How HOT is too HOT?

Sean Clark · May 20, 2022

So I am in a bit of a hot spell right now and the tank is showing the effects. When should one act or worry. What is the max temp that you would be comfortable running?

Screenshot_20220520-222108_APEX Fusion.jpg

thatmanMIKEson · May 20, 2022

Thats a quick 4° jump, do you have fans blowing across the surface and pushing evaporation to the limit?

thatmanMIKEson · May 20, 2022

82-83° but I run 79.8

Sean Clark · May 20, 2022

thatmanMIKEson said:
Thats a quick 4° jump, do you have fans blowing across the surface and pushing evaporation to the limit?

Yes I do have fans running. I also tossed in a few frozen water bottles. That is the small dip on the tail the end.

Jedi1199 · May 20, 2022

I run between 78-80... I try not to go above that... A short spell, a day or so, should be ok. but I don't think a prolonged time at 82+ would be healthy.

Sean Clark · May 20, 2022

I run 77-78 in the winter.

Sean Clark · May 20, 2022

Jedi1199 said:
I run between 78-80... I try not to go above that... A short spell, a day or so, should be ok. but I don't think a prolonged time at 82+ would be healthy.

This was my concern. I may need to chill this tank. Evaporative cooling is not keeping up. This was not an issue last year.

Miami Reef · May 20, 2022

I refuse to go above 78F. Whenever my temps rise I get STN. It happened a few times to the point where I can clearly see the correlation.

Jedi1199 · May 20, 2022

Sean Clark said:
This was my concern. I may need to chill this tank. Evaporative cooling is not keeping up. This was not an issue last year.

Do you have central AC in your home? I find that 73* is comfortable for me to live in, and cool enough to keep my tank temp low enough to not need a tank chiller.

Sean Clark · May 20, 2022

Jedi1199 said:
Do you have central AC in your home? I find that 73* is comfortable for me to live in, and cool enough to keep my tank temp low enough to not need a tank chiller.

Yes I have central AC. I also considered turning it down. It's 74 at the moment. I have the tank lights off and the fans are on. Temp is still elevated. I thought this was a canopy traping heat issue. Now I am leaning to hot pumps. IDK.

JCM · May 20, 2022

Jedi1199 said:
Do you have central AC in your home? I find that 73* is comfortable for me to live in, and cool enough to keep my tank temp low enough to not need a tank chiller.

Same. When our house is comfortable for us, it's comfortable for the tank. If your tank is rising more than 6 or 7 degrees above ambient, I'd reevaluate your equipment.

Sean Clark · May 20, 2022

Miami Reef said:
I refuse to go above 78F. Whenever my temps rise I get STN. It happened a few times to the point where I can clearly see the correlation.

My concerns exactly.

Lost in the Sauce · May 20, 2022

Sean Clark said:
This was my concern. I may need to chill this tank. Evaporative cooling is not keeping up. This was not an issue last year.

What's ambient air? How many separate pieces of equipment, that create heat, do you have that could be consolidated??

thatmanMIKEson · May 20, 2022

Sean Clark said:
Yes I have central AC. I also considered turning it down. It's 74 at the moment. I have the tank lights off and the fans are on. Temp is still elevated. I thought this was a canopy traping heat issue. Now I am leaning to hot pumps. IDK.

Pictures, do you have fans in the canopy?
I have 120mm fans blowing down on my water 24/7 it does blow heat away from the lights but it pushes evaporation. Don't give up on evaporative cooling put a shop fan pointing at the glass.

Jedi1199 · May 20, 2022

JCM said:
Same. When our house is comfortable for us, it's comfortable for the tank. If your tank is rising more than 6 or 7 degrees above ambient, I'd reevaluate your equipment.

Agreed!! Your tank should be seeking balance with room temp. If your room is at 74, your tank should need to be heated to keep it at 78. If the room is at 74 and your tank is at 82, I would IMMEDIATELY (if not sooner) start looking for why!! Perhaps you have a bad heater?

Sean Clark · May 20, 2022

Lost in the Sauce said:
What's ambient air? How many separate pieces of equipment, that create heat, do you have that could be consolidated??

Right now the tank shows 82.1 the house thermostat shows 74. I could shut down the skimmer and UV pump but that's it aside frome the tunze stream3 that in in the tank.

Sean Clark · May 20, 2022

thatmanMIKEson said:
Pictures, do you have fans in the canopy?
I have 120mm fans blowing down on my water 24/7 it does blow heat away from the lights but it pushes evaporation. Don't give up on evaporative cooling put a shop fan pointing at the glass.

Right now I have a large box fan blowing on it. I took out my smaller fans yesterday thinking they were not cutting it.

Sean Clark · May 20, 2022

Sean Clark said:
Right now I have a large box fan blowing on it. I took out my smaller fans yesterday thinking they were not cutting it.

I also opened up the canopy on the far end.

Jedi1199 · May 20, 2022

Sean Clark said:
Right now the tank shows 82.1 the house thermostat shows 74. I could shut down the skimmer and UV pump but that's it aside frome the tunze stream3 that in in the tank.

Check your heater first. Turn it off for a few hours and see what happens. If the temp stays the same, you know its another issue, if it drops then you know its the heater. If you start with everything else, and it IS the heater, you could potentially kill your tank while wasting time on non-issues.

Sean Clark · May 20, 2022

Jedi1199 said:
Agreed!! Your tank should be seeking balance with room temp. If your room is at 74, your tank should need to be heated to keep it at 78. If the room is at 74 and your tank is at 82, I would IMMEDIATELY (if not sooner) start looking for why!! Perhaps you have a bad heater?

The heating system is offline. I am leaning towards the return pump.