PDA

View Full Version : Help with Cooling issues (Tank getting to 90*)


tdcracing
06/09/2011, 10:33 AM
So I have a 29 Gallon high tank that I just set up after 6 years of being down. Last time I had it running I was 17. After the tank cycled I added my cleanup crew of snails, Crabs and two shrimp.


I have two 24'' VHO lights. The two shrimp died and I knew something was wrong after all of my tests came back ok. They lived for about 4 weeks. Currently that is the only thing that has died besides the crabs eating each other.


I have a canopy with exhaust holes in the rear and a fan that pushes air into the canopy. I finially desided to take the temp of the tank (After algea nearly took over the tank and my two shrimp died) and found it was 90.4 this morning after the lights had been off for 10 hours. I had it set p to where the fan only came on when the lights did. Then I was using a lot of water so I just turned them off not realizing it would get that hot. I actually put the fan in there because I was planning on running metal halides and did not realize two VHO's could heat it up so much.



I've heard of chillers but are there any other options here? I made the fan to where it would run 24/7 but I don't think it would make the water temp come down but about 10 degrees. Just a guess though.


Its summer time here and my house stays at about 72 during the day.




What do you guys think?

thegrun
06/09/2011, 10:42 AM
That's a lot of heat for only VHO lights. Have you checked your heaters? Never trust the dial temperature, test them with a thermometer to be sure they are not overheating the tank. Pumps that need cleaning will also run hot, you should check them. Fans running will make a big difference in temperature. You should look into adding more if you don't find some other cause for the overheating.

MattAndKim
06/09/2011, 10:45 AM
Have you checked the functioning of your heater? Surprising that the tank stays so hot for so long at such a low ambient temperature, or even gets that high to begin with. I kept a 55 with halides+vho in a warmer house cooled with only a clip-on fan. With such a low ambient temperature it should not be hard to cool with a cheap fan, but ATO may be necessary. If your fan is not doing the job, get a stronger one. A fan can easily cool a tank below ambient temperature provided the airflow is high enough.

disc1
06/09/2011, 10:48 AM
You would be surprised how much cooling a fan can do. The fastest and most efficient way to cool water is evaporation. You should have the fan blowing out of the hood instead of into it. That will help. You want to blow out the moist air so that the evaporation can continue. If you can set the fan so that is blows across the water then out that would be even better.

And check your heater. It really shouldn't go that high with just VHO's if your room temp is 72. I mean it will get high, but 90F makes me think heater.

FWIW, my tank was saved last week from a stuck heater by an el-cheapo clip on fan in my sump. Despite the 300W heater being stuck on, the fan kept the temp below 82 for two straight days while I was away.

tdcracing
06/09/2011, 11:46 AM
I have not checked the heater. But I have also not seen it on. I unplugged it this morning. But it usually has a orange light that comes on when it is heating. Its a jager 150w. I currently have a 4'' fan blowing across the water that is mounted in the canopy.


Temp is now at 85.6* F . If it rises any throughout the day with the lights and the fan on I will know the problem is elsewhere.


Ill keep everyone updated.

briankmarsh1980
06/09/2011, 02:54 PM
I also say check pumps and heaters/pumps.
My house is set at 80 I have a hood with halides in it and 1 4inch fan in the hood and my tank never goes above 78 degrees.

Khandurian
06/09/2011, 03:34 PM
I also say check pumps and heaters/pumps.
My house is set at 80 I have a hood with halides in it and 1 4inch fan in the hood and my tank never goes above 78 degrees.


+1... Check your pumps...

My rock "cooking" tank gets hot because the pump that is used causes alot of heat...

tdcracing
06/09/2011, 08:28 PM
79.3 *F as of right now. Lights have been on all day.


It looks like i'm good guys. I'll just have to run the fan 24/7 it looks like. I'm still checking into the heater and i'm going to make sure it's good.

89Foxbody
06/09/2011, 08:53 PM
I run a fan over the top of my tank 24/7. My tank is pretty well conditioned to temperature change and I've seen it reach 87* with no ill effects on any fish or inverts.

briankmarsh1980
06/09/2011, 09:00 PM
79.3 *F as of right now. Lights have been on all day.


It looks like i'm good guys. I'll just have to run the fan 24/7 it looks like. I'm still checking into the heater and i'm going to make sure it's good.
I have to run my fan 24/7 in the summer time

AaronM
06/10/2011, 04:02 AM
Yeah, in the summer, i usually run a portable air con, set to 25c pointing up. When 35c+, I target the tank rather than roof. Sumpless...thankfully this works 4 me.

reefmanmatt
06/10/2011, 04:41 AM
So I have a 29 Gallon high tank that I just set up after 6 years of being down. Last time I had it running I was 17. After the tank cycled I added my cleanup crew of snails, Crabs and two shrimp.


I have two 24'' VHO lights. The two shrimp died and I knew something was wrong after all of my tests came back ok. They lived for about 4 weeks. Currently that is the only thing that has died besides the crabs eating each other.


I have a canopy with exhaust holes in the rear and a fan that pushes air into the canopy. I finially desided to take the temp of the tank (After algea nearly took over the tank and my two shrimp died) and found it was 90.4 this morning after the lights had been off for 10 hours. I had it set p to where the fan only came on when the lights did. Then I was using a lot of water so I just turned them off not realizing it would get that hot. I actually put the fan in there because I was planning on running metal halides and did not realize two VHO's could heat it up so much.



I've heard of chillers but are there any other options here? I made the fan to where it would run 24/7 but I don't think it would make the water temp come down but about 10 degrees. Just a guess though.


Its summer time here and my house stays at about 72 during the day.




What do you guys think?
i think first off double check your thermometer with a new one , this is way too hot for vho bulbs ... is the ballast under your hood too ? you should consider raising the hood a few inches if this is whats doing it , suspend it from a chain or some hooks like a pendent light for instance . i would check your heater and also you may have a pump thats over heating , thats way too much heat for just bulbs i.m.o edit : if you can even get it down to 80 your gold

Lemeshianos
06/10/2011, 07:25 AM
I would suggest 2 methods:

First is the chiller. However in my case it starts quite often, so I m probably spending a lot on electricity.

The second option is the fan method as suggested above. Evaporation will give you a lot of BTU's of cooling.
And since you have an algae problem, you can setup an algae scrubber and add a couple of fans on that. You'll be getting a lot of evaporation but you will also get a lot of cooling. Adding an ATO and you have cooling, nutrients reduction and parameters stability all-in-one.