Tank cooling

[reefmontalvo]

I recently purchased a MH system, works very nice it is actually what I wanted. I'm running the system and noticed the water temp is thru the roof. I'm looking at fans since I do not have the budget for a chiller. Will cooling fans work and can I mount them on the fug to avoid all kinds of excess contraptions hanging on the tank.

[YBeNormal]

Fans will help decrease the temperature. The only question is if they will reduce it enough.

 

I would start with fans blowing across the sump. If the temperature is still to high, add fans to your canopy as well. Note that this will also increase evaporation considerably so you may need to adjust your top off if it is on a timer.

[reefmontalvo]

Yeah I figured evaporation is a cooling process. I guess that is why people get tank chillers. Thanks for the help.

[mogurnda]

I have two tanks with halides, and just have fans built into the canopies and clip-on fans over the sumps. Works fine, even though both are in warm rooms.

[reefmontalvo]

Yeah I wasn't sure if I should just place a fan over the sump alone. I figured I have a fan built in the the canopy and it's working fine and there is a huge 4-5 inch clearance between the surface of the water and the canopy I figured the air forced out of the A/C ducts would cause some form of cooling, by pushing the hot air away from the tank.

[m3fan8ic]

Hey Chris,

when I had that hood on my tank I had cooling fan from ebay (see link below). It's very effective in blowing hot air and clips on to the edge or center brace. One this is it's not as quiet as I expected it to be but works thought.

 

http://cgi.ebay.com/Metal-Halide-Aquarium-...id=p3286.c0.m14

[zygote2k]

I have a 400w mh suspended 8" above my 40. It has a fan that comes on with the pc's and cools the halide too. My tank has never been above 78 degrees. It normaly runs about 77 and drops to 75 at night.

My room temp is about 75 year round. If you eliminate the canopy, you'll eliminate excess heat. If you use a canopy, of course you'll need the $600 chiller. It's an easy trade-off.

The top of my 40 is open and most of the light is directed into the tank. I only lose about 1/2 gal per day evap.

Edited October 4, 2008 by zygote2k

[jamal]

thats not necessarily true. i have 3 150 watt mh's on a fixture and i still need a chiller in the spring and summer and the tank is in the basement. i have a chiller because fans werent enough and it is just easier. when i upgrade my lighting i will need a bigger chiller. especially on extra hot days. chiller =$1000 dead reef= several thousand. simple for me but i envy those who dont need a chiller.

[basser9]

82 degrees is the perfect temp for reef tanks.....dont really understand why people spend money to get there tanks down to 78....be careful what you read about this hobby....30 years of reef tanks have me skeptical of most of the advice i see.

[zygote2k]

I forgot- the other reason(s) that my tank stays cool is because I only have 2 Koralia minis for circulation and a Mag 7 for return. I also use an eductor on the return to generate more current. No skimmer, no kalk stirrer, no dosing pump, no multiple oversized, ineffecient powerheads= no excessive heat transfer to the water. I believe that the simpler you make it, the better the results will be.

[reefmontalvo]

Sid,

 

I looked into that possibility. But I was not sure how the fans sounded or how they performed long range.

 

zygote2k,

 

I already loose about a quart of water a day. LOL I had a funny feeling a fan will increase evaporation.

 

basser9,

 

I understand what you mean, most of our fish come from tropical climates and we need to offer them the best and warmest conditions. I noticed the tank rises to about 83 degress then drops to 78 at night since the MH are off and now the tank heater is taking over the tank heating.

 

I was wondering what would happen if I integrated some fans on the canopy to pull the heat? I had a set of PC fans and set them up to blow in to the cooling vents of the ballast. I noticed a huge difference with the performance of the ballast and they were super cool (as in temp).

 

Jamal,

 

How do you like the chiller is it easy to use. I take it you run it only during the summer and spring? I thought they were only used in hot areas of the country like Florida or Texas. Not sure?

[vargha]

Hello all

I am very new but aboul chilling out the fish tank I have made a nice discovery. You guys may say WOW he is crazy but try this out. My fish tank is close to my Air conditioning vent. what I did I got alittle funel and hocked it up to a small line that feeds to my skimmer for generating buble. As skimmer sucks the cool air from AC vent and mix the air in skimmer it cools down the whole system dramatically. belive me or not last summer I should of have my heater sometimes on to heat up the water. try it. Its cheap, effective, creative and will knock your sucks off.

 

thanks

Kamran

[zygote2k]

Easy fix to reduce heat- eliminate 1 or 2 powerheads and put eductors on the remaining pumps/returns etc. for an easy increase in flow without generating additional heat.

[reefmontalvo]

You know everybody talks about tank pumps and such heating the tank I only noticed it with just the lights on recently. I think I will let the system run as is and keep an eye on it for the next couple of months. If I have accelerated coral growth that is good for you all. If not I guess I will be on E-bay to purchase those cooling fans.

Edited October 4, 2008 by reefmontalvo