Help! Tank Temperature 90 Degrees

[shawnriv]

Hello Everyone,

I just started a new tank and recently added a couple pieces coral (no fish). Last night was the first time I ran my MP10 all night on 30% power on sleep mode. When I woke up this morning my temperature was 92 degrees. I have an Innovative Marine Nuvo 38. The temperature in the room is 76 degrees so I don't understand why the temperature rose that much. I felt the outside of the MP10 and it seemed very warm so I turned it off. My lights were off all last night (I have the Kessil 360W) and I quickly froze some RODI water and put some in the tank. Right now the only thing running is the return pump. Any ideas? :thumbdown

[Sugar Magnolia]

Is there a heater in the tank? Check for a malfunction there. You can place some ice cubes in a zip bag to help lower the temp.

[shawnriv]

Is there a heater in the tank? Check for a malfunction there. You can place some ice cubes in a zip bag to help lower the temp.

There is a heater and I quickly unplugged it when I woke up just in case there was a malfunction. I also have another bag full of ice cubes and cold packs. I am freaking out. Have you ever heard of an MP10 being the culprit?

http://i112.photobucket.com/albums/n196/shawnriv/DD681486-3B48-4FF2-9057-BC304DA17867_zpsf11kqksz.jpg (http://s112.photobucket.com/user/shawnriv/media/DD681486-3B48-4FF2-9057-BC304DA17867_zpsf11kqksz.jpg.html)

[Portsie]

Virtually impossible that it's the mp10. The motor, and all it's heat, are on the outside of the tank. I would say it was the heater for sure.

[mgould73]

There is a heater and I quickly unplugged it when I woke up just in case there was a malfunction. I also have another bag full of ice cubes and cold packs. I am freaking out. Have you ever heard of an MP10 being the culprit?

http://i112.photobucket.com/albums/n196/shawnriv/DD681486-3B48-4FF2-9057-BC304DA17867_zpsf11kqksz.jpg (http://s112.photobucket.com/user/shawnriv/media/DD681486-3B48-4FF2-9057-BC304DA17867_zpsf11kqksz.jpg.html)

Hi, just to shine in. Sounds like a heater malfunction to me. MP10, 40 etc the motor is on the outside so no heat exchange going on inside the tank.

Only internal pumps, heaters, lights etc will contribute to temp increase. A temp of 90f sounds like a bad heater, or bad thermometer.

Make sure your heater is the right size too, match it up to a chart which will show you how many degrees it will raise the temp per gallon of water over ambient temp. Get a good quality heater too.

Let us know what you find with the heater unplugged.

[moondoggy4]

Buy a controller, ranco to control your heater, all heaters can fail, and some controllers can fail as well.

[cody6766]

A $120 Reef Keeper Lite will keep this from happening in the future, as well as run your lights, fan and plenty of other stuff for you. I use mine for lights, fan and heater and I'm very happy with the purchase. I smoked a tank after a move when I didn't notice the heater knob was cranked all the way up. 93* temps are hard on livestock and wallets.

Use a quality heater set to the correct temp, set your controller to cut the heater off at a reasonable temp (say 79*) and turn a fan on at a little higher temp (81'ish) and your chances of overheating the tank again are VERY minimal. It can also save a tank in the event of power failure in the summer. My house was over 90* when the AC went out one summer, but the tank was barely over 80* thanks to the fan.

[shawnriv]

Update: So I turned unplugged the heater and added a couple bags of RODI ice to the tank. I came home today (about six hours) and the tank is at 80 degrees. Great! But my corals have not opened at all. I'm a little worried. Here is a picture of them:

http://i112.photobucket.com/albums/n196/shawnriv/F51135BA-F7E7-4661-AF08-DEA91E22C21D_zpsemtui0uz.jpg (http://s112.photobucket.com/user/shawnriv/media/F51135BA-F7E7-4661-AF08-DEA91E22C21D_zpsemtui0uz.jpg.html)

http://i112.photobucket.com/albums/n196/shawnriv/B6946B6C-E4C5-47E0-8056-AD018515B899_zps63napmdl.jpg (http://s112.photobucket.com/user/shawnriv/media/B6946B6C-E4C5-47E0-8056-AD018515B899_zps63napmdl.jpg.html)

[Kaman8]

They are probably mad from the heat. Give it some time and see if it will open .

[fishstick3]

I am very sorry to hear about your tank, I know how frustrating it can be to have a issue and not know where it is coming from. I hope this is not improper but I have been looking at the Nuvo aquariums and the Kessil lights, you basically have the exact setup I am drooling over right now. Do you like it? Have you had any serious problems, other than what you are experiencing right now?

[Spyderturbo007]

I would highly recommend a controller for your heater. Heater malfunctions are one of the biggest causes of tank crashes. I've had about 3 heaters fail over the 2 years my tank has been set up. Thankfully, only one was actually in the tank. All the others were in my salt water mixing station.