Temp Question...

[VanThomas]

Hey everyone, things are going great with my new 30 gallon long. Nitrates are at 5 and everything else is testing perfectly. I am starting to see some great coraline growth. I guess the fast cycle was due to the established live rock. Here's the deal. In my 30 gallong I have 3 Maxijet 1200's going, as well as a 192 watt jebo light. With the temp in my apartment; my tank has been at 86 degrees regularly. I am sure it wil cool down once the weather outside cools down, however is this TOO hot? I have nothing in it besides my liverock, however I am tired of watching the water churn and want to take it slow by just adding some inverts like crabs and snails. Is this going to be a problem? Is the higher temp a problem or just fluctuations? I am assuming a lot of the heat issue is all of the equipment running in the tank, any suggestions outside of a chiller? (not nearly in my budget and am certainly not handy enough) I really LOVE the flow I have going on in my tank and the lights are fantastic. What should I do?
Thanks for your help!
Van Thomas

[reefwick]

do you have a heater in there?

Try blowing a fan over the top of it. I'd wait a little longer to add the clean-up crew but that's just me. Did you cycle with the raw shrimp? 86 is alittle high and it isn't fluctuation due to the cycle. If it's 86 now it'll be 86 with stuff in it. Now sure it'll cool down with winter and all but you'll have the same problem next summer ya know? Some people float bottles of ice in the tank but I don't think you want to be doing that all the time.

[bertoni]

I wouldn't start adding animals until the ammonia has been zero for 3 weeks. Then I'd add some snails for cleanup, and see how that went. Actually, I do some water changes before adding the snails.

I agree with trying a fan. I targetg 82 as the base temperature for my tanks.

[RBU1]

This is just my opinion but I feel the ideal temp should be between 79-82. So if you can maintain a constant temp of 82 that is fine but if you are at 82 and the temp rises with your lights I would say that is to high.

[cshenderson]

OK Van, here's the deal. Check your levels. Inverts need stable water conditions before you go adding them. Ideally you want zero for ammonia, nitrite and nitrate. Take it slow with the stocking of the tank. You could add 10 things all at once and everything might be alright, if the cards are stacked in your favor or if the planets are aligned just right. The best play is to let your levels play out, add a fish or so or some of your clean-up crew, then start adding inverts after that like shrimp and such.

If you read nothing else in my post read this: I can solve your temp problem. I had the exact same problem you are having with temp, except worse. I was getting day time highs into the 90's. Now I have to turn the heater on just to keep the temp warm enough. The solution is evaporative colling. Which is what reefwick was suggesting when he mentioned the fan blowing across the top. He's right. I installed four 4" cooling fans (like a computer fan) in my canopy very easily. I have 2 pushing air and 2 pulling air out for cross ventalation. I had posted a message to the board just like yours when I started and was skeptical when peoplpe mentioned fans, but after trying it.... I saved myself from having to buy a $800 chiller.

So, run your lights as little as necessary. Give your tank what it needs in terms of light, but don't over do it. Runnig your lights too much will really heat your water up. Then put in at least 2 fans, 1 pushing and 1 pulling and watch the temps drop. Also, I would suggest going to wal-mart and buying a little desk fan and rig that so it is pointing into your sump. The total effect of this will be noticable and thus effective. As I said before, my temp's were in the 90's. After adding the fans I had to turn on the heater at 76. Here's alink to the fans I purchased:

http://www.marinedepot.com/md_viewItem.asp?idproduct=CP5913

[Mish]

Fans, Fans, Fans. This is the answer. I have a 75gal, and I use two fans at on one end and two vents at the other. This has worked well for me. I leave one fan on at night, and have the other timed to turn on with the lights in the morning. I don't know if this applies or not, but if you have a pump, not the maxi-jets, in the water this could be heating the water as well. I used my pump in the tank while it was cycling and when I took it out of the water my temp dropped 4 degrees. I don't have trouble with the maxi's I also run 3 1200's.

Try the fans. Only buy what you need.

[AZDesertRat]

I would remove the three MJ1200s and put in one Seio 820 or maybe 2 620s or 820s. Much more movement and lots less power consumption and heat generated. MJ1200 are power hogs, an MJ900 moves almost as much water with about 1/3 the power (I seem to remember 8w vs 24w?) consumption but still doesn't equal Seios.

[Randall_James]

I like AZ's suggestion on the powerheads. Less power, less heat.

The idea of 4 fans will work but there could be some consequences.
1. Salinity, as the water evaporates, the numbers are going to start climbing.

With 4 fans you will evaporate a gallon or more of water a day and that rate your salinity is going to change by .001 to .002 and that is not very good for your livestock. You will have to keep the tank topped off.

2.The other issue is moisture in the room. Without good circulation, you could end up with mold, mildew and stink in the room. Also as the humidity in the house starts to climb from the evaporation at the tank, it will in fact become less effective cooling. Central A/C will take care of that however.

[AZDesertRat]

I relied strictly on fans for the first 18 months of my tanks life and they worked very well with the exception that moisture in the house was awful. I was adding 3 gallons per day due to evaporation and my A/C unit was pouring out lots of condensate water on the ground. The A/C also had to run harder and more often to pull the moisture out. I finally gave in and installed a chiller and now add 5 gallons every 4 days instead of the 11 to 12 gallons before.
All this is with the most efficient pumps I could afford, like Seios, Ocean Runners and a Quiet One 4000. I use the smallest MJ possible to run my calcium reactor and phosban reactor and am even thinking about using one MJ to power both to eliminate one pump. I also have a well ventilated canopy so I feel I have done the best I can as far as heat generation and power efficiency.

[Reefski's]

:The A/C also had to run harder and more often to pull the moisture out."

AC's are not dehumidifiers. as part of the way they work there is condensation whenever they run as the cold air around the coils doesn't hold as much water vapor as hot air. the humidity in the air does NOT make them work harder or more often.

Carl

[bertoni]

Carl,

[welcome]