How do i get my temp down

[budbuddha]

I live in califonia and it is pretty hot right now.
I am cycling my tank and it gets to be in the 84 degees F area.
It comes down at night to about 80.
I never see my heater on so i dont think it is that.
I dont know what to do?

I have two 36 30 watt floursences
a pump for my scimmer
aqua clear powerhead 101
and my sump pump a Rio 1700

 

[SpeckledGrouper]

I am in So Florida and it is hot here aswell, I have two fans in the canopy, one blowing in one sucking out and a small cheap fan from Wal-Mart underneath, I am keeping stable at 90 to 82 and everything seems fine.

 

[EL Diablo]

80-84 isnt bad. I am in Cali too and my tank is about the same as yours.
I have 4 PH running. my tank temp is always steady.
the tank temp is often hotter than the outside temp.

my tank has been up about 5 weeks and is doing great

good luck

 

[Atari]

A 4 degree swing isn't good.. until you can find a way to cool the tank, I would suggest setting your heater closer to the peak temp so as to limit the fluctuation.

 

[Edmonton Eskimo]

I was reading somewhere a method that involves putting really cold water in containers with fitting lids(like a 1 litre pop bottle that is cleaned) and placing them in the tank untill the temperature comes down a bit. I've never tried it myself but I think it would work.

 

[srgetz]

I have a 45g with 2 96w pcs, I was around 84 in the day. I put 2 radio shack fans under the light canopy and it is stable around 81.5. I suggest a fan as 84 is on the high side. It should drop you a few degrees as it did me.

He is right, set your heater dial it just starts to light then back it off a hair (with the tank at peak temp). This will keep you stable at whatever your daytime temp is. The goal is to have no more than 1 degree of fluctuation, IMO.

 

[Atari]

I would recommend starting with a fan blowing at the water surface and if that doesn't work then maybe setting up some kind of closed loop through a cooler. You may also want to look into a chiller since that would be the best solution if this is a year round problem.

 

[EL Diablo]

My tank is a steady 84 during the day.
is that bad?

 

[darb2]

I shouldnt get any hotter that that.

I would suggest setting your heater closer to the peak temp so as to limit the fluctuation.

A few things to help cool the tank.
1 remove the glass top and replace with plastic egg crate (from Home Cheapo)
2 add a fan blowing at the water surface (This will increase evaporation, so you will have to top up more frequently)
If those don't work, or you live in an area that is prone to hot summers for extended periods of time, consider a chiller.

 

[nyghtone]

I am SOOOO glad that I live in Montana, especially after reading threads like these!!! My 75 gal tank stays steady at 77 degrees day and night, I don't think I get more than a half a degree difference. I also have central air that I keep at 75 degrees, so I'm sure that that helps as well. I can't imagine dealing with some of the problems I hear yall talkin about. Good luck though, post when you find a good solution, it would always be good to know just in case I end up moving someday.

 

[arizona reefer]

hmm. i live in arizona (so i dont need to say its always hot here) i keep the air conditioner at 70 degrees and the tank stays at 79-80 degrees all the time.when the air conditioner broke down for 3 days i took and put water in 4 2 liter bottles. put them in the freezer and when they were froze i put 2 of them in my sump and just switched out when needed. if your sump pump is not an external pump id believe thats were the extra heat is comming from they can put off alot of heat. it may save you a big head ach to look for an external one.(this is just my quess so take it for the pennies its worth)

 

[NightSpirit]

I don't see why fluctuation is bad. We always talk about emulating NSW conditions, and a 4-10 degree fluctuation from peak-day to low-night would seem normal to me, and likely preferable to a constant temp.

 

[MattP725]

The middle of tropical waters doesn't really flux that much even from day to night. Your talking 2 degrees probably max and probably less at deaper lengths.