Temperatures through the roof!! PLEASE HELP!!

[jjpelican]

Yesterday I checked my temp and it was 86, I got real freaked, I put my hand in the water and it didn't feel like 86 so I ran to the pet store and put in a submersible digital thermometer on the tank and it read 85.3. Today, my Candy Cane Coral looks like it is on it's way out. My anenome who has been so happy and healthy looks real bad (my clown's look depressed and are confused without the anenomne who has moved and is against the glass and real small now). I turned the air up in my room fearing that this has caused this and affected the temp, but I always assumed the heater in the tank took care of this. (i now know I am wrong). I recently put in brand new Actinic's which seem to be running much hotter than before. last night I turned the heater down to 75 and my temp right now with the lights off and the air in the room on is 79, but I am afraid once I turn the lights back on the temp is gonna go through the roof again and really put alot of stress on the fish. All of the fish look normal and are eating very well, my brain coral and my rose leather and mushrooms look all fine. Pollyps are not out, Candy cane is white and anenonme is looking weak (i loved my anenome, I hope he is ok).

I spoke to some fish stores today and they said I need to get a "chiller", does anyone know about these.

when I turn my lights on, will the temp go nuts again. someone else recommended keeping the air on all of the time and putting a fan next to the tank so it blows the hot air away from the tank rather than in it. I have new current power compact's 34" 96 watt with actinics and 10,000 watt flourescents which I planned on replacing soon because they were looking dim. Will all of this help or is a Chiller my only hope.

 

[sediener]

Set a fan to blow across the surface of your sump or tank. That should help a few degrees and may avoid the big $$$ for a chiller.

- steve

 

[Diana]

I dont think you need a chiller. Are your lights raised off the tank? Can you raise them some more? Point a fan to blow through the space between the tank and lights, that should help some.

 

[bradl.]

Im running two 250w halides with a fan between them and the water.On hot days I run a fan in my sump.Temp stays 79-80 year round.Make sure you have an accurate heater also.

 

[jjpelican]

mine are not raised. how can I safely raise them without causing a fire or creating a fire hazard? I have a glass top between my lights and my water as well as a plastice shield over the lights (obviously) by raising them will it take away from some of the actual light and hurt the tank?

 

[Anonymous]

Some heaters do not have a thermostat in them. Meaning when you set it to 75, it really doesn't mean 75, it just means the thing turns on every few minutes for a shorter time than it would if you set it to 80.

A heater with a thermostat will shut on and off based on temperature. It will turn completely off for the whole day if your lights are doing the job of heating the tank.

What kind of heater are you using? What brand and wattage?

 

[Anonymous]

If you can find a way to raise the lights off your tank some so you can get more airflow between your lights and the water. I don't know what type of hood you have, but if it is fully enclosed, leaving the lid open with a clip on fan pointed inward will help keep things cool.


Does your tank have a sump? You could put an additional fan down there, or leave the cabinet doors open for more ventilation.

 

[Anonymous]

Can you remove the glass top?

Just FYI - there's nothing wrong with 85F as long as you don't let the temp drop more than a couple degrees at night.

 

[Anonymous]

I seocnd the thought of moving the lights up and removing the glass cover. I dropped my temp by 5 degrees that way.

 

[jjpelican]

I have a hang on wet/dry filter so I am not sure that placing a fan on that will change anything. nor will opening the cabinet doors.

my temp went from 85 to 79 overnight.

i would be afraid to remove the glass top because I have fish that are notorious for jumping out. what about the plastic cover over the lights that can come out.

any other thoughts?

thanks for all of your suggestions so far. this site is great

 

[Anonymous]

my temp went from 85 to 79 overnight.

This could be a problem for some types of corals. That's a big temp drop and most of it was probably pretty quick. Until you resolve the problem you should probably set your heater temp higher to avoid such a drop in temp. If it gets up to 85F I'd set the heaters to 83F.

Can you fit eggcrate over the tank where the glass is? It will keep the jumpers in the tank and can direct more light into the water with Flourescent lighting.

Glass tops are a bad thing...

 

[Anonymous]

I have a hang on wet/dry filter so I am not sure that placing a fan on that will change anything. nor will opening the cabinet doors.

my temp went from 85 to 79 overnight.

i would be afraid to remove the glass top because I have fish that are notorious for jumping out. what about the plastic cover over the lights that can come out.

any other thoughts?

thanks for all of your suggestions so far. this site is great

Go to the hardware store and buy plastic "egg crate." Sometimes they look at you like you are an idiot because they don't know that name for it. It's the plastic grid stuff that they put under florescent lights in office buildings and it should be in the lighting section. It comes in big sheets for just a few bucks. Cut it to size and replace the plexi or glass lid with it. It lets almost all the light through and is too small for fish to jump through. Then use the fan durring the day.