Nano tank getting too hot

[DJasak]

Hey guys-

On top of my 45 gallon tank, I also have a 16 gallon bow front nano that I'm setting up.as of right now it's a FOWLR tank but I notice the temp during the day goes way up in excess of 80 degrees, often times 86 or more...one day I saw 90. What are some ways I get get the temp down and stable without having to invest in a chiller? The tank is currently illuminated by 1 16" fluorescent bulb, I plan to switch over to an LED...could that fix the issue? Thanks!

[ReefsandGeeks]

I doubt that switching to LED would make much of a difference from a fluorescent bulb. Probably the best way would be to blow a fan across the waters surface and cool it by evaporation. This can effectively cool a tank quite a bit actually, but will increase your daily evaporation. If you have a controller you could set it to turn the fan off if it cools enough ,or if not, just have your tank heater set where you want and if it gets too cool, the heater will just kick on. not the most efficient, but would work well I think.

[Flaring Afro]

What lighting are you using in the 45? It might be worth moving the nano so it isn't sucking up all that heat...

[kevin21]

In the very short term, I know some float zip lock bags filled with ice cubes. Acts as a do it yourself chiller. It won't work miracles, but it could lower the temperature by a few degrees throughout the day. In a 16g, I am sure it could help.

[ReefWreak]

As mentioned, add a fan on a controller. I think Icecap makes or made a fan that had a controller built in. I'd also recommend getting an auto topoff to keep the water level consistent if you do go the fan route, otherwise you may end up fluctuating the salinity a lot and hurting the tank inhabitants.

[DJasak]

I have Fluval LED on the 45, it's in the living room and the temp stays constant. The nano is in my son's room that we use as his night light. I think I'll do the fan route and invest in auto top off

[Sk8r]

They make little clipon tank rim fans, computer fan style. YOu could buy or bodge one. That blowing on the water surface might lower temp as much as 10 degrees.

[homerclease]

Depending on the light...the leds will make a difference...a little or alot.. if your running a cf bulb they get HOT. The leds will help without a doubt.... how hot is the room this is located in? In direct sunlight? Tell us more about your situation...

[chrisfont23]

You can also keep the water agitated at the surface by aiming a PH at it. This will help some but not as much as a fan or chiller.

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[DJasak]

The window in the room the tank is in has a blackout curtain on it, so the room stays dark pretty much 24/7. I think what was happening was when we put our son down for bed we shut the door so none of the a/c air was getting in there and the room was heating up fast. Now I make sure the door stays open for the most part and the room has been much cooler and the tank temp has come down. But I still haven't had to plug in a heater because it stays warm enough in there that the thermometer reads anywhere from 74 when the lights are off, and up to 80 or more after the lights have been on all day. I'm looking at getting the AI Prime and was going to do an open top with the fan blowing across the surface. But now my concern is what can I do to keep my Dartfish from carpet surfing and i'm concerned about water evaporating too fast. Being in a small apartment I don't have anywhere to store RO/DI water, I have to hook the unit up to my kitchen faucet and make it fresh every time I need it and I don't want to have to be pulling that thing out on a daily basis to top off the tank. I'm hoping this tax season to pick up a couple ATO's for both tanks but in the mean time I would like to control evaporation as much as possible.

[Sk8r]

my advice with, I gather, small child as well as dartfish is to get a reef tank with a canopy. There are superlight open top canopies that add 10" to tank height, a mere fiberglass shell with a painted pine frame; and there are heavy monsters that can be locked to keep small fingers from feeding the fishes Cheerios. Either can support a fan AND light kit.