Hello everyone. I finally got up the courage to try a saltwater tank 6 months or so ago after 35 years with freshwater tanks. I was doing pretty well until I ran into problems controlling my water tempature last week (my first spring/summer). My search for answers and research on fans and chillers led me to Living Reefs. I'm nervous because it isn't even hot yet (I mean DC hot). My 95 gallon tank is in a room that gets warmer than I realized it would and also my 50/50 lbulb inside an oak canopy obviously generates a lot of heat. I've got a few suggestions from the forums that I'm going to try, but it looks like I may not be able to avoid a chiller. A good pump. Perhaps a controller. This is the first week I got a little stressed - along with my fish :shock:. Ideas welcome. Thanks in advance.
Hello from Washington, DC
- Thread starter kwesibaby
- Start date
Smitty
Reef pro
Hello and welcome to the site...I don't think you will need a chiller, unless you are running metal halide lights, you could just use a circular fan...maybe a small one to place in the canopy above the water to disperse some of the heat...those lights you have should not be putting out that much heat...By the way, what is the temp? saltwater can be between 78 and 82 degrees...mine is always about 81-82 degrees.
sen5241b
Reef enthusiast
Welcome I live in Arlington and I share your heat problems in muggy DC. Avoid direct sunlight on the tank. I keep a fan blowing air across the water and the tank stays below 80. If it gets really hot like 85, I turn on the AC. An AC wall unit may be a lot cheaper than a chiller.
Bifferwine
I am a girl
Even temps at 84 aren't so bad, as long as you keep them stable. Big temperature swings are more dangerous than consistently high or low temps. Probably one of the most effective things you can do is buy a couple clamp on fans from Walmart (less than $10 apiece) and have them blow across the surface of your water. This can drop the temperature by as much as 10 degrees.
dcantucson
Reef pro
Biff is right in regards to stability. Try to determine the average temp of your tank during the day. Then set you heater to come on when it get 3-4 degrees below that. That way at night you tank won't have such a deep dip in temp. Take the temp early in the morning (before sun up) to see how far your tank is dropping. Mine was dropping 8-10 degrees during the night, but I'm in Arizona.
Oh... welcome!
Oh... welcome!
yote
In Memoriam
Welcome the reef.
IMO,Chillers are kinda counter-productive unless you can plumb them through a wall into a garage.They produce as much heat in the room as their pulling out of the tank.Matter of fact,they work exactly like your air conditioning does.
So if the chillers is under the stand,or beside it,its going to have to work harder to control the water temp,there by producing even more heat.
IMO,Chillers are kinda counter-productive unless you can plumb them through a wall into a garage.They produce as much heat in the room as their pulling out of the tank.Matter of fact,they work exactly like your air conditioning does.
So if the chillers is under the stand,or beside it,its going to have to work harder to control the water temp,there by producing even more heat.
daugherty
part time reefer
welcome i use a couple clipon fans and so far my temps never hit 80 and it has been in the high 90s outside here
dustin_P74
Reef enthusiast
welcome
Altohombre
The Tennis Pro Reefer
Hi and welcome!
