Heat Issue, Mag 9.5?

[Codemonkey812]

My tank is running warm (83-84) durring the day. I have added a fan blowing on my sump and that only lowered the temp by a degree or two. The only change I have made since last summer, is I upgraded my return pump to a Mag 9.5 over the winter. I know the pump can we used externally, but I am wondering if moving it external will be worth the effort. Have anyone used a mag 9.5 externally, and does it help with not adding as much heat? Also I have head they are louder when using external, is that true?

 

[redfishbluefish]

I also run a MAG 9.5 on a 90DT and 40B sump....and don't have this problem. I actually use to run not only the MAG 9.5, but also a MAG 24 when I was using an MRC skimmer, and still didn't have this problem....granted, my heaters never came on. How big a tank do you have? And what is the air temperature. When I get above 76 or so, I have to turn on the air conditioner in the fish room to keep the tank temperature in the 78 - 79 degree range.

 

[Codemonkey812]

I have a 75g tank with a 20g sump. The air temp is 74 when I am home, but the house gets to 80 durring the day.

 

[Planedoc]

What kind of lights are you running.?

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[Codemonkey812]

Four bulb T5.

 

[Planedoc]

That seems like a huge heat gain from just a pump. Have tried to trouble shoot by unplugging other things just to make sure it's coming from pump.?

Tapatalk on Galaxy S3

 

[Codemonkey812]

I have not tried that, but I am going to try lowering the temp in the house 2 degrees durring the day from 80 to 78.

 

[Chompers]

If the T5's are in a sealed hood, then they can add to the heat issue. A friend with a 75g had this problem and solved it by adding two 5" pc fans to vent the hood.

 

[TighTT]

My tank is running warm (83-84) durring the day. I have added a fan blowing on my sump and that only lowered the temp by a degree or two. The only change I have made since last summer, is I upgraded my return pump to a Mag 9.5 over the winter. I know the pump can we used externally, but I am wondering if moving it external will be worth the effort. Have anyone used a mag 9.5 externally, and does it help with not adding as much heat? Also I have head they are louder when using external, is that true?

I ditched all my MAG pumps because of this very issue....HEAT. They really get warm. I'd opt for a cooler running pump if I were you.

 

[dunc101]

What type of fan do you have in the sump? Adding another fan or two may help lower your temps until you can get it resolved. I have a frag tank that sits adjacent to my garage and the temp in the room gets around 86 with lights on (I have a digital thermometer/hygrometer in the room). I too was having heat issues where I was seeing the frag tank (around 75 total gallons with sump) get up to 84. I then added a fan very similar to this fan Honeywell Whole Room Air Circulator Floor/Table Fan - Walmart.com which I mounted on my wall pointed directly down into my sump. I was pretty amazed to see that my temp remains 78 degrees now even with the lights on with the fan on the "medium" setting! I even see my heater kick on sometimes, therefore, I bet it would cool it even futher lol (I have the heater set to 78). If this was my DT, however, this would not be an ideal solution because this fan is LOUD. But it could get you through the summer or something until you find out a better solution. Just thought I would throw this out for you.

 

[Codemonkey812]

The top of my tank is on enclosed. And my lights have two cooling fans on them so I do not think my lights are the issue.
If the temp does not go down I am going to add another fan to the sump.

 

[AZDesertRat]

Mag pumps are known to run very hot compared to more efficient pumps like Eheim, Ocean Runner or Water Blaster. They all draw less wattage to pump the same amount of water which equates to less heat gain. Today I only use Mag pumps to mix up new salt water in the winter months and I don't have to add a heater to the Rubbermaid that way. They are not much good for anything else in my mind.

If the top is enclosed try propping it open for a day andsee how much the temp drops even without any fans.

I keep a 2 speed WalMart clip on fan over my sump in case the temp goes up and they will lower temps 3-5 degrees even on low.

 

[Codemonkey812]

That is sad as I only got a mag pump because it was recommend as being reliable.

 

[AZDesertRat]

Relaible, yes. Efficient, quiet, cool, No. They are an old standby that has not been upgraded or changed in decades while others have come out with much improved, more efficient designs over the years and at about the same cost or sometimes less money and with better warranties in some cases.

 

[mcarroll]

No problem with the other brands mentioned (Quiet One fits the list too - very efficient)...especially for a tank that's overloaded with heat or the budget that's unlimited, they can be almost a magic bullet. (And if the OP can afford to switch pumps it may will be all that's needed to fix the heat issue.) But...

Mags are great pumps...silent, reasonably priced, durable as heck, heat protected, great warranty, sizes for every application, made by a company here in the USA.

While they are higher-powered than some pumps, my experience is that they also tend to be stronger and resist startup issues that smaller motors (= less torque) might succumb to. Further, in a well balanced tank that doesn't have heat issues, having a higher powered pump makes no difference - saves nothing. In fact you can look at it as saving your heater from having to work so hard. I do.

To the OP's situation: More ventilation should do the trick - especially if you can lower the daytime temp another degree or two via AC as you stated. Think about ways to ventilate the sump compartment, as well as the room itself where the tank is. Rising humidity levels in both spaces will limit the amount of cooling your fans can do, and exchanging the air in the space is the best way to get around this.

Could mean you leave the sump door open, prop open the canopy as suggested above, leaving the door to the room open, or running a box fan in the doorway, etc. Also, run heaters on timers so they only come on at night if necessary. It will make a difference.

And at the end of the day, 83-84 really isn't the end of the world for most tanks as long as the temperature drop at night isn't too much. (Overstocked or overfed tanks need not apply.) Adjust heaters accordingly.

-Matt

 

[Codemonkey812]

On tank has no canopy (open top) and its in my living room which is open to the whole house. The heater is currently unplugged to see if that was the issue. The tank is also directly below the main air return for the HVAC so the is plenty of air flow above the tank. I will give the tank a few days to adjust to the new house temp.

 

[AZDesertRat]

I have had two different Quiet One pumps literally go up in flames and electrify my tank so I would never recommend them to my worst enemy. One I considerd a fluke but two is bad news. Also I noticed when I remeoved the Quiet One 4000 and replaced it with a Ocean Runner 3500 my chiller cycle dropped drastically so heat was an issue. And to top it off the Quiet Ones are horible in power outages, I can't count the times I had to disdassemble things to get the pumps to start again. Pentair really screwed the pooch on those pumps compared to the old external Quiet Ones.

Several years ago I did some side by side pump testing for RC, another reef forum and was surprised by the results. Eheim and Ocean Runner were head and shoulders above the others in the testing. I included power consumption using a Kill A watt meter, flow with a 1" flow meter, head capability using a 10 psi pressure gauge and valves and heat generation using a calibrated digital thermometer and graduated container and Mag did not fare well along with Quiet One, Via Aqua and Rio Hyperflo. I can't access RC anymore but the results should be archived somewhere and I was pretty thorough in my testing since pumps and water are my profession. I think I borrowed a dB meter for sound at the time but background noise prevented me from using it reliable so the noise comparison was subjective. The Quiet One was the noisiest and the Mag second if I remember correctly.

Using the Mag internally or extrenally will create the same heat since the pump is product cooled meaning it has internal water jackets which circulate aquarium water through them for cooling. The heat gain will be identical but the noise will go up tremendously and you will not be happy at all.

 

[bucksfan1976]

Do you have the Mag dialed back with a ball valve, my brothers tank was heating up like this he had a mag 7 and had it dial back to fit his returns, when we went down to a mag 5 everything was fine. It sounds like something mechanical or electrical is causing this issue, I run 4 t5s and a 250 watt halide on my tank , and I struggle to keep it at 77. Its always dropping below that, mainly because I have a AC duct right over the tank.

 

[mcarroll]

Generally dialing a pump back will actually cause the power used to drop....hence the heat produced drops as well. The switch to a Mag 5 was probably just even more of a drop. Sometimes is pays (instead of just making sense) to use a right-sized pump for one's return.

Wish more people used KillAWatt meters so we could know the numbers before and after...I'm always curious.

-Matt

 

[zoous]

I have the same pump and same size tank. Good pump. Since it's the summer I unplug my heater since you really don't need it unless you have your a/c on all the time.