Heat

[Reef69]

This year I got as an Xmas present 2 250 watt MHs from my gf, she got them from Greg at Reef Farm, they are awesome..excellent coloration..really nice lights..but one thing i cant control is the heat..I used to have PCs and my tank temp was steady 78, 79..now it shoots up to 83..almost 84..is there a way to control the heat without buying a super expensive chiller?..Thanks Everybody!

Diego

[MikeDeL]

83-84 is too high....nothing a small fan wont fix.

[monica]

Have you tryed fans. I have two fans on mine and my temp stays about 78-79

[Reef69]

I was thinking of buysing some..but dont know what size or where..home depot maybe?..and where should i put them..sump or retro kit?

[MikeDeL]

Coralvue carries automatic fans that have a thermostat on them. Do you have a canopy?

[Reef69]

yeah, i screwed the retros to the canopy..i had to modify the canopy in order to raise a bit more the lights off the water surface, i have them at 8 in. off the surface..lots of water movement..just need a way to keep the temp. low

[MikeDeL]

Take a whole saw and cut a whole in the side of your canopy. Then mount the fan inside the canopy so it is blowing fresh air into the canopy across the water surface.

[Reef69]

can I just hang a small fan upside down instead of making a whole?..

[MikeDeL]

You could do that to. Just make sure the fan is blowing across the water.

[monica]

I have one on one end of the canopy blowing in across the bulbs and the other on the other end sucking hot air out. I have 4" fans I got of ebay.

[Reef69]

aweome Monica..I need some of those..any clue where I could get some..I would like to add 4..

[Instar]

83 to 84 is no biggie except for zenia. Its the temperature changes that occur after the lights go off that will mess with your fish. One of my fans blew a while back and since it got warm today, my temp probably went to 84 today too. Only issues would be the temp swing at night and the zenia as they are prone to crash at above 81 to 83.

[Reef69]

I have a bunch of pom pom xenia..looks fine, I just want my temp, as low as possible..hoping fans will do the job..

[monica]

this is what I had gotten.

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&category=46314&item=4347113 708&rd=1

[Instar]

It usually takes more than one or two days of temperature elevation to cause a zenia crash. It is something they are prone to do when the water climbs to a mid to late summer temperature. If this was the month of August and they are from multiple generations of tank raised zenia, the long days of mid summer with the temperature higher than normal would make them even more likely to crash due to natural seasonal reaction.

[NaCl_H2O]

RadioShack usually has 4" 110V muffin fans. If not, check Altex on San Pedro.

[Ram_Puppy]

I amusing the radioshack muffin fans on mine, I have two blowing in from the back sides of the hex, and one more powerfuly one pulling air staright out of the top above the PC/halide fixture. I am sure I lose a 'little' reflected light this way, but it sure does control the heat.

[captexas]

Is your canopy completely enclosed on top and on the backside? If so, you need some ventilation holes for the hot air to escape from the canopy. Fans help with this, but if there are no holes for the air to get out and fresh air to get in, they will simply be blowing hot air around. I would add a few holes to the top or the back side of the canopy and that should help along with a fan or two.

[Reef69]

Thanks guys..The canopy is open from the back and from the top its like..umm..it has a beam, then open, then beam, then open..and so forth..it has a space in between like..3 inches from beam to beam..im defenately going to check those radio shack fans and some timers..would 4 do the job?

[Reef69]

Maybe?

http://www.radioshack.com/product.asp?catalog%5Fname=CTLG&product%5Fid=273-241

[GaryP]

It depends on their cfm. I had 4 old 30 cfm fans on my 125. I replaced them with new 100 cfm fans and now I only run 2 of them on a timer when the lights are on. I was running all four before and still not keeping up.

Try starting with 2. You can always add more later.

Gary

[Polkster13]

Also, keep in mind that the air movement over the water surface is going to cause lots of evaporation (which has a cooling effect on the water). You will need to keep a mindful eye on your water level, especially after you add the fans, to see how much water you are losing and replace it with RO water.

[DeletedAccount]

Also the Target or Wal-Mart clip on fans will work great until you find the perfect answer and look around. They run less than $5. I would get on for the canopy and one for the sump, personally. This is what I use on the 180.

[Reef69]

those ebay ones Monica said look cool..but if i put any fans no a timer with the MHs, it should be ok..right?

[::pete::]

I use a 3-way in the timer and plug in my MH's and fan's when the halides kick on (off) so do the fans. Have the fans pointing in from both ends not out this way it will blow cooler air across the water and not shorten the life of the fan that would be sucking the air (salt) out.

[Reef69]

yeah, makes alot of sense..well, Im going to school right now but will go to radio shack and target, hopefully those fans work. Thanks everybody

[Reef69]

alright, i just installed an 85 CFM cooling fan i bought from radio shack, its pretty small and works great, I just bought 1 to test it and my water doesnt go over 81..im guessing it will cool down once i install the other one..it has a 10,000 continuous hour life, which its good..anyways, will keep you posted..