temperature

[fishman]

I have a 125 FOWLR. Also I have 80W of Normal Flor lighting. What do most of you guys keep your tanks at temp wise? With the summer coming on, I have noticed that mine will vary from 78-80. I am thinking of getting some small fans to blow across the top of the water or use the fans that are built into my canapoy. Any suggestions or advice on this subject? Also I live in TX. The tank is on an inside wall and away from sunlight. Plus I have really high ceilings in the room and ceiling fans. I have several options to keep it cool.
Thanks

 

[Biggen]

Mine stays right around 81-82F.

Stability is more of a key than the actual temperature. Of course this doesn't mean you can have stable temp of 100F and expect everything to be alright.

But as long as your temp range is between 79-84 and you can keep it fairly stable (not vary by more than 2 degrees), then you should have no problems.

 

[bill0298]

I used to keep mine at 79 to 80, but occasionally it would go up another degree or two. I slowly lowered my temp to 76-77 and have had more stability...

 

[fishman]

Well mine has stayed very stable for the past 3-4 months until yesterday. I normally keep mine at 79-80 and it was around 81-82. I just want to keep everything as stable as possible. Does anyone use a chiller? I really cant see spending $300-$600 for a chiller AND I do not have room for it. I have a Sealife System 125 for a sump and my cabinet is full where I would be able to stick the chiller.
What suggestions do any of you have as far as DIY deals to keep the water cool....Im not worried about heating it. I have heard fans blowing across the water and leaving the lid off helps. I have an open cabinet so a lid isnt in the pic.
Any and all help is appreciated.
Thanks

 

[afilter]

I keep mine constantly at 77-78. I use to keep it at 80-82 but LFS said that was to high and should be around 74, which I thought was way to low so I compromised and have left it there ever since with no problems.

I live in WI so heat is not an issue

You did not mention what part of TX you are in, Dry of Humid? I only ask because if you climate is dry as WI can be in winter you may have issues with excessive evaporation if you remove the lids and run fans which could also mess up your SG if you do not top off daily with fresh water.

Not sure of any DIY but am interested if someone else knows of any. believe it or not WI can get very hot for about 2-3 months in the summer and I have found myself leaving the AC on just for the fish when no one is home. What we do for our fish.

Good luck,

 

[Biggen]

There are several DIY chiller plans here: http://saltaquarium.about.com/cs/chilladddenitradiy/

The easiest chiller I have ever seen to build is to use a powerhead inside the tank and attach a long plastic hose to the output of the unit. Then run that hose into a styrofoam box and coil the hose around and round inside the box. Then take the remaining hose (after coiling) and run it back into the aquarium. Then you can get some ice or gel packs and put them right on the coiled up hose inside the styrofoam box. The coiling of the hose allows the packs to sit on them longer, thus cooling the water a little.

Obviously, this would only work for relatively small systems and you would have to change out the ice packs regularly, but I still think it is pretty cool.