your thoughts?

[cwb_reeftank]

ok I feel like my tank is pretty good for sps coral but I would like to get some feed back on it. I have a 55 gallon tank with one hydor evolution 1500 and one 1150, I put a small one in my sump, I have a eshopps either psk-100 or psk-75, for my lighting I have four t5 bulbs and two metal halide bulbs which I have my t5s on for 12 hours and my MH on for 2-3 hours. my Ca is 460, dKH is 10.8, and my Mg was 1240. the only thing I'm worried about is my flow and my temp which I posted before going from 76 at night to 81.0 once the MH kick on but its a slow climb.

 

[cwb_reeftank]

I would really like some Input

 

[saltyphish]

That is a pretty big temp swing! That much of a swing I believe would be bad for sps and probably a lot of lps. Add a heater to keep it stable. Do you have any coral in your tank currently? If not start with start with some hardier coral and work your way up to sps. Sps like consistency, a couple of degrees fluctuation may not matter but yours is dropping 5 degrees.

 

[kpiotrowski]

agreed. that much of a swing....if it don't out kill them, they are not going to be happy and you are wasting you money. I would get a chiller first.

I transition my tank temp from summer to winter. summer chiller is set for 80-.80.5 and winter heat is set to 77-77.5. I notice when the season changes my growth slows a bit until they adjust.

 

[GR808]

Im more used to seeing sps doing better in cooler temps. I've had success in some sps with a fairly stable temp of 77. If you want to keep sps, I'd suggest a little cooler.
How high are your light above the tank or water level? That's some good lights you got but, that's also alot of heat that comes off of the lights.

 

[jackson6745]

Agreed on the temp swing. It's unacceptable on a daily basis. For the dimensions of a 55g you really don't need halides. 4 or 6 high output t5's will grow and color and SPS you want to keep. Keep in mind I am not speaking of cheaper t5 fixtures. Something like an ATI or tek fixture, or something retrofitted with the proper HO ballast and reflectors.

 

[cwb_reeftank]

i have my lights around 6 to 8 inches above the tank and I have one green montipora and gsp and a hammer and frogspawn I also have some zoas

 

[cwb_reeftank]

I was thinking about having a fan on my sump and a fan on the top of my tank and have them kick on when the MH comes on

 

[pirate2876]

I was thinking about having a fan on my sump and a fan on the top of my tank and have them kick on when the MH comes on

I'm not sure about the weather out in WV but, considering its winter and your tank is at 81, you should get a chiller before you dive into SPS.

 

[cwb_reeftank]

if I cant afford a chiller yet should I just leave the MH off and keep the 4 t5s on till I can get a chiller? dumb quest I feel but I don't see a change in temp with just the t5s

 

[afamousjohnson]

I run a successful 90g - no chiller and have temp swings in your range kinda.

Your idea with the fans is a good get by for those of us w/o chillers. If your blowing off the heat of the halides it will help. A controller can make that easier for ya so the fans come on at a certain temp instead of always running constant with your lights.

 

[afamousjohnson]

Summertime my settings change but I don't want my fan running if it doesn't need to be just to keep a 1 temp degree.
in mornings I will see 77°. My halides run from 12:30-8:30pm and by that time my temp has hit about 80. I have fans set to come on at 81 and don't mind it getting there over a course of a day. Over the cold hours in the night it will of dropped back down to 77. I do utilize my house heating and coolING to keep it around a comfortable range and assist in helping keep tank temps.

In summer I try more on my Temps due to more drastic outside Temps and kick fans on sooner.

 

[Diesel]

If the swings are over a period of less than 6 hours I would say BAD, other than that no biggie.
Of course statements made that less swing is better but I have seen tanks that has temps up to 82 and early morning 75 and SPS are growing out the water.
Having a stable as possible tank is the key but if I was you raise the lights a bit up to maybe 10" and shorten the MH to 2 hours.
I would try first some SPS from your local club, prefer some cheapos first.
Some times you can get some for $5 or $10, stylos or birdnest are a good way to start.
Good luck.
Let us know how things work out for you.
Btw, how long is your tank running and maybe I missed it, any # on your PO4?

 

[cwb_reeftank]

I started with a 29 gallon in 2008 and I think 2011 I got my 55 and put all my rock and sand in there ( I have more rock now) so the 55s been up for 4 years in may and I don't really know my PO4 I do a 5 gallon water change every Friday though

 

[Greg79]

if you don't wanna change light and not running chiller i would set up heater for 79-80 to keep it stable(more top off)
i saw very nice sps tanks running temp 80-81 all year round
and maybe drop your alk to 8-9 unless you planning keep your nutrients high
i keep mine 7.5-8 and they looks pretty happy

 

[cwb_reeftank]

im trying get my dKH down to 7 right now I have to test when I get back home on Friday I haven't dosed my two part for a week being that im in college but if a put a heater on for 79 or 80 wouldn't the MH raise the temp even higher?

 

[Reefnjunkie]

im trying get my dKH down to 7 right now I have to test when I get back home on Friday I haven't dosed my two part for a week being that im in college but if a put a heater on for 79 or 80 wouldn't the MH raise the temp even higher?

Yes it would- you might as a heater to avoid it dropping below 76 IMO, having it shut off at 77 as an example. The fans are the bes/least expensive option and you should see a drop in temp unless the ambient room temp also raises to 81 in that case come summer you're in trouble.

Once the fans are added you'll most likely see an increase in water evaporation so make sure to have some functionable ATO to avoid SG swings
For the fans just some cheap 6-8" computer fans ran by an old cell phone charger 2.00 at a goodwill for the charger (if you don't have one laying around) and something like frys.com for the fans-I picked up a 4 pack of 6" for 15.00 and the dB is low, I can't even hear them. I used to run 4 on my 75 back in the halide days and a clip on fan for the sump-also zip tied as a back up so it would drop into the sump.

Good luck

 

[cdness]

I would just run the fan on the halides when they turn on if you don't have a controller. That way you are blowing across the top of the tank and removing some of the heat from the halides...

If you have a controller, use the fan on the sump to help control temps via evaporative cooling. In my 75G before I had a controller, the fan came on with my lights on the sump and the heater was set to a specific temp. I didn't have much of a swing, but I evaporated water like crazy.

 

[Greg79]

Yeah heater might be raise your temp, try the fan first and if it doesn't help try heater, maybe your halides raise your temp to certain point and it wouldn't go higher

 

[cwb_reeftank]

ok I haven't had my MH on for two day and my temp has stayed at 78-79 maybe bumping up to 80 for just a min then back down to 79 and I also haven't dosed my two part for maybe one or two week when I tested it first it was at 11.8 then the second time it was 10.8 and I tested it last night and its back up to 12.6?for some reason that doesn't seem right but im going to do a water change today and then test it again and see what it is.