HEAT in Tank

Neonaj · 09-17-2005, 12:33 AM

My heat is between 80-82 degrees and I cant get it any lower, I am not using a heater because the water is just that temp alone, my house it at 74. I know that the light kinda heats it up but not that much what can I do to lower the degrees or is that fine for live rock and fish and snails ect.?

motorslave · 09-17-2005, 12:42 AM

That temp is okay but your almost at the limit. Try a fan blowing on the surface of the water. If you have a sump then put the fan there. This should give you a couple of degrees improvement. How big is your tank? What type of lighting do you have and what type/how many pumps?

Robert

Neonaj · 09-17-2005, 12:45 AM

i have a 25 gal clarity plus with a skimmer and nitrate balls and a 50/50 quad tube 96wx4 20'. I can maybe get a small fan and see what happens.

Adam · 09-17-2005, 02:27 AM

Deff. give the small fan a try it doesnt seem ike much but it will do wonders....just keep an eye on evaporation

Casey · 09-17-2005, 06:06 AM

If that doesnt work look into an Ice probe chiller think they run $99

Loverotties · 09-17-2005, 09:16 AM

If you have a glass lid on the tank,take it off!

Neonaj · 09-17-2005, 09:44 AM

thanks ill try with lid off first and see what happens, how do you mount light if the lid is off?

rookie50 · 09-17-2005, 09:50 AM

most light mfg offer support legs that attatch to ends of light fixture that rest on side of tank. If you have only a built in flourescent fixture as part of a plastic canopy as offered on starter setups you will want to upgrade this lighting fixture anyway.Check Ebay you can get cheap CP fixtures with support legs.

Neonaj · 09-17-2005, 10:02 AM

thanks for the info I have a 50/50 96wx4 light fixture thats 20in i think its a good light?

gwen_o_lyn · 09-17-2005, 12:26 PM

My tank also stays at 82 for the summer. I keep the house at 74 too. I need to get a little fan for the sump. Make sure you don't have any fish that jump if you take the glass top off. My wrasse would have been dead years ago if it wasn't for the glass top.

As long as your ac doesn't go out then you are ok at 82- just no higher.

reef_noob · 09-17-2005, 04:15 PM

Glass tops are bad news. They trap heat in the tank and they break if they get too hot. You should have that fixture mounted on legs. I'm pretty sure they sell them for that fixture. Get some eggcrate from home depot and cut it out to the shape of your lid if you want some sort of top.

Removing the glass top should reduce the temp a good bit. Additionally, get a small fan and blow it acros the surface, this should drop the temp by a degree or two (it will speed up evaporation however.)

reefBoyDc · 09-17-2005, 06:22 PM

82 is a bit high, but as long as it doesn't fluctuate too much, it's ok. Temperturechange is what affects the creatures most. So even though you don't need to use a heater, you should anyways. Set it at 80 degrees, because when the lights go off, you don;t want it dropping too much. If you find a way to reduce it below 80 with fans or a chiller, then reduce the setting on the heater a bit.

Loverotties · 09-18-2005, 11:12 AM

Now when you get the glass off you mite want to run a fan across the water!

craigGP · 09-18-2005, 11:37 AM

i'm thinking the same as reefboyDC. you do need a heater there. i assume the heat is from the lighting? when the lights go off, the temp should drop significantly. as mentioned, its the change in temp that is most stressful, not necessarily the fact that it is 82 vs 80. that range is perfectly acceptable, although closer to 78-80 is preferred in my tank. keep the large fluctuation from happening and all should be fine.

craig