Tank tempature

cjohnson2 · Nov 9, 2017

I have a 120 gallon tank, sump and 15 gallon refugium. I can not get the temp under 82 degrees. I have no heater in the tank, have a open top, a ac pump for the skimmer and a ac pump for the return. I run led light bar durning the day (which I have dimmed) , and have a home depot special for the refugium bulb. Any help would be appreciated

rich nyc · Nov 9, 2017

If you don't want a chiller maybe fans.

Waters · Nov 9, 2017

What is the temperature in your house?

cjohnson2 · Nov 9, 2017

Waters said:
What is the temperature in your house?

The house temp is 70 degrees

Waters · Nov 9, 2017

cjohnson2 said:
The house temp is 70 degrees

Wow....and you can't get the tank below 82 with no heater and LED lighting? I am at a loss......my house temp sits at 72 and I am running two large pumps (return and UV) and two heaters and my tank sits at 78. Have you verified the temp with another thermometer?

Cully · Nov 9, 2017

Couple of clip on fans over the surface of the tank and or sump might buy you a couple of degrees.

DeepBlueSomething · Nov 9, 2017

Waters said:
Wow....and you can't get the tank below 82 with no heater and LED lighting? I am at a loss......my house temp sits at 72 and I am running two large pumps (return and UV) and two heaters and my tank sits at 78. Have you verified the temp with another thermometer?

+1 Just to check -- something seems off, I am at a loss as well.

cjohnson2 · Nov 9, 2017

Do the mag pumps get warm if they need to be cleaned? They have been running for about 4 months

pluikens · Nov 9, 2017

How many thermometers have you used to check the water temp? Is that house temperature from your thermostat that may be in another room or on another floor?

cjohnson2 · Nov 9, 2017

I only have the one temp probe.

The room temp is 70. The thermostat is in the same room.

pluikens · Nov 9, 2017

What livestock are you supporting? Would you be able to turn off some of the lighting/pumps to see if the temperature lowers? Do the pumps feel hot? I'de think the heat from the pumps would be detectable even in water if they're keeping the tank so warm in a 70-degree room. What model return pump and skimmer are you running?

Crabs McJones · Nov 9, 2017

+1 for clip on fan blowing over the water surface. Another thing you could do is fill up some water bottles and freeze them and then put them in the return chamber of your sump to circulate some cooler water throughout the tank.

cjohnson2 · Nov 9, 2017

pluikens said:
What livestock are you supporting? Would you be able to turn off some of the lighting/pumps to see if the temperature lowers? Do the pumps feel hot? I'de think the heat from the pumps would be detectable even in water if they're keeping the tank so warm in a 70-degree room. What model return pump and skimmer are you running?

I have reduced the lights to try to reduce the temp. It does not seem to change anything.

I am running a mag 12 for the return pump/refugium and a mag 9.5 for the skimmer. They don't seem overly warm.

pluikens · Nov 9, 2017

Has the temperature always been this high or has it been gradually increasing with no change to what equipment is in the water? If you do the ice bottle chill that @crabs_mcjones recommended, does it just heat back up? If the room temp didn't change, and the equipment in/over the water hasn't changed, but the tank temperature has risen over time (and rises back after being chilled), then my cheapest suggestion would be to clean the pump(s) because at some point the pumps (which I believe are the source of the extra heat) ran cooler. If after the cleaning the tank is still hot, then I'd look at fans like others have suggested.

Waters · Nov 9, 2017

cjohnson2 said:
Do the mag pumps get warm if they need to be cleaned? They have been running for about 4 months

I have been running the same pump for over a year.......definitely doesn't run warm enough to heat your entire tank to 82.

DeepBlueSomething · Nov 9, 2017

Another thought as well is the location of the probe? If you haven't already, it might make sense to try a totally different location (side, depth, sump, etc) to see if that gives some variability.

Curious case indeed

cjohnson2 · Nov 9, 2017

I i

pluikens said:
Has the temperature always been this high or has it been gradually increasing with no change to what equipment is in the water? If you do the ice bottle chill that @crabs_mcjones recommended, does it just heat back up? If the room temp didn't change, and the equipment in/over the water hasn't changed, but the tank temperature has risen over time (and rises back after being chilled), then my cheapest suggestion would be to clean the pump(s) because at some point the pumps (which I believe are the source of the extra heat) ran cooler. If after the cleaning the tank is still hot, then I'd look at fans like others have suggested.

I initially didn't think it was this high, but it did get pretty warm, I assumed it was because it was summer and 75 in the house. I feel like the temp keeps slowly increasing.

I have also moved the probe around. The temp really doesn't change.

pluikens · Nov 9, 2017

Did the room temp go up to 75 from 70? What probe are you using for water temp? If you take it out, what temp does it show the room temp as after 15 minutes?

drtrash · Nov 9, 2017

You have a problem with pump or anything in tank. I live in phx az with house temp at 80 and tank runs 82 without fan and 80 with.

cjohnson2 · Nov 9, 2017

pluikens said:
Did the room temp go up to 75 from 70? What probe are you using for water temp? If you take it out, what temp does it show the room temp as after 15 minutes?

No, in summer the house was 75 so I assumed that's why the tank was warmer.

I'l have to pull the probe when I get home.