Do I need a chiller for my pico tank with Zoas and Xenia’s if it is 82F at room temp with no heater?

[KingLucy1997]

I have a 3-4 gallon tank with some live rock and red branching macroalgae. I am planning on adding Xenia, Zoa, a submerged pump to create a current, a small air pump powered filter, 5W marine spectrum LED lights and maybe some inverts. The problem is at room temp the water is 82-84F. I know Xenia and Zoa prefer 78, and I’ve seen acceptable temp ranges for these softies of 72F-78F. Is 82F -84F too hot for these corals and I should buy some type of chiller or will it be fine? If I need a chiller, what type would fit into my tank?

 

[davidcalgary29]

The major method of heat loss in a closed, small system like that would be through evaporation...and you've got that stopper from preventing the process. It will also prevent much gas exchange from taking place, and that can also lead to problems down the road.

I use an airstone in my jars. I personally don't see 28-29C to be a problem, but you're going to need an airstone into your system for oxygenation and water flow. You could certainly plumb an external nano chiller, like the CSXC-1, into that build, but I'd start with the simpler upgrades first.

 

[KingLucy1997]

Would an air pump powered filter that pumps water above the water line and returns it in a waterfall work for gas exchange enough to replace an air stone? I attached a pic of what I’m talking about and is coming in the mail soon

 

[KingLucy1997]

The major method of heat loss in a closed, small system like that would be through evaporation...and you've got that stopper from preventing the process. It will also prevent much gas exchange from taking place, and that can also lead to problems down the road.

I use an airstone in my jars. I personally don't see 28-29C to be a problem, but you're going to have to an airstone into your system for oxygenation and water flow. You could certainly plumb an external nano chiller, like the CSXC-1, into that build, but I'd start with the simpler upgrades first.

Also would you recommend me removing the stopper on the top?

 

[elorablue]

Also would you recommend me removing the stopper on the top?

What is the purpose of the stopper?

 

[KingLucy1997]

What is the purpose of the stopper?

Right now it’s just being used to hold in place the temporary LED lights. I’m getting self supporting LED lights with the filter I described above. I also was worried about dust and other particles getting in and I had a misconception that evaporation was a bad thing. I could remove the stopper if it would solve at least part of the evaporation/gas exchange problem.

 

[davidcalgary29]

Would an air pump powered filter that pumps water above the water line and returns it in a waterfall work for gas exchange enough to replace an air stone? I attached a pic of what I’m talking about and is coming in the mail soon

You're trading off aesthetics and usable footprint for a somewhat higher rate of flow and power than an airstone might provide. I find that, under 5g, an airstone provides lots of flow for the volume of water it's placed in.

You can always drill a hole through the stopper and feed the airline through it. I wouldn't -- I've done something like it before -- and the result was ugly. You can drill through the glass itself with a diamond drill bit and feed the airline through that, but it can weaken the integrity of the jar and cause it to shatter. Been there, done that.

 

[KingLucy1997]

What is the purpose of the stopper?

I guess the stopper was unnecessary

 

[elorablue]

As far as a chiller goes, they’re basically air conditioners aren’t they? And expensive?
You probably have less than $100 into that jar is my guess, a chiller seems excessive.
you may notice an immediate difference after removing the stopper.

 

[KingLucy1997]

You're trading off aesthetics and usable footprint for a somewhat higher rate of flow and power than an airstone might provide. I find that, under 5g, an airstone provides lots of flow for the volume of water it's placed in.

You can always drill a hole through the stopper and feed the airline through it. I wouldn't -- I've done something like it before -- and the result was ugly. You can drill through the glass itself with a diamond drill bit and feed the airline through that, but it can weaken the integrity of the jar and cause it to shatter. Been there, done that.

The stopper literally just a wooden ball that just sits on the opening to the aquarium. There’s no need to drill anything if you look at my second picture. I think I will cancel the pump order for an air pump.

 

[NeonRabbit221B]

Drill through the stopper

 

[KingLucy1997]

Drill through the stopper

No point

 

[KingLucy1997]

You're trading off aesthetics and usable footprint for a somewhat higher rate of flow and power than an airstone might provide. I find that, under 5g, an airstone provides lots of flow for the volume of water it's placed in.

You can always drill a hole through the stopper and feed the airline through it. I wouldn't -- I've done something like it before -- and the result was ugly. You can drill through the glass itself with a diamond drill bit and feed the airline through that, but it can weaken the integrity of the jar and cause it to shatter. Been there, done that.

Here are all the things I got for the aquarium that probably aren’t necessary. Would you recommend using anything in the picture below besides the air stone?

 

[davidcalgary29]

None of that may be needed (aside from the airstone). Your jar has a narrow neck, and it's therefore going to function something like a heat trap, so overheating may well be a problem. You probably won't need a heat source unless you keep your ambient room temperature well below 20C.

The pump is a problem because you're going to have to both have to fit it into the build (and size matters in a pico build), but also contend with the fact that it might just provide too much water flow for this size of a tank. I've used something similar, and ultimately had to take it out.

Filters are generally unnecessary because that's already being handled by substrate and/or live rock. And you really can't have much more than a small goby in a build like that, so your bioload shouldn't be anything that natural filtration can handle (corals and inverts don't add much to the bioload)

 

[KingLucy1997]

None of that may be needed (aside from the airstone). Your jar has a narrow neck, and it's therefore going to function something like a heat trap, so overheating may well be a problem. You probably won't need a heat source unless you keep your ambient room temperature well below 20C.

The pump is a problem because you're going to have to both have to fit it into the build (and size matters in a pico build), but also contend with the fact that it might just provide too much water flow for this size of a tank. I've used something similar, and ultimately had to take it out.

Filters are generally unnecessary because that's already being handled by substrate and/or live rock. And you really can't have much more than a small goby in a build like that, so your bioload shouldn't be anything that natural filtration can handle (corals and inverts don't add much to the bioload)

Only planning on Zoas and Xenia’s after I get parameters stable. Interestingly my tap water is baseline 0.68 ppm phosphates, so had to change a lot of the water for some last minute bought reverse osmosis water and got phosphates down to 0.04ppm (which was the amount in the reverse osmosis water in the first place so I can’t go any lower)

 

[Tired]

That's a perfectly fine phosphate level for zoas and xenia. They'll probably like it. You should not be using tap water, though, it has too many unknown details and possible contaminants. Use distilled or RODI water, both for water changes and for topoffs.

Temperature's probably okay for them. Try a couple cheap frags and see.

 

[KingLucy1997]

That's a perfectly fine phosphate level for zoas and xenia. They'll probably like it. You should not be using tap water, though, it has too many unknown details and possible contaminants. Use distilled or RODI water, both for water changes and for topoffs.

Temperature's probably okay for them. Try a couple cheap frags and see.

Temp has moved to exactly 78 F after multiple water changes to replace the tap water with reverse osmosis water. I’m glad I asked here because some website was saying that tap water should be the preferred water source for aquariums. Maybe it was only referring to fresh water?

 

[KingLucy1997]

Temp has moved to exactly 78 F after multiple water changes to replace the tap water with reverse osmosis water. I’m glad I asked here because some website was saying that tap water should be the preferred water source for aquariums. Maybe it was only referring to fresh water?

Also phosphates are down to 0.04ppm after the water changes.

 

[Tired]

Distilled water is bad to use in freshwater aquariums because it has absolutely no minerals, so you have to add the minerals back. In saltwater, all our minerals are in the salt we use, so we use completely pure water to make sure there's nothing else.

That's a fine phosphate level, but higher phosphate than that is also fine, particularly for soft corals. No need to worry too much about it, particularly for soft corals, as long as there's also some nitrates. They need both nutrients to use.

 

[KingLucy1997]

Distilled water is bad to use in freshwater aquariums because it has absolutely no minerals, so you have to add the minerals back. In saltwater, all our minerals are in the salt we use, so we use completely pure water to make sure there's nothing else.

That's a fine phosphate level, but higher phosphate than that is also fine, particularly for soft corals. No need to worry too much about it, particularly for soft corals, as long as there's also some nitrates. They need both nutrients to use.

What range should I the nitrates be in 10-25 mg/L? Would it be worth investing in a Hanna nitrate water tester or is there enough range between min and max healthy nitrate levels to get away with a dipstick? Should nitrites be 0?
below is a picture of what my final set up with only live rock and macros before I add the softies and clean up crews to update