fighting high temps in new tank

salt creepette · 03-17-2004, 10:39 AM

hello all. well i set up the 120 recently and i am fighting temps of around 84. the wood canopy has four 64 watt pcs mounted into the hood. the canopy's back is covered with pink styrofoam and has a fan mounted into the sides and back (1 fan each side) with the fan in the back pulling air into the hood, and the fan on the side pulling air into the hood and the fan on the other side pulling air out of the hood. when i open the hood it doesnt seem hot in there or anything. there are no heaters plugged in right now. i have two little giant pumps returning water to the tank from the sump and one powerhead in the display. any great ideas that im overlooking to get the temp down? the tank does not have any glass covers on or anything.

Phishnoob · 03-17-2004, 10:49 AM

I feel your pain. The hood of mine seems fine but I stuck a pyrometer in there and it is 94 degrees and the water hit 83 yesterday.

I am off to Radio Shack in an hour when they open and going to really get some airflow going in there. The enclosed canopy seems designed to overheat. I have another thread going now asking for advice on this.

Phishnoob

Beaches · 03-17-2004, 01:33 PM

Living in FL...that being said...

I'm having the same problems with my 90g...temp fluctuates between 76-81. I've only run the heater for 2 days this year...no matter what I set it on the tank gets too hot (81+). I have a wood canopy which stays open all the time (yes, defeats the purpose of aesthetics), and I do have the glass lids--but only using half to protect the PC's (if I don't need to keep these...let me know--I was told even though the lights have a plastic cover to leave the water covered to avoid the "splash")

The PC's have fans built in, I have 4 PH's going, plus the overflow, there's lots of surface movement...I've recently added a fan on top of the canopy aimed towards the water and use it sporadically to cool the tank when it gets above the 81 mark.

The temp inside the house has been 68-77 this "winter"...and I'll run the A/C during the summer at about 77-79, but am concerned about possible high temps.

Any suggestions (other than a chiller--the obvious choice)...

MyReeftank · 03-17-2004, 04:36 PM

Hi Everyone!!!!!
We all have the same problems with our Tanks. Temperature, temperature, temperature.. what to do? what to do? what to do?
I’ve been given 3 suggestions to this problem of ours. Read the thread on the links below. It might just work for some of you guys. The first link is the least expensive one and the second is almost like buying a chiller unit. What sucks is neither of them I can do. The first one needs a sump, that I don’t have. And the second one, we’ll I’d rather purchase a chiller system. And the third is to use Ice Cap FANS. If any of you find a solution to this temperature madness that is inexpensive and does not use a sump, please, please let me know..

http://www.thereeftank.com/forums/sh...threadid=32602

http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/s...hlight=chillers

Geoff · 03-17-2004, 09:39 PM

ah the temp issue.

happens every spring, to all of us who have upgraded thier lights for Christmas.

fans are by far the least expensive way to cool a tank. if you can raise the canopy up off the tank so that more air movement can get to the waters surface will help.

with flourescent lights the only dangerous part is the end caps. as long as these do not get wet you are fine. so remove those covers. MH on the other hand can break if a large enough splash hits them.

hth,

G~

Phishnoob · 03-17-2004, 09:55 PM

New fans tomorrow..for now got the access cover raised and the cover off the tank..and trying to keep kitty out of there.

I got a Y cable to power the two new fans for about five bucks today but my muffin fans are way too yucky to work.

Phishnoob

salt creepette · 03-17-2004, 10:32 PM

phishnoob, i read over on reefcentral about a guys cat who drown to death in the reef tank, so be careful. not a pretty sight to be sure.

adrianleewelch · 03-18-2004, 02:47 AM

Hey Salt.. I have 2 four inch radioshack fans in the canopy, 1 clip on personal fan on the sump, and one big standing fan aimed behind the tank and upwards to keep cool air behind the canopy for the small fans to blow over the water, I also slid my canopy forwards 1 inch so it overhangs the front of the tank a little, warm air blows from this space and it works pretty well. I stay at 80 degrees with 800 watts of MH and 160 watts NO actinics on a 75 gallon. way overkill on the lighting I know, but I love the brightness.. anyway try a couple of big fans blowing behind it, or a box fan on the sump, you will see a big difference. And be ready to add lots of topoff water, I remember your recent thread about evaporation, but you have to have it to cool the thing.. Good luck

SouthernReefer · 03-18-2004, 03:51 AM

erin, i happen to have a mini-fridge you could plumb up as a d.i.y. chiller. i don't have any plans to plug it in anytime soon. its already been drill, you just need to get some vinyl tubing for the coil. i also have a small mag pump you could use to supply it as well. pm me if your interested.

Phishnoob · 03-18-2004, 06:05 AM

I have a beer fridge sitting around idle as well. Do you just drill holes in it and run a boatload of tubing around in there through a bucket of water? Also, any idea on good fittings to use to clamp on tight on both sides of the 1" or so thickness? I am thinking something like a threaded PVC fitting or something. The good news is I can stick a cold one in there in case a fish perishes to sedate myself.

Phishnoob

Phishnoob · 03-18-2004, 08:12 AM

Well got the go ahead from the fiance'...gonna make my own chiller tonight out of the fridge. I'll take a picture when it is done. I guess the trick then is balancing the heating and cooling.

Having the fridge next to the tank will give the cat a good place to sit and torment the fish as well.

Well off to Lowe's to see what I can come up with for bulkhead fittings. I think using something like that threaded plastic rod for sprinklers will work well if it is big enough to put the tubing through.

Phishnoob

rabeiler · 03-18-2004, 08:38 AM

Here's what I have done to help with heat on my 120.

1) I vent the hood (2 - 175 Watt 10k MH, 2 - 40 Watt Actinics) with dryer vent hose out of the house using a dryer vent. I went to my local hardware store and found a fan replacement motor that looks a lot like what is in a clothes dryer. It pulls quite a bit of air from around the hood out of the house.

2) My hood hangs from above and therefore is open to the tank all around.

3) I have 2 4" fans mounted on an opaque piece of plexiglass at the back of the tank to blow air over the surface of the tank.

4) I have a small chiller located in a completely different area since when you run any type of chilling unit, it will generate a lot of heat which compounds your issue of trying to cool the tank.

My tank is built into the wall with a small maintenance room behind it (12' X 5') with sinks, shelving, sumps, etc.

I think you best bet is to create a closed loop system with a Reef tank chiller located in another room (basement, etc). This is by far the best way to remove extra heat if setting up additional fans, moving your hood, etc don't get you to where you need to be. If they work, then you are good and no need for the chiller.

Trying to make your own chiller is fine, except you really need to have a good mechanism for the heat exchange. Instead of trying to use vinyl tubing, you should see if you can find a titanium coil. You could constantly run tank water through the coil in your homemade chiller and use some type of control mechanism to turn the chiller unit on/off.

Hope this helps.
ross

Phishnoob · 03-18-2004, 08:49 AM

I know that vinyl tubing has a pretty bad heat transfer coefficient (see I paid attention Mr. Heat Transfer and Fluid Flow Teacher that gave me a C if you are on) but if it runs through a bath of water I am hoping it will work.

Is titanium tubing something you can get at HD? I was hoping to use a single loop of plastic tubing just to minimize any chance of leakage and use the plastic drawer at the bottom to loop it around in a few times coiled with tie wraps to hold the water.

Also the beer fridge is pretty well insulated so I will put it right next to the tank and don't expect too much heat to be added.

Phishnoob

Geoff · 03-18-2004, 09:17 AM

http://www.thereeftank.com/forums/sh...threadid=32602

another thread on this.

G~

Phishnoob · 03-18-2004, 11:56 AM

Well spent a whopping nine bucks on this project and will put it together this afternoon. I have gray PVC sprinkler 2 inch pieces and white PVC couplers which I will join with the slow acting glue. My problem is that the only threaded to hose barb connectors are all nylon so I need to join the Nylon to the PVC couplers. The couplers will snug up against the inner and outer walls of the fridge if I did my math correctly, and then time to seal it all with silicon after curing.

I got lucky and the beer fridge was free as well as the pump (good reason to play nice).

I am thinking either epoxy or gel loctite, and I don't think teflon tape is the right thing for plastics.

Has anyone done this and more importantly done it without leaks?

Phishnoob