Temperature regulation...

[CHILL]

Greetings all,

I have a quick question for those who know more than I. I have a brand new set-up: 120 FOWLR running a Mag 1700 and a Rio (I know) venturi style for the oversize skimmer with a CPR wet/dry and a 25w UV. It's a glass tank set on a custom acrylic stand with canopy. I started it up last Thursday and have been checking levels/temp daily.

The issue I am having is temperature. The tank temp has risen to 81.7 and has stayed there. I keep the house air-conditioned to 70, and only run a striplight for the tank. Do the pumps and UV generate that much heat? Since the stand is acrylic it is fully enclosed so it may retain heat (I am not sure). What suggestions can be made to help cool things down a bit? I thought about removing the front door of the stand when we are not home, but that seems to defeat the purpose of having the stand custom made.

Thank you in advance for your educated responses.
Chris

 

[ChrisRD]

A couple of questions come to mind...

Is there any ventilation through the canopy?
Are you using glass tops on the tank?
Is there currently a heater in the tank?
How are you measuring temperature?

 

[ChrisRD]

BTW, CHILL...

 

[Anonymous]

What Chris said!

And, are you running a sump?

 

[CHILL]

Chris,

Answers to the questions posed:

1. The canopy is a one piece acrylic top, much like the top of a shoe box. Unfortunately there is no venting aside from the small gaps around the edges of the tank.

2. I have the tank top covered with the glass shields that came with the tank.

3. Yes there is a heater in the system. It is in the return pool of the wet/dry. I have it set to 76 degrees and have not seen the "on" indicator light lit since it first went in.

4. I am using a digital thermometer with a probe to test temp. The probe was originally placed in the drain pool of the wet/dry along with th skimmer and skimmer pump. I have since moved it directly to the tank, checked again this morning and it still reads 81 degrees.

Thanks for your responses so far, I'm still cycling the system and don't want to put any livestock in until I get the water parameters right.

Chris

 

[Anonymous]

Yeah, if you're tank is fully enclosed, the motors are probably heating the water a little bit, but because there's no opening, it's retaining the heat. On mine, I've propped the top glass canopy open (my canopy came in two sections, attached by plastic, that allowed me to do this) about 1/2 inch, and I've noticed the temp really decreases. By doing this, I've also noticed that evaporation happens a lot more too. In my case, the lighting really raised the temperature.
HTH,
~wings~

 

[ChrisRD]

Yup, you'll need some ventilation to keep the tank temperatures stable. Evaporative cooling is how many of us keep our tank temps down. You might try propping the glass covers open or removing them all-together.

If you find you still need more cooling (which you probably will if you add stronger lighting in the future) you may have to cut a vent or fan into the back of your canopy.

Having the additional ventilation will not only keep the tank cooler, it will also help with gas exchange.

HTH

 

[shawnz28]

If the glass top is the two part maybe remove the front half of it that the light is not resting on. Also consider running a 4" AC fan in the back of the canopy blowing cold air in. You can pick up a nice one for about 30.00 I would bet the combination of these two things would drop the tank temp 2-3 degrees maybe more.

 

[Anonymous]

If the glass top is the two part maybe remove the front half of it that the light is not resting on. Also consider running a 4" AC fan in the back of the canopy blowing cold air in. You can pick up a nice one for about 30.00 I would bet the combination of these two things would drop the tank temp 2-3 degrees maybe more.

Yup.. just make sure you don't have any "jumpers" for fish!
~wings~

 

[CHILL]

Thanks all.

I have noticed a high amount of moisture accumulation on the glass covers of the tank (looks almost ready to drip back in it's so heavy!) and have not seen a drop in water level, maybe the evaporation is not happening as it should. I might be concerned that by leaving the glass lids up this accumulation would happen on the inside of the canopy. Not sure, but I'll try anything at this point.


Chris

 

[insearch]

Just for thought, It is cheaper by far to buy and opperate a chiller than it is to try and compinsate the heat from your tank with AC. I finnally moved to a chiller and just the piece of mind not having to worry about your tank when you are at work all day is worth the $400.

 

[ChrisRD]

Although I agree that they are really useful in some applications, the original poster has a fish-only tank with a strip-light over it. IMO a chiller would be overkill in this situation. I also think a chiller + controller for his size tank would be a lot more than $400...

FWIW I've been running 2 X 250 watt halides over a 50 gallon reef tank using nothing more than fans for cooling. My temps never exceed 80 degrees F. The house has AC, but in the Summer, the AC would be on whether I had a tank or not, so in my case, the cost of the chiller isn't justified. Just another point of view...

 

[CHILL]

I will be modifying the hood over the next week, so I think I will put a fan in the back.

I may also put one in tha stand as it is fully enclosed as well. Temp in the stand seems to be a bit warm as well and since the wet/dry is covered I think it is retaining heat there as well.

Anyone have suggestions for a good quality fan and where to get it. I could go back to the LFS where I bought the set-up if that sounds best. I'll be making a run to Home Depot tonight, so I could look there. Since the tank is in our living room, noise is a primary concern - the quiter the better.

Thanks
Chris

 

[ChrisRD]

Anyone have suggestions for a good quality fan and where to get it.

I got a 4" AC fan from Radio Shack and wired a cord/plug to it. This runs over my sump while the halides are on. Not sure I'd say it's quiet, but it works and it was about $20. I also have a larger wall mounted fan (I think I picked it up at the local CVS) that is kicked-on by a temp controller if the tank hits 80.

Might be a good idea to post this as a separate question in the General Reef Discussion Forum or the Do It Yourself Forum to get better feedback.

HTH

 

[Anonymous]

My reef runs at 82 - 83 degrees with no problems at all.

I wouldn't get to bent over it if I were you.

Louey

 

[CHILL]

Thanks again all. I pulled the front halves of the glass covers this afternoon and noticed a .5 drop in temp already. Seems that's what I was missing - evaporation.

I went into my LFS and found that there is such a thing as an IceCap 3". Since I just so happen to have a 2.5" hole saw, I may just put one of those in the hood for additional cooling.

Talk to you all with my next question/post.

Chris