Temperature and chiller help

[albatross666]

Hi everyone

 

I need help from experienced small setup reefers (i have a 55 gallon setup) wrt heat. Let me describe my situation.

 

I keep my 55 gallon tank heater set at 72 degrees. When my lights are running, the temperature reaches 75-76.

 

I have been told that the temperature is to low. What is the ideal range with the lights off and on?

 

Also, I invested in an Artica JBJ 1/10HP since I was expecting the temperature to be even higher. Now I am wondering whether my temperature will be higher in the summer?

 

In the summer, we set the home AC thermostat to 85 when we are not in the house and 76 when we are in the house.

 

My cichlid tank in the summer would peak at 82 degrees (using 130Watt lights) on a 125 gallon. I am currently using 260 watts on my 55 gallon.

 

Also, is it possible that I may have to use the chiller in the summer? I am about to do some plumbling, and want to do it in one go. Also, my chiller does not fit in my stand, so I am hoping I do have to use it.

 

What would you recommend?

[stevil]

Stability is the most imprtant thing. I keep my tank between 79 and 80 just using a heater, fan and a temperature controller. I have T5 and VHO lights tho, so they don't run nearly as hot as metal halides (I had trouble keeping temp where I wanted with those).

 

I think 72 is too low for most tropical tanks. I'd recommend a stable temp between 78 and 82. in your case setting your heater to 79 and you may not need the chiller.

[wreck]

i keep my 55 at 78-80 night/day temp. I have a 175MH and 4x65w pc with no chiller, but a big fan to blow hot air out of the canopy. I think you could get away without a chiller if you have enough ventilation to keep the heat in the canopy down. Whatever temperature you choose to keep you tank, you want to keep it constant without much temperature shift.

"Wreck"

[lanman]

I keep my tanks between 78-81. T5's - no chiller.

 

bob

[albatross666]

Hi

 

So generally speaking, 2-4 degrees fluctuation between night and daytime is OK? All I need to do is keep a higher base temperature?

 

How does that affect algae growth? I am currently fighting the brown slime algae. Also, I have green spot diatoms too.

 

Thanks!

[jason the filter freak]

Hi

 

So generally speaking, 2-4 degrees fluctuation between night and daytime is OK? All I need to do is keep a higher base temperature?

 

 

Thanks!

 

In a sense yes, like they were saying, keep it nice and stable

[jnguyen4007]

 

How does that affect algae growth? I am currently fighting the brown slime algae. Also, I have green spot diatoms too.

 

Thanks!

 

How often do you do your water changes and how much?

[albatross666]

How often do you do your water changes and how much?

 

Hi

 

I am changind 10 gallons every other week. I am using R/O water.

[zotzer]

My tank, now that the weather is cooler, has been running 76.5 in morning, up to 79 by lights out. I think this is because I keep the heater in the refugium which is on a reverse light cycle. Even though the heater is set to 79, I think it warms up the fuge and the main tank gets a bit cooler.

 

76 seems a bit cool, but nothing seems to be negatively impacted, so I will roll with it for now.

 

T

[Brian Ward]

You generally want the temperature to be the same all the time - no swings. A 2 deg swing from day to night won't hurt anything though. What kind of lighting are you running? If you have MH, hang on to the chiller - heat from T5 or PC lights can generally be controlled with fans. Set your heater to at least 78. On my small tank, I have trouble maintaining 78 during the day and especially in the summer so I have mine set to 80. 78 is considered the ideal temperature, but stability is much more important - so 82 is OK if you can maintain 82 24/7/365 (all the time).

 

For the algae - algae thrives on excess nutrients and undesirable wavelengths of light - 10 gal water change every week (20% change per week) wouldn't be too much and is probably desirable until you get the algae under control.

Your light bulbs need to be changed every 6-12 mos. The spectrum the bulbs produce will degrade over time, promoting algae growth.

Next thing to check is how long your lights are on every day - 8 hrs is usually enough. I have my lights set to come on at 3pm and go off around 11pm. I'm not home during the day, so I'd rather have the fish awake when I'm there to watch them. The space they're in tends to stay dark so it's not a problem.

Make sure you aren't getting too much stray light into the tank - sunlight coming in through windows can help produce algae.

Check your calcium and alkalinity levels - raising these to the high end of healthy has been known to help combat algae.

Only other thing to do is to scrape the algae off the rocks (toothbrush works great) and remove it by hand - this is very tedious but necessary. Keep up on the water changes and manually removing as much of the algae as you can. Eventually you will win.

[discretekarma]

In my experience, having a good clean-up crew has really helped as well.

[zotzer]

I've read conflicting advice on maintaining temperature ranges. There is the school that says *consistency* is king. Then there is the school that says that fluctuations of up to 5-6 degrees throughout the day is perfectly acceptable, mimics their natural environment, and makes for hardier corals.

 

What is the general experience of long-time WAMASers?

 

Tracy

Edited November 22, 2007 by zotzer

[Rascal]

I've read conflicting advice on maintaining temperature ranges. There is the school that says *consistency* is king. Then there is the school that says that fluctuations of up to 5-6 degrees throughout the day is perfectly acceptable, mimics their natural environment, and makes for hardier corals.

 

What is the general experience of long-time WAMASers?

 

Tracy

 

I'm not really a long-timer, but you will find lots of conflicting advice on all aspects of the great temperature debate.

 

I've never tried to push the envelope with 5-6 degree temp swings, but in my experience even a 3-4 degree swing has been detrimental to my livestock. Maybe not the corals, but the fish definitely seem stressed by it. In fact, ANY change in temp parameters in my tank usually results in a few white spots showing up on my hippo tang.

[extreme_tooth_decay]

My own opinions:

 

Stability is good. 5-6 degree temp swings seem bad.

 

Avoid a chiller at all costs. You should be able to control your temp with a heater and cheapo fans.

 

I target 79.5 +/- 1 at any time

 

Hippos can get ick if you look at them wrong

 

tim

Edited November 24, 2007 by extreme_tooth_decay

[albatross666]

Avoid a chiller at all costs.

 

Greetings

 

I am in the process of raising the temperature of my tank a few degrees a week to bring it upto 78 and am thinking that in the winter/spring months, I should be able to maintain a steady temperature.

 

Its the summer that bothers me.

 

What is the negative effect of using a chiller?

 

Thanks

[YBeNormal]

What is the negative effect of using a chiller?

 

Initial cost of the purchase and higher electric bills down the road. Other than that? Nothing that I'm aware of.