Aquarium Temperature Help

[TangerineSpeedo]

To the OP... You have set yourself up to a few inherent issues that you are going to have to make some compromises for. Even if you took the glass lid off you are going to build up heat in the top cabinet.you need to run a chiller. You can run it via your canister filter setup. You are going to have to run it in one of the lower cabinets, but you are going to have to vent that cabinet, like really vent it. I am currently running a Fluval - Chiller setup, I am using a Ikea Besta buffet cabinet with the perforated metal doors and a 4 inch computer fan pulling air thu the cabinet, and it will still get into the hi 90's in the cabinet. But on the bright side just look on "offer up" for a chiller, there are so great deals on there.
@JNalley I use a aqueon power head in my 20 gallon Brute perfect 78 degrees.

 

[JNalley]

@JNalley I use a aqueon power head in my 20 gallon Brute perfect 78 degrees.

Lid on or off? and Which size Aqueon? I swapped out/replaced with the OctoLux because it creates so much flow/turbulence that the salt never rests on the floor in the ditch. When I was using just my 2 660 GPH current wavemakers, even pointed directly in the ditch, salt still accumulated in the ditch and took forever to dissolve. I put in the 1500 L/H Fluval Pump and it did it significantly less but still, there were spots that accumulated. With this 3000 L/H pump it doesn't accumulate at all... I'll be taking the two Current wavemakers out that's how well the single pump is doing, but I'm also using ESV B-Ionic which mixes super fast anyways... It's more of just me tinkering to see if I can make my mixing easier :-D

 

[Koh23]

Is there big influence when cooling tank with fan if jump guard mesh is on tank, vs open space?

 

[JNalley]

Is there big influence when cooling tank with fan if jump guard mesh is on tank, vs open space?

No, mesh vs lidless there's almost no difference. In either case, the fan speeds up evaporation which increases cooling capacity. Arid climate vs Wet climate there will be a significant difference to how much water can actually be evaporated, which will have an impact on cooling. For instance, if the room is 70 degrees and 15% humidity, there is a lot more room for more water, however, if the room is 70 degrees at 80% Humidity, there's not a lot of room for water, so the second room wouldn't benefit much from adding a fan to the tank.

 

[Koh23]

Thank you, i figured that mesh restrict airflow, so, cooling is worse.....

 

[redzfit]

Thank you for the posts and responses! Still a couple of issues....
1. My tank temp has been floating between 82-84 degrees even with venting the cabinet for the night and leaving the glass canopy open.
2. Most zoas still have not opened.

Two days ago I changed my light schedule to the David Saxby AI Prime settings. I rented a par meter and using the new settings par ranges from 60 to 125 around my zoas. They are in different places in the tank. Is the par to low? Is the temp way to hot? Could it be something else that is keeping the zoas from opening?

 

[JNalley]

Thank you for the posts and responses! Still a couple of issues....
1. My tank temp has been floating between 82-84 degrees even with venting the cabinet for the night and leaving the glass canopy open.
2. Most zoas still have not opened.

Two days ago I changed my light schedule to the David Saxby AI Prime settings. I rented a par meter and using the new settings par ranges from 60 to 125 around my zoas. They are in different places in the tank. Is the par to low? Is the temp way to hot? Could it be something else that is keeping the zoas from opening?

83 and 84 is definitely higher than you want it to be. With the cabinets open and the glass open, you should be evaporating a lot more which should have cooled it down. Especially if you have the fan running in there. I would guess it's the heat, but honestly can't be 100% certain. Zoa's like different ranges depending on the species/coloration/hobby name. Some like low par, some like crazy high par. They are found at all depths in the wild, and should adjust to your lighting, though, they could "morph" as a response to the different light. It's rare, but I've read several posts about it here on the forums.

 

[Billabong]

Tank sits inside of a cabinet with a glass canopy.

Glass canopy is saving you on evaporation yet keeping heat in and not creating gas exchange.

I would start with getting rid of the glass tops.

 

[ZombieEngineer]

How hot is your house getting?

Did you ever verify with another source what your temperature is at?

Did you physically unplug your heater and make sure it isn't stuck on?

I would try also try a larger fan. On my 65 gallon the 44cfm vornado fan I use can only cool maybe 2-3 degrees at most and I have it very well positioned.

 

[redzfit]

Hello, just to give an update. I noticed that my new fish was nipping at the corals. So I caught him and gave him to a friend on Wednesday. Within a day or two some of the zoas started to show a tiny bit of color. As of today all but one zoa has opened and showing color.

Tank temp is still floating between 80-84. I think the new fish was the problem more than temp but I will continue to monitor. Also going to change the water after 2 weeks vs 3 that I normally do.

 

[smacbride]

I experimented with a large fan on a pole blowing on the front glass of my tank, and it was effective in lowering the temperature in the tank by 3 - 4 degress. This was in an air-conditioned room that was at about 78. The tank was hovering in the 83-84 range, so I was able to get it down to 80.