Temperature Advice

Striike · May 29, 2012

Wow, these forums have gotten quiet lately. I was looking for a second, or even third opinion. My tank is running warmer than I prefer. Usually it gets to 82.3 during the day, and 81.7 at night. I have a RKL controller, which cuts power to the heater at 80, so all the heat is from lights and pumps. Lighting is LED, the hood has 2 120mm fans blowing, and the back side of the stand and canopy are open. Pumping is a mag 7 for return, 2 mag 9.5's for closed loop circulation, and 1 mag 9.5 running my skimmer. This is a 90g tank, with 20g sump (probably 10g running water in sump). My thinking was:

1. Get a chiller. This may serve its purpose, but I would have to get creative on placement, plus this tank is in the living room, so noise is an issue.
or
2. Change out the pumps. I have no issues going this route, but it would have to be a significant improvement over the current heat generation of my pumps.

If anyone has any advice or first hand experience, please chime in.

Loki · May 29, 2012

I don't know if this helps. I had my reef keeper set my temp at 78.8 and noticed it was up to 82. So I lowered the set temp to 76.0 and the tank is staying cooler (~78.5) with no I'll affects. I have also been turning the ceiling fan on if I think about it.

REEFKEEPER10 · May 29, 2012

My tank ran 85 all day yesterday and last night and other than my lps staying closed longer than normal everything is fine. We had a thread about this a few weeks ago. I don't know if it ever concluded so maybe we can get more info with this thread.

REEFKEEPER10 · May 30, 2012

Striike · May 30, 2012

Loki2902 said:
I don't know if this helps. I had my reef keeper set my temp at 78.8 and noticed it was up to 82. So I lowered the set temp to 76.0 and the tank is staying cooler (~78.5) with no I'll affects. I have also been turning the ceiling fan on if I think about it.

I'll try it out, thank you for the suggestion. Ceiling fan will probably not help, as I have vaulted ceilings.

Loki · May 30, 2012

Me too. My fish room is 12 foot. I guess that's not as high as some but ya know.

kuyatwo · May 30, 2012

If you change out some of those mag pumps I bet your temp will go down.

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

caudill187 · May 30, 2012

I'd say buy a chiller and forget about it, if you can afford it. They are fairly quiet and your corals would thank you for the constant temp you could achieve.

Loki · May 30, 2012

I have a mag 18 for my return and a mag 3 running my BRS dual reactor. I am curious to know if you changed the pumps how much heat you would save. If you go that route I would like some info on it.

H@rry · May 30, 2012

If I understood you correctly, your controller keeps the heater on until 80*. I think that's a little too high. I have mine set to turn the heater on at 76.5* or below. That will save you about 3.5*. Also if you can put a fan blowing over your sump that will make a big difference.

Good luck.

Striike · May 30, 2012

kuyatwo said:
If you change out some of those mag pumps I bet your temp will go down.

You have my attention. Can you recommend a brand that will run significantly cooler?

Striike · May 30, 2012

H@rry said:
If I understood you correctly, your controller keeps the heater on until 80*. I think that's a little too high. I have mine set to turn the heater on at 76.5* or below. That will save you about 3.5*. Also if you can put a fan blowing over your sump that will make a big difference.

Good luck.

Should have been more clear. The heater is set for 76, as a back up the controller shuts power to the heater at 80. I only mentioned this in case someone had a theory that my heater was the culprit. From advice above my controller now shuts power off at 76, no change in temperature so far.

Loki · May 30, 2012

When mine got high I got a box fan and pointed it at my fuge. It took a few hours to get the temp down. Maybe turn the ac down in the house a degree or two.

H@rry · May 30, 2012

I agree. A fan over the sump will work wonders. I've got one blowing over the plumbing under the tanks and if I turn it off and watch the temp monitor I can see the difference in as little as 30 seconds. Think about it; water running through a cool pipe will cool the water.

Striike · Jun 11, 2012

Well, I made a trip to HD, and picked up 2 small fans. After a few hours of dismantling the fans and cutting, I got them set up in my stand over the sump. This worked for me. I went from 82-83 down to 77-78. I am comfortable with those temperatures, and I spent ~$60 as opposed to >$500 for a chiller. Thanks all that replied to this thread.

Loki · Jun 11, 2012

Awesome news!

H@rry · Jun 11, 2012

Pretty simple, wasn't it? Actually, you could probably have done it even cheaper. I noticed Lowe's had 18 - 20 inch box fans for less than $20 the other day.