights, power heads and the pump running your filtration system is what's doing that, also the heater if you have it set to high. There are several things you can do, but without knowing your system, its just a guess on what you can do. I would start by raising your lights, the closer to the water they are the hotter the water will be. As Xfactor said, a fan will help, it will also cause the evaporation rate on your tank to go up, so have plenty of RO water on hand to replace the water loss.

eric the red
Discus Member
Posts: 165
Joined: Wed Sep 12, 2012 3:55 pm
My SetUp: Equipment: 225 gallon (72x30x24), 3 radion pros, 2 48" t5s (ato blue plus), 2 mp40s, full apex with ph probe, wxm module, brs gfo reactor, reef octopus nwb200, DIY ATO with Kalk in reservoir water, two micom dosers (dosing 2 part) Livestock is mostly zoas/palys and sps. I also have quite a selection of high end Lps on the sand bed.
Location: Ocean Springs

Re: Controlling the temp of my tank

Post by eric the red » Sun Oct 21, 2012 9:33 pm

I have a 30 gal tank with 3x96 power compact current usa for lights, hob filter, and hydor koralia 1 and 2. I didnt think about the fan increasing the rate of evaporation. Its not a problem because I do have an rodi water system. I have my heater set for 79. The heater was given to me by a friend and Im not sure which brand. I dont think that is too high unless its rated for a bigger tank. Im pretty sure its the lights that heat it rup. My lights are only about 5 in. from the water surface. Unfortunately, raising the lights might be an issue. I dont have a canopy and Im not sure I want to have the lights hanging from the ceiling.

eric the red
Discus Member
Posts: 165
Joined: Wed Sep 12, 2012 3:55 pm
My SetUp: Equipment: 225 gallon (72x30x24), 3 radion pros, 2 48" t5s (ato blue plus), 2 mp40s, full apex with ph probe, wxm module, brs gfo reactor, reef octopus nwb200, DIY ATO with Kalk in reservoir water, two micom dosers (dosing 2 part) Livestock is mostly zoas/palys and sps. I also have quite a selection of high end Lps on the sand bed.
Location: Ocean Springs

Re: Controlling the temp of my tank

Post by eric the red » Thu Oct 25, 2012 7:15 pm

What temp would be considered too hot?

Shadow1
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My SetUp: 300DD Reef, 30 Nuvo Breeding Clowns, 30 QT/Grow out.
Location: Hattiesburg, MS

Re: Controlling the temp of my tank

Post by Shadow1 » Thu Oct 25, 2012 7:27 pm

Research your livestocks avg temp. I try to stay 79-80 on mine I believe 77-78 would be better but the way I live it's hard to keep it that cool.

MPowell
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Re: Controlling the temp of my tank

Post by MPowell » Thu Oct 25, 2012 9:25 pm

It depends on what your keeping, although I've always heard coral prefer high temps around 80 and fish prefer 78...just remember the higher the temp the more the fish will want to eat. Atleast that's what it seemed like when I kept my tank at 80 but now I try to stay around 78.

Redfish
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My SetUp: AGA 150g 48x30x25, Reef Octopus Skimmer, Bio Pellet, Phosphate, Carbon reactor. Mostly a SPS coral tank with a few zoas a Green Polyp Toadstool, a Chalice or two and a couple of Scollys thrown in there. Top Off System and dosing pump system for Calcium and Alk.
Location: D'Iberville Mississippi

Re: Controlling the temp of my tank

Post by Redfish » Fri Oct 26, 2012 2:07 am

I know you don't have a sump tank on your current system, having one will allow you to better control the heat in your system if you ever upgrade to a larger tank. The more water you have in a system the easier it is to control the heat issue. This isn't a cheap fix :roll: but if heat really became an issue, enough of a one that you were really worried about it, replacing your koralia power heads with a Eco Tech MP 10 would help out a lot. If you haven't looked at these power heads, the part of them that puts out the heat, is on the outside of your tank on the koralia power heads, this heat source is on the inside of your tank. The :lol: big white board behind the register at Gerwins, it has a credit side and a debit side, you can always give him a few $$$ here and there till you get the amount for the MP 10 saved up on the credit side of the board, my name :lol: :lol: always seems to be on the debit side :roll: :roll:

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bluwtr
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Re: Controlling the temp of my tank

Post by bluwtr » Thu Nov 01, 2012 11:05 am

Even though we should keep our tanks between 78-80 or so, SST (sea surface temps) in tropical regions often exceed 85. One reason we don't want our tanks that high is because the metabolism of the animals will increase which will then require higher food levels and that will increase nutrient output. Makes keeping those levels down that much harder. On a greater scale, the ocean easily self regulate their temps, whereas our small tanks can't so this creates larger proportional swings. This equates to a non-stable system. Hope that makes sense.

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