help help on lowering temperature ?

[sandoval]

ever since i added another powerhead my temp is rising to high 82 degrees what can i do so i can lower the temp?

[Steven Pro]

Well for starts, 82*F is not that bad. My tank routinely reaches 82*F without incident. I would not start to worry until you hit 85 or so. That said, it is still winter so starting to plan for summer is appropriate.

In a word, fans. Make sure your lights are vented properly with circulating air to keep them from imparting heat. Also, it is not a bad idea to vent your stand (if you have a sump) and blow so air through there. This can help to drop the temperature significantly.

[sandoval]

my powercompact does not have no fans on it. i tried leaving my ceiling fan so the temp would not rise past 82 but it did. when i came home around 10 last night my temp was at 83. should i just run my maxi jet 1200 and take off the maxi jet 606 . my tank is 20 gallons and all i have in their is live rock and three fish.

[golfish]

82 isn't bad but your starting to pushing it...Do you have a canopy or hood over the tank? if you can I'd try and raise it so the top isn't "sealed up" or use some kind of hanging pendant. I'm in So Cal too so I know things are going to get worse when summer comes. Fans are always a good addition, the more you add the more evap, the more evap the cooler the tank...

Oh, the more evap the more top off you need to do. Its important to keep up on this.

[Poseidon]

I agree fans work well! My chiller has not been on once since I added all those fans! Of course my house is only 68 or so right now, once summer hits I am quite sure that chiller will be quite useful again!

This is yet ANOTHER reason to set up a basement sump! Built in cooling!

[MUCHO REEF]

I would be equally concerned about controlling the ambient temp in the room your tank is in if you are living in a warmer climate.Typically, this is the culprit and not always the pumps and powerheads in our systems. If I told you the amount of powerheads and pumps in my system, you wouldn't believe I am able to maintain a persistent 79 degrees year round. It gets extremely cold here in Michigan during the winter months, yet extremely hot during the summertime.

I would agree with venting your stand. You can achieve this with a cheap $ 10.00 clip on fan from Kmart. If you have glass tops on your tank, that alone will retain a lot of heat. Going topless, ok, that's not what I meant, LOL. If you remove the glass tops, if you have them, evaporative cooling alone with a few stratigically placed 80 mm or 120 mm fans will maintain your tank temp. I also run my lights in the evening from 5 PM to 4:30 AM to reduce any chance of a heat spike.

Mucho

[ANGRY JOHN]

an air conditioner for the house is cheeper than a chiller for the tank and you get to be cool with your fish. then on the realy hot days you have a place to go and hide as well.