What do i need for this setup?

[ToiletDuck]

Ok I have a nice little 5gal setup next to my monitor with 6 lbs of liverock in it along with a coral. It has one fish where i will be getting one more. I am having a problem with the temperature of the water rising. I think that it might have something to do with my water pump/filter. What can i do to get the temp down. I've unplugged the pump/filter right now. The temp is right at 80 celcius and i'm worried about it climbing any higher.

Also I was wondering what I might want to think about getting to keep this setup running good. Also how often I must cycle 10% of the water. As mentioned i have the pump/filter along with the airpump and nothing else. What else would you guys recommend? I test the salinity level and so far it's maintained good.

 

[PatM]

Could it be your the heat from your monitor? Smaller volumes of water can be a little harder to maintain temperature wise. As long as you have lots of flow this is a good starting set up, you didn't mention lighting and you will need proper lighting for any corals. I do a 15-25% water change monthly but some people go as often as 10-25% weekly. Do weekly tests of water parameters and that should give you a good idea on how often to change some water. Also, it could be your lighting heating up the water, it's most likely not the filter, good circulation should cause some evaporation and bring temps down I believe. Good luck. Also, one fish might be enough in there depending on the size of the fish.

 

[leesanhua]

why do we need water change? is it to introduce new mineral to the tank?

 

[Salttanker]

It can be tough getting a 5G tank stabilized. 80 degrees is fine. Mine goes from 79-82 degrees with MH. As PatM said, the heat could be caused from your monitor.

With a tank this small, you will want to do water changes religiously, maybe once a week..10% would be good.

Mike

 

[PatM]

Yeah I started out with a 20 gal tall and boy did the temp rise when I put power compacts on it. The good thing was that it was just as easy to cool, a couple of bags of ice in there for a couple of minutes cooled it right off. Good luck, small tanks can be hard and I agree that you probably should stick to weekly water changes religiously.

 

[runway1]

Just a note; you're not at 80°C, you're at 80°F. ;>)

80°C is about 170°+ on the F scale