A/c broke 83 degree tank water am I screwed?

[daharley]

My A/C broke and do not have a chiller by time I made the repair my tank got up to 83 degrees. How much trouble has this caused and is there something I can do? Usually keep it 79ish.

[jason the filter freak]

Lets start with this... did anything die?

[daharley]

Reply not yet I am watching

[trockafella]

Is your AC still broke and the tank temp is rising or it got up to 83, but its fine now..? I dont think 83 is all that crazy for a short period of time.. If its back to normal, I would think you should be just fine...

 

This is why a chiller is worth having even you normally wouldnt need it... You just never know whats gonna happen...

[daharley]

Yeah I just got it running house temp is coming down tank still rising slowly. I am definately starting to think I need to look into a chiller. 83.2 at moment. Luckily it was an easy fix.

[jason the filter freak]

You can always do a water change that is just a couple of degrees cooler than you tank temp to bring down the temp but only a couple of degrees cooler as it will prevent thermal shock

[jason the filter freak]

Also in the summer floating bags of ice or other sealed cold SEALED items is a good way to achieve gradual cooling in an emergency situation

[daharley]

I wil have to check temp on saltwater it is prob up too I was planning on a change anyway today

[Jon Lazar]

A single temperature excursion from 79 to 83 is not likely to kill anything that is otherwise .

 

Maintain good circulation and aeration and let the tank cool back down. I would not do anything else.

 

Acropora-type corals might experience some mild bleaching, but should recover if they are otherwise healthy. You may notice other corals expeling strings of zoanthellae, but I wouldn't expect any ill effects.

 

Good luck!

 

Jon

[Chad]

I agree with what has been said already, something else that you may have done already, but if not, shut your lights off.

[BowieReefer84]

How high is too high? .. . .

 

http://saltaquarium.about.com/od/aquariummaintenancecare/a/reeftanktemp.htm

 

This is an interesting article. According to this article 83 is fine.

[daharley]

Thanks everyone for the quick responses. I guess I had less to worry about then I thought. I was afraid the changes might be too quick as well as too high. Still a noob!! Only a fowlr tank for now plus a derasa clam sounds like he is the one I need to watch.

[daharley]

At least I am in the ac business and didn't have to wait for someone.

[Incredible Corals]

I had my tank at 83-84 degrees for months because my place is always so warm. All I did to drop it down to 79 was a cheap fan at walmart for $6.00 and have it blowing across the top of the tank.

 

With my controller, fan, and heater the tank now never goes above 79.9 or below 79.0 degrees.

 

So, if you are really woried about it; just go to walmart and pick up a cheap stand alone fan and point it at the tank. You will be suprised how much the temp will drop.

 

 

Good luck!

[BowieReefer84]

I had my tank at 83-84 degrees for months because my place is always so warm. All I did to drop it down to 79 was a cheap fan at walmart for $6.00 and have it blowing across the top of the tank.

 

With my controller, fan, and heater the tank now never goes above 79.9 or below 79.0 degrees.

 

So, if you are really woried about it; just go to walmart and pick up a cheap stand alone fan and point it at the tank. You will be suprised how much the temp will drop.

 

 

Good luck!

Is it quiet?

[silverspringnano]

Indo Pacific water temperatures are regularly in the low 80's, Caribbean and Australian water temps are frequently considerably higher than that. IMO probably the temperature itself is less of a concern than the decrease of oxygen in the water at higher temps but that concern can be mitigated given sufficient water surface agitation for efficient gas exchange. My chiller doesn't even kick on unless my tank hits 84.

[rocko918]

i have had my raise up to 87 with out losing anything. You are fine.

 

Keep the lights off.

[Incredible Corals]

Is it quiet?

 

Yes, it's quiter than the fans on the Current NOVA Extreme unit. The walmart in manassas has then for $6.00 and they come in black, blue and white. I made a mount with egg crate and hung it on the back of the aquarium.

[BowieReefer84]

Yes, it's quiter than the fans on the Current NOVA Extreme unit. The walmart in manassas has then for $6.00 and they come in black, blue and white. I made a mount with egg crate and hung it on the back of the aquarium.

Care to post a picture? For $6 I want one. I am going to build a unit to hang a MH pendant and I could incorporate a bracket for the fan (out of the way of the light of course).

[srd4080]

There are some really small fans that are inexpensive that you can just hang anywhere and let them blow across your sump or inside the canopy if you have room. I experieniced the same problem that you have last summer and got up to 85 degrees for a few days and did not lose anything. You should be fine. The secret is slowly lowering the temperature instead of just doing it rapidly. The fish and corals can adapt more readily to that type of change.

[paul b]

My reef is never cooler than 85 degrees in the summer, it sometimes goes to 89 or 90

which is too hot but I have never lost an animal to heat.

[Coral Hind]

My A/C stopped working Tuesday and it finally got fixed today. It hit 83 but never went any higher since I did leave the MH lights off both days. I normally run my tanks between 81-83.5 in the Summer without any problems. When the temps are high you need to make sure the tank has good O2 exchange. You may also notice the skimmer will produce less foam.

[lanman]

Xenia is sensitive to temperatures over 83. Most other stuff can handle it for a while.

 

bob

[Incredible Corals]

Care to post a picture? For $6 I want one. I am going to build a unit to hang a MH pendant and I could incorporate a bracket for the fan (out of the way of the light of course).

 

There a picture of the fan sitting on a bracket I made with egg crate.

 

 

Shot of the fan from the front of the tank. You can barley see it and the benefits/price are awesome!