How hot is to hot!!!!

[BHAMR6]

I just swapped out my old halide set-up for some new reflectors and bulbs. But to do that i had to move my fan from the front of the canopy to on the wall behind the tank and the new reflectors want allow as much air to flow. So my temp used to run 80 all day now it is getting up around 83 to 84 is that to hot.

Any ideas how to get it down i have the biggest fan i can fit in my canopy its a 11in desk fan i do need to cut more vents in the canopy but i have been leaving the lid cracked to let the hot air out. Some say to put a fan in the stand on the sump but in a 65g with all equipment inside there is no room

Chiller would be perfect but dont have the money

 

[gilmour01]

i'd be concerned if it rose above 84. my tank used to run at 84 all the time during the summer with no problems. i did add a fan to my canopy and that dropped it to 80. have you thought about getting those 4" computer fans and mounting them in the lid of the canopy to blow the hot air out?

 

[gnoles]

I currently have a 2 degree swing from 80.7 to 82.7, I wouldn't sweat it, unless it keeps building up. Once I hit 84* during the summer months... I had to cool the house and use an extra fan to speed evaporation. Don't worry, summer's gonna go away any month now ;)

 

[ReeferBill]

It needs to be below 82 for sure. Put fans on any open water, and leave the canopy as open as you can. Long term, you want to cut the vent holes, and keep the temp stable below 82.

 

[justin_freebords]

mine was up to 83 yesterday but its only a 10 gallon, i wasnt ready for the hot summer once i moved up to my dorm. No air conditioning didnt help so i got a big fan blowing now and its back down to 80

 

[JR's Reef]

My frag tank thats holding ALL my corals right now til I get my display back up hit 86 yesterday and lost a few things. :( Heater prob but it dont have one anymore ;) If it is a big problem I would have the lights come on late and let them run more at night during the summer. The heat is why I went to T5s ;)

 

[RadReef]

My tanks have always ran close to 90 (86-88) in the summer and I've never lost a coral, a fish, or invertebrates. Not that it's ideal but they're pretty resilient. However, I just bought a used 1/4 hp chiller. I bought it to keep my temp. around 78 and to stop my WILD temp shifts, upwards of 10 degrees from night to day. All my corals seem happy though, growing and waving about. I think once I hook up the chiller I'll be a big advocate of them...

 

[Paul_N]

I have my halides to shut off if the temp reaches 83. It normally does not go over 82 for my tank.

 

[Reef Pets]

Many people to allow there tanks to get warmer but I would start to worry a little once the temp hit 82. I typically keep the water temp around 76.

 

[KingRicky]

I wouldn't worry too much unless it stays above 86 or so. Their are many places where during the summer months ocean temps over reefs get into the low 90's without much negative effects.

 

[gnoles]

I haven't hit 83 yet, but it does get cloudy when it hits 83.... ie the Halides go off. If it hits 84, total eclipse. At 85, the tank calls the fire department.

 

[amore169]

I keep my tank around 80-82 with no problems.

 

[Tswifty]

I stay around 80-82, but have ran tanks up near 83-84 with no problem. I remember reading an article which stated there was no reason to run an SPS tank under 80 degrees, because temps lower than that simulated winter conditions and periods of slower growth.

 

[customcolor]

I stay around 80-82, but have ran tanks up near 83-84 with no problem. I remember reading an article which stated there was no reason to run an SPS tank under 80 degrees, because temps lower than that simulated winter conditions and periods of slower growth.

i was going to say something on that order....in the winter my tank runs around 78 with no problems....now in the summer its 82-83....and wow my sps are taking off....

i do beleave its not really the high temps of the water thats causing problems for everyone....its the swing of temp from cool night to hot day....its like going from a hot sauna to diving into a pool...big shock to the system..you know

 

[BHAMR6]

It stayed at 82.9 today w/th the same fan and the canopy still not cut... But i went and got a nice industrial fan that will fit on the wall behind the canopy so maybe with the new fan and holes cut maybe back to 80..

I dont mind it getting up to 82 -83 exept i like it to stay the same temp all the time day and night it wouldnt hardly change from 80 before i put this new set up on not it moves from 80 to 83 during the day

 

[myzislow]

I hate hot weather and so do my fish! Any hotter than 83 and I begin to be concerned.

 

[acronautical]

Although I broke it down about nine months ago, just to simplify things, I kept a ten gallon nano in the garage for about one and a half years. When I broke down my old 55 mixed and started up my current 150 stony tank, I threw all of my softies (zoanthids, xenia, protopalythoa, discomas, rhodactis, etc.) into the nano, because I didn't want them creaming my stonies anymore. To make this long story short, the temp in the garage tank got up to 107 degrees Farenheit on several occasions last Sept and October here in California. The temp was often 90 to 95. There was no way to cool my garage off. I was amazed at the resiliency of the softies; there were absolutey NO negative effects in that tank EVER! Of course, I would panic if my stony tank went over 82, though!

 

[Tony G]

My tank kept hetting 83-84 and I went for the chiller. Slowed down future livestock purchases but I figured in the long run I would be better off.

 

[TwistedTiger]

My old tank with a hood and halides sometimes hit 83-84 degrees and I had no trouble keeping SPS. I would admit that it is pushing it though. You might try some smaller fans like the Azoo 4 fan clip on that is long and narrow. You can also put fans over your sump. Just remember any cooling you get from evaporation will mean more makeup water used. I put a 10" 3 speed $8 dollar fan from Walgreens and it dropped my temp 2.5 degrees. As ReeferBill posted, any vent holes will help.

 

[Tswifty]

It stayed at 82.9 today w/th the same fan and the canopy still not cut... But i went and got a nice industrial fan that will fit on the wall behind the canopy so maybe with the new fan and holes cut maybe back to 80..

I dont mind it getting up to 82 -83 exept i like it to stay the same temp all the time day and night it wouldnt hardly change from 80 before i put this new set up on not it moves from 80 to 83 during the day

Be careful there. Temp swings are not necessarily a bad thing, especially if they are not sudden or drastic. Remember, reefs see very large temp swings throughout the course of the day. While I recognize the obvious fact that our tanks are not the ocean, our corals will become accustomed to the environment we provide. So if you lock you temp in without any type of swing, your livestock will become more intolerant of minute swings. In my opinion, a 2-3 degree shift throughout the day is healthy for a tank.