Tank overheating!!

[Jessilyn86]

Need some help or advice. Noticed that the temperature in my 60 gallon saltwater tank was going up to 80 degrees, then went up to 82.5... I unhooked the water heater and left it out overnight. During the middle of the night, the temperature jumped to 85 degrees. I turned some fans on and it went back down to 80 degrees but now it's going back up to 82.5 degrees, with the fans on and lights off. Also, my protein skimmer is bubbling over and there are micro bubbles going in the tank so I turned the skimmer off as well... Any suggestions on why the temperature is going up on its own? Could any of the pumps or anything in the sump be causing this? We added some live rock to the tank today as well, not sure if that matters or not...

 

[Holygral]

Need way more information on your set up. How long, what pumps, ph, lighting ect.

 

[jeffaquarius]

Any of the pumps can be the source of heat. One way to find out is turn them off one at a time and observe. An electrician has an instrument called "amprobe" or a clamp meter. It measures the ac current flowing in an electrical circuit. One of your pump may be is going bad and produces heat. Most likely the bigger pump is the culprit and it is your return pump.

 

[Holygral]

An lazier thermonater is a reefers best fried when trouble shooting heat issues

 

[jeffaquarius]

Nice info Holygral and it's not that expensive either.

Non Contact IR Laser Temperature Gun Infrared Digital Thermometer Sight Handheld | eBay

 

[Sharky7]

How close are...

... How close are your rooms heating radiators?/vents?/baseboards? to your tanks location?, Just thought I'd ask, since nobody else did.. Also, I thought that one of those "LASER" THERMOMETERS , while nice, wouldn't help YOU anyway!, sure they will tell you what your tanks temp is, but you already seem to know that! If you've never had that problem before it could be heat generated from your lighting, some bulbs and tubes seem to generate more heat as they age, filter pumps/motors can also generate heat so can the rooms temperature. Also, what type of thermometer are you using on your tank? I never trust those cheap stick on the outside of the glass type, they tend to pick up a rooms temp a bit more than they do with the temp inside of the tank.

 

[carey]

Maybe I missed it, but what kind of lighting are you using?

 

[jeffaquarius]

You point the laser to the pump and it will give you the temp differential with water. Compare the temp of each pump and you will have an idea which one is excessive. His tank temp is high even left without heater overnight. There is no sun at night so window is irrelevant.

 

[carey]

My tank retains some of the heat it from the whole day even after lights out.

I run mag return pumps and they are known to be one of the hotter pumps and still my temp doesnt break 80. ( this is the temp I am comfortable with as its constant).

I'm even running a mag 9.5 in the 60g I have and while it does run at 80 degrees its steady so I let it be.

 

[Gregcoyote]

The pump needs to be pretty nasty before it adds tons of heat. Did anyone pickup on the type of lighting and it's potential cause of overheating? Only a few things can add heat to the system; heaters, submerged pumps, lighting and that's it. I guess if the tank set right over a heat vent in the house, that could cause some issues. What is the ambient temp in the house?

First goal, get the temp steady no matter where it is. 82F is high but not lethal. 5deg temp swings are.

 

[jeffaquarius]

Two deg Fahrenheit variation in the tank is acceptable. I maintain mine at 80 and 82. Keep in mind that the tank with canopy without vent has tendency to have higher temp. The room temp also contributes to the temp regulation.

 

[Gregcoyote]

I agree, two degrees isn't bad, but strive for the least variance you can, my reef varies only about 0.5 degrees at any one time. And being 500 gallons of water those changes happen very slowly.

 

[Jessilyn86]

Tank overheating

Here is my sump set up. We only have a two bulb lighting system right now and it's not LED. I was using a Fluval electronic thermometer, E series. Took that out 2 nights ago and the temp is now staying between 80 and 82.. Sometimes it hits 83 but goes back down.

 

[Jessilyn86]

Tank overheating !!

The pump needs to be pretty nasty before it adds tons of heat. Did anyone pickup on the type of lighting and it's potential cause of overheating? Only a few things can add heat to the system; heaters, submerged pumps, lighting and that's it. I guess if the tank set right over a heat vent in the house, that could cause some issues. What is the ambient temp in the house?

First goal, get the temp steady no matter where it is. 82F is high but not lethal. 5deg temp swings are.

This is the set up I have right now. We are currently using a 2 bulb non LED lighting system.. Going to upgrade to a 4 bulb LED.

 

[Gregcoyote]

2 pumps are submerged. That will add a bit of heat. Pretty standard setup. What kind of bulbs and what kind of ventilation? Hood, glass top?

 

[Jessilyn86]

Right now we have just a 2 bulb system. 1 white and 1 blue bulb and an additional little blue led light on top. We have a glasstop since we have a cat that would love to jump up and go fishing.

 

[Jessilyn86]

Tank overheating

Here's a pic of the tank. We are going to get more live rock. This tank was set up for 3 years with a previous owner. We bought it last Wednesday. We kept 3 of the fish that were inside and the live sand. We added our own live rock, and adding more in next Tuesday.

 

[jeffaquarius]

With glass top, your tank is like an incubator and you are inhibiting oxygenation. The heat during the night is from your pumps. I suggest you replace the glass top with plastic egg crate you buy at Home Depot or hardware store. There is also a fluorescent light plastic defuser with 1/2 sq in grids.

 

[Swicicki]

My glass top actually lowered the temp on my tank slightly

I have. A 6 foot tank with PC and t5 lighting and I think the glass barrier is deflecting some of the heat.

I think the ambient temp of the room is as much a factor as anything else.

I keep my house at 74 75 and the tank is a pretty constant 78 79 day or night

I'm on fl and the AC is on 24/7


I would grab the return pump and see if it is hot to the touch

I saw you said you don't have LEDs what do you have?

 

[Jessilyn86]

I have a T5 2bulb light system right now. I noticed when I open the glass top, the temp drops a little. I've also cooled the room down and noticed a difference as well. Hopefully it stays at the 78-79 it's been at recently. But I've also added frozen 1 gallon bottles of water to the sump tank so maybe helping the temperature. I only add the frozen gallon at the end of the day since that's when the temp is higher. I'll continue to keep an eye on it and hope it stays at a consistent temp.