How do I Lower water temp?

[djmc7300]

i have a 12 gallon nanocube. the tank already comes with 2 small fans. what else can i do to lower the temp??

[Henry]

does it have a glass top or a hood?

[GaryP]

First off, what is the tank temp.?

[NaCl_H2O]

Yea, what's the temp? I have the same tank and the temp remains 75-78, actually considering a small heater.

[djmc7300]

it's like 80 with a regular hood

[MikeDeL]

Leave it. Thats a good temp.

[Reef69]

yep....good temp..just dont let it fluctuate..

[MikeDeL]

By the way I have a nanocube and it sits at 82 with an open top. Everything does good. The important thing is to kept the temp constant. I would set the heater for 80. That way during the day your lights will keep the temp at 80 and at night the heater will keep it there.

[djmc7300]

oh...ok. cuz b4 i had it at like maybe 76 and everything was fine. i thought that was good, cuz it was in the middle of the green, u know. thnx!!

[GaryP]

Those thermometers are set for fresh water, not salt. You want to stay around 78-82. As was said earlier, keeping it constant is the most important thing.

[djmc7300]

ok...thnx for the info!!

[GaryP]

You can do that by either adding a heater to your set up or by using a timer on your cooling fans so that it doesn't cool off as much when the lights are off.

[MikeDeL]

I think in such a small tank a heater would be a better idea then a timer for the cooling fans. If your heat source is your lights, at night in a tank that small the temp will drop quick with no source of heat especially in the winter. I had a 10 gallon FW tank once that dropped from around 78 down to 68 over night. Found out the hardway the heater wasnt working. This just shows you how fast a temp can drop in a small tank.

I think a combination of the 2 would be best. When I first set up my nano cube and had the stock lid on it, I installed a small computer fan in the hood, and plugged it into the same timer as the lights so it would turn on and off with the lights.

[MikeDeL]

Mine had 24 watts. Without the fan it sat at 84 with the lights on and with the fan it was 82. I keep the appartment at about 72.

[MikeDeL]

Do those things come with one fan or 2? If it only comes with one fan you could add a 2nd. The hood should have 2 places to mount fans.

[Shark_Bait]

Not to hijack the thread......but..... I can't seem to find a glass top that fits my tank. What is the glass usally made of? Can I use regular glass plate (thicker stuff) or does it have to be tempered glass?
Thanks

[Polkster13]

Standard plate glass will work fine. Tempered glass is made to break into small rounded pieces if it breaks. This keeps large shards from slicing you up.

[Shark_Bait]

Thanks

[GaryP]

Are you really sure you want to put a glass top on your tank? There are two problems with that:

1. It will cut down on light transmission.
2. It will increase any cooling problems you have by not allowing for evaporation which is the main way an aquariums gives off heat.

[Shark_Bait]

**** Sorry.... really didn't mean to Hijack the thread :innocent but...
How much light are we talking about. I have 2 150MH on a 75. Thought I had enough 8)
Right now there are no cooling problems..... YET. The tank doesn't have a canopy so the light pendant is just suspended over the tank. Hoping to get the nerve up to build the canopy, (have a design just never done a project this big). Was hoping the glass would help with evaporation. The tank has glass cover on it now but they are too wide and hang over the center brace; so that they are not laying flat. How much protection do the MH bulbs need from the water. There is a plexiglass piece in the pendant that I would like to get rid of so the glass was to be it's replacement..

[djmc7300]

thnx guys!! u'll are a big help. i don't know where i'd be without all this info.

[Reef69]

I dont understand why there are 2 threads about the same thing...

[GaryP]

Evaporation isn't a problem until you don't have any. Like I said, its how the tank cools itself. The conversion of water to water vapor pulls a lot of energy out of the tank.