Temperature Problems

[NewRobert]

Hi all,

It's been a while but I am still new to this. I am battling crazy temperature problems in my tank. During the day the temperature is around 28C (82.4F).

Ambient temperature is not that high. I suspect my problem is the lights. I got the 4 x t5 fitting with the tubes with the tank. I know they were pretty high spec when buying. The whole idea was not to have to replace the lights when adding corals later.

I am scared to open the glass slide covers on top of the tank and leave it that way because I suspect it would damage the canopy. The light fitting is currently 85mm (3 1/3") from the water surface.

It's not a faulty heater I switched that completely off to test. It is also not the thermometer at fault - I have tried 2.

I would like to ask advice please. How can I fix this situation before having to resort to buying a chiller? I am guessing if I am going to have to spend the money on a chiller I would probably be better off replacing with LED lights but I like these would like to try and make it work.

I can raise the lights up by 30mm (little more than 1"). I can further raise the canopy (and with that also the lights again) another inch. Will this help? Should I do something else? Is the fact that the tank has glass cover and closed canopy a problem I won't be able to recover from?

Please advise. I included some pictures.

Thank you very much in advance!

 

[NewRobert]

Sorry I should have mentioned, the temperature can skyrocket up to 30 degrees Celsius (86F) - This is obviously a problem that needs to be fixed before something dies or will die.

 

[harley32907]

Need to get rid of glass tops, a fan blowing across the sump or top

 

[NewRobert]

Need to get rid of glass tops, a fan blowing across the sump or top

wouldn't the condensation damage the wooden canopy without the glass covers?

 

[harley32907]

I don't think so

 

[Reefer5640]

So when you say you tested it with the heater off, are you still having issues with over heating? The glass top is definitely not helping and I would try fans blowing across the water surface as mentioned above. They really help. I would also recommend getting a temp controller. The fans will help prevent the humidity from damaging the canopy but over time eventually it’ll need to be touched up. You can do things like sealing any vulnerable areas for moisture to seep in and as long as there’s a quality paint on the wood it should be able to handle some evaporation/humidity

 

[harley32907]

You could paint the inside

 

[Jekyl]

I have my tank inside of a closet with the display inside of my living room wall. Never had an issue with condensation and I have exposed drywall and 2x4s

 

[NewRobert]

Thank you all for your feedback.

I have removed the glass panels entirely and keeping the canopy open. When the canopy was closed I saw a whole bunch of condensation when I opened it to feed and not that comfortable with wood and water together. Maybe it will be okay, but this tank was a sizable investment for me and I would like it to last so not tempting it.

To test I put a 120mm AC Fan that I had lying around blow onto the water and that has actually helped reduce the temperature considerably.

Today I purchased an STC-1000 temperature controller as well as a 4-fan aquarium cooling unit (https://rebelpets.co.za/shop/all-products/fish/electronics-and-controllers/fan-4-dc12-39137cm/) - it is quite noisy but seems to work. Will see how things go in the next few days if I get my temperature stabilized. I set the controller to start heating at 25 degrees C and start up the fans at 25 degrees C with a 3 minute delay. Keeping the glass covers out and canopy open for the time being.

There is definitely no way to mount the fans on the canopy or tank as-is so I am going to have to DIY a plan to give it a rail to mount to (Just thinking of using silicone to glue a strip of perspex to the brace to clip it to - will see.

Will let you guys know how it goes.

Thank you for all your input and advice - I really did not have the money to spend on a chiller right now.