Why does my tank water heat up so much?

[120reefkeeper]

Here is some info on your chiller incase you don't have it. Some chillers have an outlet that a heater plugs into. This maybe the case with yours, or its in the sump.




*
Easy-to-use programmable aquarium water chiller with LED digital control
*
Keep aquarium water within 2°F of set temperature to prevent overheating
*
Reusable air filter and corrosion-resistant titanium heat exchanger ensure reliable use
CoralifeKeep aquarium water temperatures from reaching unsafe levels with simple digital control. Coralife Aquarium Chillers provide accurate temperature control with quality construction and durability. Effectively lower and maintain desired aquarium water temperature simply by pressing the "Up" or "Down" arrow. Press the "Set" button to lock-in target temperature and the unit maintains aquarium water within 2°F of set temperature. Accurate aquarium temperature control has never been easier!

Coralife Aquarium Chillers are designed for simple installation and maintenance. Adjustable inlet and outlet connections can be rotated for greater plumbing convenience. Included air filter keeps contaminants away from the cooling unit to ensure efficient and long lasting motor performance. Reusable air filter is easily accessible and can be removed for cleaning. Corrosion-resistant titanium heat exchangers ensure dependable performance even around harsh aquarium conditions. Features highly visible LED display for clear temperature readouts.

Coralife Aquarium Chillers offers a reliable way to maintain stable aquarium water temperature in systems employing metal halide lighting and other equipment that run hot. Great for coral reef aquariums and setups housing inhabitants sensitive to high water temperatures.

Contains safe ozone-friendly refrigerant (R-134A) and arrives factory preset at 76°F. Operating temperature range of 39 and 90 degrees Fahrenheit. 1/10, 1/4 and 1/6 HP Chillers feature a plug-in for automated control of a submersible heater rated up to 600 watts (not included). Requires appropriately sized water pump and tubing (sold separately).

HP
In/Out
Tubing
Size (ID)
Flow
Rate
(gph)
Tank
Size*
(up to)
Dimensions
1/10
5/8" or 3/4"
200-300
55 gal
14-1/2" x 12-3/4" x 15-3/4" high
1/6
5/8" or 3/4"
325-550
90 gal
19" x 12-3/4" x 18" high
1/4
5/8" or 3/4"
475-800
125 gal
19" x 12-3/4" x 18" high
1/2
3/4" or 1"
750-1,500
250 gal
22-1/2 " x 18" x 19" high
1
3/4" or 1"
1,000-2,000
500 gal
24-1/2 " x 18" x 19" high
*Based on a 15 degree temperature pull down from ambient air temperature.

Downloadable Coralife Aquarium Chiller Manual PDF.
(Requires Adobe Acrobat Reader 4.0 or later - get it here for free)

 

[Lionfish Lair]

Yours is a combo. There's an "outlet" on the chiller itself and that's where the heater should be plugged into.

EDIT: LOL! I guess it took me a long time to type that! So, I echo what 120 said.... just a whole lot less.

 

[HiddenUser]

Does your tank have a glass lid? Have you tried going without it for a while?

 

[andyg1960]

I don't think it's fixable. If you want, I can come to Philly and pick the whole mess up and take it off your hands-- no charge.

 

[Alan Griesemer]

I checked last night and there is nothing plugged into my chiller so im guessing that means that the chiller only cools and does not have the heat function. Im i correct about this?

If that is the case then is one of the peices in my photos above a separate heater?

 

[Browner20]

It is really hard to tell by the pictures but it would most likely be a long tube with a power cord on the end in the sump area. I don't see an additional power cord going into the sump so I would guess that you do not have a heater. Most heaters have an lcd or visual display of temperature and a way to control the setting so it should be pretty clear if you have one or not.

I'm really starting to think that a lack of flow from sump to display and vice versa is a major contributor to your heat problem. The lights on your tank are heating up your display tank water while all of the other equipment is heating your sump tank water and the little amount of water that is pushed through the chiller is reheated (chiller exhaust, UV sterilizer) by time it is returned to the tank.

You should pick up a heater as it is worse for the temp to fluctuate between a little hot 81* and a little cold 77* than stay at one extreme throughout the day. You should also pick up a separate thermometer (cheap one is fine) and install in the sump. As mentioned earlier, I would run a test by turning off the canister filter, UV, and chiller. Disconnect the tubing connection from the pump in the sump to the chiller and attach it directly to the return in the tank. Run it with the lights on for several hours and with lights off for several hours. You can trouble shoot each piece of equipment this same way but if this first test works and your temperature stays at 80 or below just set the heater to 78 and you are on your way. It appears you may be going fish only on the tank so wouldn't hurt to get that UV sterilizer back in line as well as long as it doesn't contribute to the heat problem.

Hope this helps.

 

[Alan Griesemer]

Thanks for the suggestion, I hope to get to all this by the weekend. One question what is the canister filter for? it appears this is also a part that i can remove and it wont hurt any thing?

Also in this below photo, what does this pump feed? i believe it is taking the sump water into the chiller?

 

[Lionfish Lair]

Did they use the canister for a little bit of independant flow and a place to put media?

I wish I could just come over to your house for a couple of hours and sort it out for ya.....

 

[Alan Griesemer]

i really have no idea about anything with this tank set up. We got it from my wives boss when they moved offices. Her boss paid to have a professional fish guy move it and set it up in our house. So i came home one day and this was just up and running in my living room. I really want to learn about it all and change it to work properly so that i know myself how to service it and maintain it. If something would go wrong id have no idea what to do.

 

[Browner20]

That is your main return pump and the one I suggest disconnecting from the chiller and connecting directly to the tank return above to test your heat issues. It appears to be a Danner Mag Drive 3 or 5 and either way it is very small to push water over to the chiller, back over to the UV, and then return to the tank with all of that tubing:

As you can see if it is a Mag Drive 5 then you have almost 0 flow at 10' of head pressure or otherwise stated: 10' of tubing with no bends = 0 flow. I bet your flow out of that return is just a trickle - it could be a model 7 or 9 because your hand is closer to the camera for scale but it doesn't look like it. If you decide to use the UV, mount it directly above the pump so it will cut down on the tubing length and have a more direct route back to the tank to cut down on the head pressure.

The cannister filter is tricky, it is a good container to store mechanical, chemical, and biological filtration. But... big but, it is also a closed container, closed loop that can get clogged up and grow toxic. Regular maintenance would prevent the build up but you have a perfectly fine sump right next to it that has all of the surface area you would need for the types of filtration mentioned. You can through a sack of carbon (chemical) in the chamber where the water flows down into the sump, add porous rock (biological) to that area, and you already have some mechanical with those pads that are in there (the pads also have some bacteria so they are providing some biological filtration but they seem to be there mainly for mechanical purposes.

If you do take the cannister filter off-line, check to see if there are any biological elements in there (ceramic rings, plastic balls, etc). If so, I would move them to the chamber where the water flows into the sump for some time as to not remove a bunch of biological filtration all at once as you may kick your tank back into a cycle.

 

[Browner20]

Did they use the canister for a little bit of independant flow and a place to put media?

I wish I could just come over to your house for a couple of hours and sort it out for ya.....

+1 - I second this, I feel like we could get you up and in good standing in a matter of an hour or two. You should still go to the bulkreefsupply.com site and check out their videos but also check on R2R as they are sure to have a local reef club with someone willing to come over and walk through what you have there. I also second the person who said this is an unusual setup, not a bad thing just some unusual items to have in your first saltwater tank, chiller, UV, cannister while lacking others like a protein skimmer, heater, etc.

 

[Alan Griesemer]

Thanks guys you all have been great!

So if I start to remove components from the setup what do i need to do to stop all the water flow to tank so that i don't get water everywhere? I understand there will be some residual water in the line, i just don't want flowing water to come out because i don't shut if off correctly. Also how long can i be down with out filtration flow till the fish get unhappy?

Also about the Danner Mag Drive, should this be a part that i should consider upgrading or will it be fine after i remove the chiller? It does seem a bit loud it self so i wouldn't mind replacing it with a better pump that is quieter.

 

[Browner20]

Your tank has an overflow chamber (black box area) in the tank which has holes drilled to drain and return water to the tank. Once you unplug the pump, a little amount of water will continue to run into the sump until the water level falls below the overflow chamber in the main display tank at which point all flow should stop - If it doesnt you have a leak - ikes! Like you mentioned you will have some residual water in the lines so just have a towel handy.

As far as the pump, I would replace it but that has more to do with the types of coral I prefer to keep. That pump may be okay for a small amount of fish in the display. One thing I would do is unscrew the four screws that you can see in the picture, pull that cap off, use a pair of pliers to pull out the impeller(should be a plastic rod, with a round propeller looking thing with three fins) - throw the pump, cap, and impeller in a tupperware with hot water and white vinegar for at least thirty mins, scrub with a new tooth brush, and then reassemble. The cleaning should help the noise but I am also worried if it is that loud the impeller may have broke so you would need a new one (Amazon has them for under $15).

The fish should be good for 30 mins or so but go ahead and keep the canister filter on while you do the cleaning to keep some flow which will help aerate the water.

 

[Alan Griesemer]

Thanks again for all the tips. So last night i was poking around again and low and behold i found a stick heater that was lying down sideways at the bottom of the sump. I didn't disconnect any thing because the heater was turned up to 84-86 degrees? I turned this down to 78 and the chiller is set to 80 so yesterday the chiller only kicked on one time through out the night after i adjusted the heater. I still want to remove the chiller and other parts but at least this help out quickly and easily.

Also I took a photo of my hood, can someone confirm if this is vented or not? See the images below...

 

[Browner20]

Ah ha! You found it! That wattage heater on that small of a tank would definitely keep it nice and toasty. Good thing you did find it because your heater and chiller have been jousting this whole time and leaving you with the electricity bill! The heater was probably set that high on purpose but it was plugged into the chiller and the chiller would only activate it if the temp fell below the temp programmed on the chiller.

That hood is vented and the lighting appears to be some sort of fluorescent. We would need to see the underside of that black box in the middle to know for sure what type of lighting you have. You could add some computer fans to that hood pretty easy but not sure if you need it or not now that you probably found the main cause of your heating issues.

 

[Alan Griesemer]

The heater is NOT plugged into the chiller, it is plugged into a power strip that is inside the base of the stand that powers the sump pump and canister filter. I did find the outlet on the back of the chiller where i can plug the stick heater in, do you think this would be better so that it is not always heating?

For the lights i know that i have florescent T5's because i had to buy two of them when we first got the tank because they were out. Are these still a good choice or are people switching over to LED? I would like to eventually get into coral at some point so not sure if the coral is reliant on florescent grow lights and wont work good with LED?