tank temp
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Category: Help
Forum Name: General Help
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URL: http://www.utahreefs.com/forum/forum_posts.asp?TID=47318
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Topic: tank temp
Posted By: BnK
Subject: tank temp
Date Posted: March 05 2011 at 8:26pm
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my tank is usually around 78-79 degrees right now it is 81 I have changed nothing. what is the highest it should get and how do I keep it from gettin higher.
------------- Brett and Kristine | Layton, UT | Brett's e-mail: [email protected] | Kristine's e-mail: [email protected] |
Replies:
Posted By: builderofdreams
Date Posted: March 05 2011 at 9:23pm
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Tis the season to start watching tank temps without a Chiller. Heater to warm it up.
Chiller to cool it down.
I knew a Guy who's Reef tank seen 88 degrees and not lose any livestock.
How long had your lights been on.Using Halides?
Lights are largely responible for temp increases.
------------- It's Not a Hobby It's an Obsession 150&210 Gallons of Madness and. Sanity! 801-850-4915 http://www.utahreefs.com/forum/forum_posts.asp?TID=65135&title=builderofdreams-feedback-post |
Posted By: BnK
Date Posted: March 05 2011 at 9:35pm
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no just dual t-5's bout 6 hrs ------------- Brett and Kristine | Layton, UT | Brett's e-mail: [email protected] | Kristine's e-mail: [email protected] |
Posted By: jmw
Date Posted: March 05 2011 at 9:55pm
| I have a Red Sea so it is all inclosed. I've read that a lot of people use fans on an open top. I bought a chiller a couple months ago and my heater is set at 70. I have no concern about the lower temp just because of where my tank is located. However, my chiller is probably one of the best investments I think I've made. Running right now 77 deg. period. You'll find summer can be a battle on tank temp. Just watch how many cyano outbreaks happen around July-August time frame. I think it has a lot to do with temp, however I could be wrong. |
Posted By: Mark Peterson
Date Posted: March 05 2011 at 10:36pm
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The warmer weather warms up the inside of the house which means that the tank warms up too. Turn down the teperature on the heater to 75 or lower, or even better, unplug it. We don't really need to use heaters, especially from April to September. Reef aquariums, just like the ocean, need to be open to the atmosphere. If the tank has a closed hood, crack it open just an inch or place a small fan in the hood blowing air down on the water with a way for humid air to blow out. ------------- Reefkeeping Tips, & quick, easy setup tricks: www.utahreefs.com/forum/forum_posts.asp?TID=9244 Pay it forward - become a paid WMAS member 
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Posted By: BnK
Date Posted: March 05 2011 at 10:59pm
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yea i never close my hood im actaully gonna be takin it off when i can transfer my stuff to my other tank. and my heaters are on like 76 but I will just put the one in the sump on low 70's and turn other one in my main tank off.
------------- Brett and Kristine | Layton, UT | Brett's e-mail: [email protected] | Kristine's e-mail: [email protected] |
Posted By: jmw
Date Posted: March 05 2011 at 11:18pm
| I actually ran one of my tanks for 2 years with no heater. There is a temp swing, but I really don't get the use of a heater if your tank never drops below....say 73 deg. So why would you have 2 heaters? What am I missing? |
Posted By: BnK
Date Posted: March 05 2011 at 11:31pm
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I have two 150 w heaters one in my tank in the over flow and one in my sump. Was told that way if one went out I had the other. I guess when they go out sometimes they stay on high. so with them bein little they dont fry my fish.
------------- Brett and Kristine | Layton, UT | Brett's e-mail: [email protected] | Kristine's e-mail: [email protected] |
Posted By: jmw
Date Posted: March 06 2011 at 12:05am
| So what if both your heaters went out?????? What would your house hold the temp at? If you lose power, lights are going to be of more concern. This is a nonforgiving hobby! Are hobbists trying to keep a temp between 2 and 4 deg variance? The only reason I have my heater set to 70 is.....I can't even give myself a reasonable answer. |
Posted By: BnK
Date Posted: March 06 2011 at 12:21am
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well the odds of one goin out is less than both goin out at the same time.is possible though.my house temp in the winter is usually never below 75 and summer never above 80. think reason it got hot today is heater was turned to 83 damn kids lol. but yea there are alot of scenerios.
------------- Brett and Kristine | Layton, UT | Brett's e-mail: [email protected] | Kristine's e-mail: [email protected] |
Posted By: jmw
Date Posted: March 06 2011 at 12:29am
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I set my house temp at 67 during winter and my tank never falls below 73 deg. Maybe your fighting something that doesn't really matter?
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Posted By: CapnMorgan
Date Posted: March 06 2011 at 12:37am
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Stability in a reef is always a good thing. I have always had two heaters, one running normally at 75.5, and the other set to come on at 72 in case for some reason one stops working. I do have a chiller that is also set up to run on my controller, as well as alarms and protocols to prevent over heating. I have 2 fans that will turn on should the chiller fail, and if the temp continues to rise the lights will turn off. Stability=Success IMO, so I have backups for pretty much everything, and my temp never varies by more than 1 degree (75-76). I think it's especially important when you start keeping more sensitive/expensive livestock if for no other reason than to protect your investment. ------------- Steve http://utahreefs.com/forum/forum_posts.asp?TID=40637&PID=356246" rel="nofollow - My Old 180G Mixed Reef Currently: 120G Wavefront Mixed 29G Seahorse & Softies Running ReefAngel Plus x2 435-8 |
Posted By: jmw
Date Posted: March 06 2011 at 12:40am
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CapnMorgan wrote:Posted By: CapnMorgan
Date Posted: March 06 2011 at 12:46am
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Another thing I've ran into is that most heater thermostats are not very accurate usually +/- 5 degrees. I would recommend that everyone have a controller, if for nothing else than to control your heater. You can get the Reef Keeper Lite, with temp probe, bus cables, and a power bar (enough outlets to automate 2 light plugs, a heater, and a fan) for only $99. It will be money well spent for peace of mind. ------------- Steve http://utahreefs.com/forum/forum_posts.asp?TID=40637&PID=356246" rel="nofollow - My Old 180G Mixed Reef Currently: 120G Wavefront Mixed 29G Seahorse & Softies Running ReefAngel Plus x2 435-8 |
Posted By: ptronsp
Date Posted: March 06 2011 at 12:48am
I came home tonight to see my rsm was at 74 and it always stays normally 78.. I freaked but I guess in reality I am ok?? I guess the button was accidentally turned off  |
Posted By: CapnMorgan
Date Posted: March 06 2011 at 12:52am
You're ok at 74. It's only when your temp starts to drop below 72 that you really need to worry about losing anything, and even then it has to stay there for a few hours. That's why I have my backup heater. IME heaters fail more than any other piece of equipment I've ever owned, so I don't trust them anymore. ------------- Steve http://utahreefs.com/forum/forum_posts.asp?TID=40637&PID=356246" rel="nofollow - My Old 180G Mixed Reef Currently: 120G Wavefront Mixed 29G Seahorse & Softies Running ReefAngel Plus x2 435-8 |
Posted By: ptronsp
Date Posted: March 06 2011 at 12:56am
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Thanks Steve, that makes me feel better :) Pam |
Posted By: CapnMorgan
Date Posted: March 06 2011 at 1:02am
Anytime  ------------- Steve http://utahreefs.com/forum/forum_posts.asp?TID=40637&PID=356246" rel="nofollow - My Old 180G Mixed Reef Currently: 120G Wavefront Mixed 29G Seahorse & Softies Running ReefAngel Plus x2 435-8 |
Posted By: Mark Peterson
Date Posted: March 06 2011 at 1:35am
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I don't disagree but actually the temp can get down to 65 and most everything will be okay. The reason for this is that with low temp comes much higher dissolved Oxygen and lower CO2. It's like putting an Oxygen mask on a stressed person. Steve, what kinds of heaters have you had bad experience with? ------------- Reefkeeping Tips, & quick, easy setup tricks: www.utahreefs.com/forum/forum_posts.asp?TID=9244 Pay it forward - become a paid WMAS member
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Posted By: CapnMorgan
Date Posted: March 06 2011 at 6:18am
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Well I've had 2 marineland stealth heaters (300w) fry themselves on my small tank, along with a Hydor Theo (400w) and a Rena Smart heater (300w) on the big one. Ever since the last incident on my 180 (a year in April) I've been running a pair of 500w titanium heaters from Via Aqua. One heating the tank and one as a backup, they've been great thus far but as you can see I don't have the best of luck with heaters. ------------- Steve http://utahreefs.com/forum/forum_posts.asp?TID=40637&PID=356246" rel="nofollow - My Old 180G Mixed Reef Currently: 120G Wavefront Mixed 29G Seahorse & Softies Running ReefAngel Plus x2 435-8 |
Posted By: bfessler
Date Posted: March 06 2011 at 8:06am
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Heater issues are probably the biggest issue in the hobby. Just look at how many have responded to this post. I agree with Steve that even if your not a big controller person and love the old school methods of reefkeeping a controller just for your heater is money well spent. In most cases the thermal switch inside the heater sticks in the on position. as the contacts ware out from repeated on off cycles they heat up and weld themselves together preventing the heater from shutting off. A controller doesn't rely on these switches and shuts off power directly to the outlet. $100 might seem like a lot of money to shut off a $35 heater but when you consider the value of the livestock in your tank and how often heaters fail it's cheap insurance. ------------- Burt An equal opportunity reefer, I support all hobbyists and organizations involved in Marine Aquarium Keeping. [email protected] |
Posted By: Mark Peterson
Date Posted: March 06 2011 at 8:16am
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There seem to be less problems with older Ebo Jaeger heaters than with any other kind of heater. Unfortunately, Eheim now makes them and the problems are the same as other heaters. I believe the key is to do one of two things: 1. buy undersize heaters and train yourself to check the thermometer and tank appearance daily 2. use a controller As far as I'm concerned, controllers and temp probes can also fail. I'd rather trust my own judgment and since I am already so accustomed to checking the tank's appearance daily, I go with #1. ------------- Reefkeeping Tips, & quick, easy setup tricks: www.utahreefs.com/forum/forum_posts.asp?TID=9244 Pay it forward - become a paid WMAS member
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Posted By: jmw
Date Posted: March 06 2011 at 9:48am
| Why buy an undersized heater? If I were to go out today and buy a heater I would probably lean toward an oversized heater. Nevermind I just read your other post! |
Posted By: jcoulter17
Date Posted: March 06 2011 at 10:00am
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spend the money and get a JBJ TrueTemp Aquarium Heater. It has a Digital
temperature controller with LCD temperature display. It has a separate
temperature probe you can put up to 10 feet away from the heater. I have
this heater hooked up to my apex controller too. As a back up to shut it
off if need to and the apex tells me how much power is being used too. As you can see in this picture under the tank, you can see one of the controllers. 
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Posted By: BnK
Date Posted: March 06 2011 at 11:36am
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what are some good contollers? I know apex is but I dont have 400 bucks lol. So what are some other brands that are cheaper?
------------- Brett and Kristine | Layton, UT | Brett's e-mail: [email protected] | Kristine's e-mail: [email protected] |
Posted By: bfessler
Date Posted: March 06 2011 at 11:37am
IMO it's not an question of choosing between choosing to check the tank temp daily or using a controller. Any piece of equipment can fail including a controller but having making your system as failsafe as possible within my budget is what I shoot for and a controller can help in many areas not just temperature control. I opted for the RKL when setting up my first system and have stuck with it because it has worked almost flawlessly for the 2 years I have been using it. Actually I have two of these controllers and guess what, The temp probe failed on one of them about a year ago. My tank temp was fine when it failed and it put up an error message alerting me of the problem. I simply set the outlet that controlled my heater to on and ordered another probe which Digital Aquatics sent me free of charge because it failed within the 1 year warranty. So I didn't have to wait for the tank temp to drop before finding the problem and was able to resolve it without any issues. For temperature issues a controller is great because it adds stability and reduces the power needed to run your system. Why turn on your fans as soon as the lights come on? with a controller your fans stay off until the tank starts to heat up. Then come on until it cools off without any input from the hobbyist. If the tank gets too hot it will even shut off the lights to help cool the tank. Like most people I can't be in front of my tank 24 hours a day and particularly for temperature control it is nice to know that the controller will help me keep my temp in check. If I were in the market for a controller today I would spend the extra $ on an apex because in addition to the ability to control my tank the Apex will send me alerts when a parameter is out of range and I could check on the tank via an iphone or web browser and make make changes in the controllers settings as needed. This would be particularly helpful for someone who travels as frequently as I do. So IMO it is important to do the daily checks and maintenance on our systems and to know what to do in the event of a failure or problem but adding a controller gives you an added level of protection that you just can't get in any other way. A controller is much more than a temperature control device but it does make temperature control much safer. ------------- Burt An equal opportunity reefer, I support all hobbyists and organizations involved in Marine Aquarium Keeping. [email protected] |
Posted By: bfessler
Date Posted: March 06 2011 at 11:41am
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If your just needing basic control the Digital Aquatics RKL is a hard controller to beat. It's $99 and comes with a temp probe and 4 outlet power strip. This is what I still use though as soon as I can afford it I will be picking up an Apex. ------------- Burt An equal opportunity reefer, I support all hobbyists and organizations involved in Marine Aquarium Keeping. [email protected] |
Posted By: BnK
Date Posted: March 06 2011 at 12:17pm
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k do you need a controller for each tank? or can you run two tanks off of one? Just not sure exactly how they work so asking here. and do the tanks have to be next to each other to run them off of one?
------------- Brett and Kristine | Layton, UT | Brett's e-mail: [email protected] | Kristine's e-mail: [email protected] |
Posted By: tileman
Date Posted: March 06 2011 at 12:24pm
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I unplugged my heater a couple of months ago. I decided like Mark, that a heater was more of a worry , and in the most part never came on. With all the pumps I have going my temp never goes below 74. Plus I have a fan on my sump that is running 24/7 and another fan that comes on around 4 pm untill midnite. I just felt with my temps staying between 74 and 78, a heater wasn't critical. ------------- 335G Reef TOTM. http://www.advancedaquarist.com/2015/2/aquarium ReefKeepers TOTM Feb. 2012 http://reefkeeping.com/joomla/index....k-of-the-month & |
Posted By: Jeremyw
Date Posted: March 06 2011 at 12:43pm
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I do have a heater running on my work tank. It gets way to cold. After reading this I unplugged it... came in the next morning.... tank was at 69 degrees. I felt it and man it was cold. I plugged the heater back in! My home tank I have unplugged it because I dont need it there. Temp stays ok without it. Funny thing though. I woke up this morning and my lights were on. They never turn on till 1045. I checked the temp it was 82.9 I turned them off opened the hood and the doors to the sump. And with in about 5 min the tank dropped 1 degree. Now an hour later its down to 80.7 and still going down. Everything is fine. I wasnt to worried. Just a little shocked that my lights were on! (It was my fault I new better than to leave them on) ------------- Next meeting: |
Posted By: EvanB756
Date Posted: March 06 2011 at 1:13pm
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I too have no heater on my tank, had bad luck with 3 heaters in the past. Ever since my last one fried itself about a year ago I haven't bothered. 87 degrees because the heater got stuck "on"!! talk about panic... But my temp stays pretty constant usually between 73-78 during a full 24hour cycle so i don't really have to worry about having one. On a side note I do have a fan blowing over my water during the summer because the water can get a bit above 80 if I don't. ------------- 90gal display w/ 30gal sump. |
Posted By: Davidwillis
Date Posted: March 06 2011 at 11:42pm
| After reading this, I feel lucky. I have been using the same heater for ever... I used it for about 9 years, then I was out of the hobby for about 7, and now am using it again. It is an older Ebo Jaeger though. |
Posted By: Davidwillis
Date Posted: March 07 2011 at 12:11am
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Would something like this work? http://www.fosterandsmithaquatics.com/product/prod_display.cfm?c=3578+4416+22586&pcatid=22586 - http://www.fosterandsmithaquatics.com/product/prod_display.cfm?c=3578+4416+22586&pcatid=22586 I can't find the Digital Aquatics RKL for $99. I can find it for $115 though. |
Posted By: Flashlin
Date Posted: March 07 2011 at 2:17am
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I am keeping my temp in 0.5 range (78.5-79). Just a regular fan and heater connected to the controller are capable of keeping temp so stable. I was considering chiller but fan works like magic. I believe it depends a lot on how you place your fan. Just try to achieve maximum evaporation. Basically fan should be pointed to the water but air must cover as much surface as possible. I've pointed fan on the wall in a sump compartment. The layer of water flowing down the wall is very thin what I believe makes cooling here much more efficient. |
Posted By: FlooringGuy
Date Posted: March 07 2011 at 8:29am
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I dont use a heater either. I keep my office between 69 & 70 degrees year around. With my pumps & other Equipment my tank stays between 75 &76 degrees. My heat has stayed very consistant since I have used my Reef Keeper Elite. If you ever want to come see my controller functions you are welcome to. ------------- Call me for Carpet, Tile, or Hardwood. (801) 263-9600 |