How do I get this temp down!?

[Yuri De Lima]

Hi there,
I have a 24G AP tank which is currently cycling.
Equipment being used as of now:
1 MJ 1200 >>> switched for stock pump (b/c I have heard people say that it causes too much heat)

When I added the saltwater the temperate was about 75 degrees. Now it has been running for about 3 days and since the very first day it shot up to about 81 degrees even going to 82+. I know this temp and temp fluctuation is unacceptable for a reef tank. That is why I want to correct this problem before I have any living creatures (well besides the bacteria) in the tank.
I can't buy a chiller right now.
I bought this: http://www.drsfostersmith.com/Product/Prod_Display.cfm?pcatid=14701&N=2004+113351

Think this is going to help out?
Any other ideas?

Tankz,
Yuri.

 

[5xevy]

Those fans might do the trick! Fans, an air conditioner in the room, ice bags floating on top (not a very good long-term solution though), homemade chillers, etc. I would see how the fans work out for you before trying anything else at this point. 82 isn't a significantly insane temp.

For the sake of your fish and other inhabitants, it's best to keep the temp consistent rather than constantly fluctuating. Consistent at 77F or 81F for example, as long as it stays around one decent number without jumping all over the place in a short amount of time.

 

[fsn77]

We have a 20" box fan blowing across our sump 24/7 this time of year to keep the temp acceptable. It definitely helps, keeping the tank temp 2 - 3F cooler than without it. Even with the fan and our house AC set on 77F, it's difficult for us to keep the temp under 82F. It hangs out right around 83F, which is quite alright. Once temps get to 85F+ for any period of time, that's when there's a greater chance of running into problems.

 

[Yuri De Lima]

Tankz for the responses.

The 24G AP comes with a 150W HQI MH light, and I think that's what causes a lot of heat, but I need this light because I intend to make this a reef tank w/ corals. But right now it's cycling so I switched the light for this one that I had laying around: http://www.aquariumguys.com/24satellite.html

I am going to wait for the fans to get here and see how they work.

Tankz,
Yuri.

 

[drobes]

Do you have a lid on the tank? You'll experience much better results with an open top or if you plan on having fish that will jump you can use eggcrate.

No need to get a chiller, they are expensive, noisy and put heat into the room. I don't have a chiller on my tank and didn't run AC yesterday either, the house thermostat got to 82 degrees and my tank temperature didn't budge above 79 :grinno:

 

[Yuri De Lima]

Cool. How big is your tank? Do you have a sump/fuge? Do you use MH lights?

My room is pretty small 9' X 10'. It does have an AC but the hole is pretty small and the air doesn't seem to move around the room, so most of the time it's pretty hot. Yes, I do have a a glass top on the tank. Could I just take that off and put a egg crate/ light diffuser over it?

Tankz,
Yuri.

 

[drobes]

Yes I would recommend removing the glass top. If your MH lights are sufficiently raised off the water (4-5 inches or more) and you have no known jumping fish such as firefish or flasher wrasses, then I think you would be fine with no top. If you have jumping fish or need a cover, try the standard white egg crate that you can get at a local lowes or homedepot.

My setup is an 80 gallon reef tank. I have T5 lighting overdriven on an icecap ballast. These are retrofit lights that are installed in my canopy. I have installed two silent computer fans in my canopy (both blowing in) and one of them stays on all the time and the other one only comes on when my "mid-day" lights are running. I have quite a bit of flow in my tank but I use low wattage powerheads (Hydor koralia 4's, koralia 3 and a tunze 6045). I drilled the back of the tank and have an external overflow that runs down to a sump on the first floor of my house (tank is on the second floor). Because I have high water flow in my tank and down to my sump on the first floor and back up I see a lot of evaporation which does an amazing job cooling the tank. I set it up with this in mind and I have an auto top off setup with a 30gallon holding bin so I can still go a week or more without filling up the top off water. Of course, the lack of a tank cover, fans in the canopy, T5 lighting and low wattage powerheads also help beat the heat.

 

[Yuri De Lima]

I got no fish in the tank at the moment. It is still cycling. Only 1" sand base and water. Will be adding live rock soon though.

I'm just worried about the temp before I get any fish in there, I don't want this to become a bigger problem. Basically I don't want to have to sacrifice anyone's life b/c of temp issues. Correct before it becomes bigger. I really wanna see how the fans I order will work. The tank is just too small and get hot fast, like right now it is 74 outside, inside the ac is set for about 70 and still the tank temp is at 80.4. This fluctuation might not have any importance right now but I'm sure it will cause big headaches when I get fish.

Yuri.

 

[rsw686]

If all you have in there is a MaxiJet 1200 I don't see why your temp is so high especially since your house is at 70. I had a MaxiJet 1200 and skimmer pump in my 56gal and the heater would come on all the time to keep it at 78. Even on my 90gal with 2 MaxiJet 1200's and OceanRunner 3500 pump in the sump the temp stays at 79. Have you verified the temperature with another thermometer?

 

[Yuri De Lima]

We are talking about a 24 gallon nano tank here. I've been experimenting with pumps, the stock one and the MaxiJet 1200, apparently they do not seem to make a difference at all, or they both produce the same amount of heat. I thought it could be the thermometer, but it's brand new and I took it out of the water to check my room's temp which it read to be: 74, I stuck it back in the tank: shot back up to 80.7.

I think it's because of the volume of water (the greatest factor) and size of tank. Water does have a enormous capacity to take in heat, it's just amazing.

Yuri.