what to do when your tank temp rises

[elke]

i have read in these forums that a fan blowing on your sump will help is this true or not my tank get to about 84 no higher with lights on just need to drop a couple o degrees to stay at the right temp of 78 all low cost suggestions greatly wanted i really dont want to spend the money for a chiller.....

 

[Fluff]

Well, I don't have a sump but I have a small personal fan that I use to blow across the tank. It drops my temps by 4 degrees. Of course, water evap is much higher also.

 

[Meredith]

I am starting to have a heat issue also. I have glass still under the lights which I am sure is contributing to the problem. But I found what looks like a big fan for a computer at a garage sale for a $1.50. I set that up today so its sucking out the hot air. I could feel the warm air blowing out but it didn't seem to make any difference in the temperature. Perhaps I will turn it around so its blowing in.

 

[StripesTheEel]

well thanks to my parents our house is ducted air con.. i havent had any issues with temp, but a fan seems to do a great job with people that i know and very cost effective, but if ur willing to save up, i'd go for a chiller.. looks alot better too!

 

[Fluff]

Meredith, what do you mean you have glass under the lights? Do you mean glass tops on the tank? This is gonna cause the heat to become trapped and your fan isn't gonna make a difference. The fan needs to blow across the water itself to cause evaporation in order to cool it.

 

[seaham358]

You want the fan to blow across the sump or tank, the evaporation of water is what helps cool off the tank. So remember that you will be toping off the tank more when you have a fan. Does it work, yes... I run 2 small computer fans on my 125 canopy and that helps some. I know guys who run the fan on the sump and they say that also helps out.
Are you going to get it to drop from 84 to 78 I don't think so. But you should be able to get it down to 81-or 82 which is fine for this time of year.

 

[Gatorfreak]

Having a desktop fan (about 8" across) blowing across the surface of my 90 gal reduces the temp by 2 or 3 degrees (F). Seaham's estimate of the temp drop you should expect is right on.

 

[runway1]

A 78° target is a bit chilly. Dr. Shimeck says (not like I verified it) the world's reefs average 82°-84°. The key is to keep a tight range.

My temp gets up to 83.5° with the MH's on. I set my heaters to keep the nightime temp at ~81°-82°. That way my range is <3°

 

[zacdl]

Well if its not too much keep ice packs on hand.

Make sure your heater is on and then chill the tank down to the temp you want and every time you think it starts going back up add another one.

 

[Hara]

From what I am reading in your post, your tank gets to 84 degrees.....that is on the warm side but doing things like adding icepacks will make the temps bounce back and forth, that is more detrimental than being just a little warm.

Make sure your tank is not covered and add a fan to blow across the surface of the water, as has been suggested. I have a 10.00 fan I bought from walmart, that I hung on the wall behind my tank. It keeps the tank at 82 degrees very nicely.

 

[zacdl]

I dont have to do ice packs anymore the two fans I have (both sucking air) Keep it at pretty much 80 all day.

 

[SeriousDude5]

I use a clip on fan to blow the heat away from the surface of the water if worst comes to worst I float bags of ice.