Tank's rising temperature--reduce lighting schedule?

[clownmama]

Hi everyone,

My tank (29G Biocube) was set at 76 degress, but it's been warm out here in the Midwest (the temps are supposed to go down tomorrow I think), so the house is warmer than usual. We do have A/C which we will turn on when it's definitely summer.

My tank is now at 80 degress, and I don't want it to go any higher. I have LED actinics and 10,000K Daylight. The LEDs have fans.

Currently I turn on the LEDs/blue actinic at 8am, the Daylight comes on at 10am; the Daylights off at 3pm; the LEDS are off about 5pm. Then I put the moonlight on for an hour or so. I had read about this schedule on another thread when I wanted a specific schedule for lighting.

Can I reduce the lighting schedule now so that the temp stays at 80? I'm worried that it will continue to rise--it was at 80 during the night when the house was slightly cooler. I'll close the drapes this afternoon when the sun begins to come in.

This is my first summer with the tank, and I would rather not spend the $$$ on a chiller, but if I have to, I have to. Want my critters to stay healthy.

Thanks for reading this long post and for any feedback!

[mets17127]

Yes, and a fan over the top with an open kid does wonders. Evap leads to heat loss. You can too off with cool water too

[rlm2005]

I would start by mounting a small fan over the tank or sump to blow across the top of the water. You will lose more water to evaporation but it will help to keep the temperature down.

[FattyK21]

yeah i had to do the same thing with mine
a big problem of mine was i really wanted to keep the glass tops on it but after being on here and reading what these guys had to say i took the tops off that night and redid my lighting schedule and so far everything has been good

[clownmama]

Thank you everyone--I am running out of outlets! :) I will try putting the sump cover up and putting a fan there.

Are there specific fans for this--I have a clip on fan somewhere, but what if it fell in? Do you have shelves or something near the tank to put the fan on? Sorry for the questions.

The main cover has a hinge on it, but where we (stupidly) put it near a corner of the wall doesn't allow us to tilt the hood back far enough where it would be stable and would not fall back down on the tank.

I also have cats and kids and would really worry about them getting too interested in the tank. My little 3 year is pretty good, but I did see the small hinge lifted up yesterday--which was him. :)

[mets17127]

You can use a clip on, just wrap the wire around something so if it fell it wouldn't reach the water. That's what I do with my fuge spotlight.

[RA]

The led lighting isn't adding any heat to your tank. As mentioned a fan blowing on your tank will help. An 80 degree tank temp is fine, 76 is actually on the low side. The limit I found is when your house temp reaches 80 then the ac needs to go on.

[clownmama]

Thanks again! I found a small fan, opened the cover that's over the back chambers (guess the sump area), put the fan on the main hood and directed the fan towards that back opening.

Fish, just the Clarkii, seem to be upset about the vibration though. They'll get over it, maybe?

[Spyderturbo007]

I run my tank at 81 and everything is doing just fine. 76 is really on the cool side.

[clownmama]

Thank you everyone! I will run the temp a little higher then. I had read that a lower temp keeps more oxygen available. True? Also, if the heater were to malfunction--stay on-- it would be a little safer if the temp was on the low side--it would take longer before the tank got too warm. Think there was another reason--PH or something like that?

Anyway--I'll bump it up to 78 degrees.

The fan did work--after a couple of hours the temp went from 80 to 78.

Thanks so much for the help! :)

[Spyderturbo007]

I would highly recommend a controller for that heater. Think about how much time, effort and money you have invested in your tank, only to trust it to a $30 heater that was made in China.

Something like this (http://www.bulkreefsupply.com/finnex-deluxe-digital-heater-controller.html) would be a good insurance policy and will only cost you $50.

[TimeConsumer]

Your best bet when using fans and heaters is to have some sort of controller governing them, otherwise they are going to fight each other. You want your heater to kick on at 77.9 degrees and off at 78.1 degrees. You only want your fan to kick on somewhere around 78.5 degrees. I would look into a two stage Ranco controller, an Apex Jr, or a Reefkeeper Lite.

[sporto0]

I understand the money issue, I think we can all relate to that, but I know how much I've already sunk into my tanks & the peace of mind the chillers give me is priceless, I have lost a whole tank of fish to a malfunctiong heater before, thousands of $ down the toilet in a matter of a 10 hour period, so I vowed never again, even if a heater sticks on again, the chiller would allow me a precious buffer time to solve the problem. I live in Pittsburgh & the months in spring & fall when we do not employ the AC, my tanks would heat up to well over 80 during the day, I shall never take that chance again. I've lost tanks to hurricanes as well when I lived at the beach, 2 things I will never be without again, a generator & a chiller. Good luck to you, everyone's advice to you is valid, but will not allow you true peace of mind.