I need help chilling a 14G Biocube

[kkralicek]

Any ideas or recommendations for chilling a 14G Biocube. I was running my temp at 80 degrees and everyone I talked to was surprised anything was still alive. I have turned the heat down and it is running at 78 degrees with the heater set at 76 degrees. I run my actenic from 0600hrs-1800hrs, my 50/50 from 0700hrs-1700hrs and my LED's run from 1800hrs-0600hrs. Any ideas for cooling without spending $300 + dollars or destroying the aesthetically pleasing tank I have or reducing the lighting because everything I have is growing great? Any help would be awsome.

Thanks,
Kevin

[Gseclipse02]

my tank during the daywhen the lights are on ( 2 150 MH) is about 80 also ... i dont seem to have a problem but i dont know anything about this subject really

[BioCube14]

do you have additional heat in the tank? Maybe a maxijet or something like that? pumps add heat as well. If so I would remove it. Also you can buy larger fans from nano tuners they are basically computer fans with more cfm. 5 min install. I think they are about $15 if you want to spend a bit more for like $25 you can get silenX fans that are super quiet. Other than that I wold run your house temp cooler if worse comes to worse

[aggman]

Any ideas or recommendations for chilling a 14G Biocube. I was running my temp at 80 degrees and everyone I talked to was surprised anything was still alive. I have turned the heat down and it is running at 78 degrees with the heater set at 76 degrees. I run my actenic from 0600hrs-1800hrs, my 50/50 from 0700hrs-1700hrs and my LED's run from 1800hrs-0600hrs. Any ideas for cooling without spending $300 + dollars or destroying the aesthetically pleasing tank I have or reducing the lighting because everything I have is growing great? Any help would be awsome.

Thanks,
Kevin

i think you should leave it the way it is...you said everything is growing great, right? so why fix what isn't broke. my tanks run perfectly at 78 degrees constant, there is nothing wrong that temp. remember that everyone's an expert, so take advice with a 'grain of salt', and just do what works for your tank.

also, remember that no matter what anyone says, there is no 'perfect setting' for any tank. unless you bought everything acuacultured from the same vendor-your livestock is going to be varied. it all comes from different parts of the world with different parameters. the trick is finding the balance, and it seems you got it right so far. Thats JMHO :bigsmile:.

~alex

[Ping]

Your temps are fine, and "I" would stay at 78 degrees.

Temperature stability is important in the marine environment. However, a four degree temperature variation during a 24 hour period is acceptable. A mean average of 78 degrees is optimal (many will argue 80 to 82 is optimal). I average 78 in the winter and 80 in the summer with Metal Halides.

Marine tanks can be run from a low of 75 degrees to a high of 82 and experience no problems. 75 degrees would be the extreme lowest safe temperature. Although some will say they run their systems as high as 84 in the summer with Metal Halides, this is the extreme highest safe temperature. If we average from 78 to 82 degrees, we have a few degrees of variation when the inevitable problem occurs i.e. a fan, pump, or heater failure, to name a few.

[RICKY81]

so then i suppose that running it at 72 with the heater at 75 and mh on, and a drop to approx 69 without the heater at nights...would not be recommended?? for mix reef.

[Gseclipse02]

you have some cold water

[Ping]

Ricky, those temps are way too cold for long term survival of your marine inhabitants.

[JimD]

"I was running my temp at 80 degrees and everyone I talked to was surprised anything was still alive."

Then you were talking to the wrong people.... 80 degrees is just fine. 78 is good, 69 is a little too chilly for most of the species hobbyists keep in captivity.

[Mr Cob]

My reef tank runs 78.5 at night and gets to 82.5 during the day with the MH's on. It's been like this for the last 4 months.

Before the MH it was more stable...at 78.5 during the night and 80 during the day, and this was stable for about 1.5 years.

No problems detected with either temp settings. I have only noticed faster growth and prettier corals with the MH.

I'm planning on adding one or two small fans on a timer with the MH's to help close the temp gap of 4 degrees. I feel more comfortable with only a 2 degree swing. But like I said I haven't had any problems.

[VoodooMach]

Mr Cob.. turn up the intank heater setting for night time lol...

on a side note... I keep my tanks between 80-82F.. things grow faster too...

[runamukus]

80 is fine! When my 14 biocube gets too hot, I open the lid and turn the ceiling fan on and that'll drop the temp to as low as 78. But I aim to keep it from 78 to 80. 69 is cold.

[kkralicek]

Thanks for the advice everyone. I want to get a little Linkia and was told my temps are too high for them thats why I was asking about the cooling. Over the past few days my temps are avg 79-79.5 degrees. What do you guys think about creating an ambient air chiller with copper tubing and a cpu cooler (heatsink and fan) utilizing syphoning as the pass through instead of a pump?

[jroescher]

Linkias need large established tank to survive, if they survive for long at all.

Read up on copper in a reef tank. Not a good idea.

[FossilReef]

I run my tank at 82 degrees. I've been getting some awesome growth at this temp, too.

[Mr Cob]

Mr Cob.. turn up the intank heater setting for night time lol...

on a side note... I keep my tanks between 80-82F.. things grow faster too...

If I turn up the heater for the purpose of night time then the tank will go over 83/84 degrees when the MH come on because they are starting at a higher degree of water temp. "lol...."

[SoLiD]

Linkias need large established tank to survive, if they survive for long at all.

Read up on copper in a reef tank. Not a good idea.


He hit both nails right on the head. :wink_smile: