Tank got too hot?

Cannoy

Member
When it started warming up here the other day i woke up and saw that my tank was 86 degrees and by the end of the day my sps started to die. Would the heat have caused them to die? Also the acros that are left have no polyps coming out.

I used a laser thermometer on my magdrive pump and its over 92 degrees, would a different pump help keep my tank cooler?
 

DaveK

Well-Known Member
Yes, 86 is really pushing things. Sometimes it's not so much the temp, but it's low oxygen conditions. Yes, this could damage corals like SPS. Then again, corals sometimes make amazing recoveries.

Mag pumps are an older design and as such they do contribute more heat to the system. If that pump is drawing 50 watts, a lot of that power ends up in the tank as heat.

A DC pump will consume a lot less power and get the tank temp down a bit. The question to ask yourself is ", Will a new pump greatly improve your tank.
 
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Antics

Active Member
When it started warming up here the other day i woke up and saw that my tank was 86 degrees and by the end of the day my sps started to die. Would the heat have caused them to die? Also the acros that are left have no polyps coming out.

I used a laser thermometer on my magdrive pump and its over 92 degrees, would a different pump help keep my tank cooler?
Yes to both. I think if the tank is 86 degrees though, you may want to consider using a chiller. Reading your post you mention that waking up your tank was 86. Assuming you have a normal sleep schedule, that implies your tank was at 86 during the coolest part of the day. Others will have to chime in, but I don't think replacing a mag drive alone will be enough to get your temps down to a desirable 76-78 range.

I've always been told that stability is more important than temperature itself, and some people have definitely had successful tanks that run on the hotter spectrum, but 86 is really high in my opinion. On the other hand, chillers have a pretty substaintial initial cost and then the maintenance cost on electricity. It might be cheaper to go with limited lighting or more fans to increase evaporation. Hard to say without more info.

Hope it helps.
 

Cannoy

Member
Its a 20 gallon tank with a 20 gallon sump and the sump holds 15 gallons. My lighting is 2 AI primes so i dont think they are contributing much heat. and no, my sleeping schedule wasnt normal that day lol, on warm days the tank was 86 during the day and 84 during the night. a chiller would cost too much to buy and run so if a different return pump wouldnt keep temps down then ill have to give up on keeping a tank.

i was looking at buying a syncra silent 3.0 pump, any chance this would bring my temps down? a new pump is my only option.
 

DaveK

Well-Known Member
You consider a chiller only when you have tried other options first and it's still not enough to keep the tank cool. Chillers are expensive to buy and to run, and on smaller tanks, the cost is seldom justified.

If your not doing it, a screen top on the tank, and a small fan blowing across the water surface may give you enough cooling by evaporation.

If you compare the Sicce Syncra Silent 3.0 to the Danner Supreme Aqua-Mag 3 you'll find that the Syncra actually consumes more power and thus you'll get more heat, although you'll also get more flow.

If you want to reduce power consumption and heat, the pumps to consider are the DC controllable pumps. There are a lot on the market under various names. Most are similar, and made in China. Here is one example (offsite) - http://www.marinedepot.com/Aqua_Med...Pumps-Aqua_Medic_USA-AQ20684-FIWPEPZT-vi.html

Note that this pump only consumes about 25 watts. That's about 1/2 the power the Syncra uses. The downside is that a DC controllable pump will cost you more, but sometimes you can find some lower prices if you shop around.
 

MatroxD

Active Member
Also, consider simply a clip on fan, aimed at the water surface of your sump(evaporative cooling).. I use a 6" hurricane that I recently purchased from the hydro store(20.00, so it's a cheap attempt).. On that small of a tank, hopefully, it will make a significant dent on your temps..

But at that temp, if your system isn't used to being that high, yes, it could make them peel... Unfortunately...

And yes, rid yourself of the mag, favoring either a dc or sicce pump..

Sent from my SM-N920F using Tapatalk
 

Cannoy

Member
i have noticed that my tank isnt evaporating as much water as it did a few weeks ago. ill try a fan and see what happens, if that doesnt work ill look into a dc pump,
thanks for the help.
 

Cannoy

Member
I crammed a large box fan under my stand just to see if a fan would help before i went and bought one and my temps went from almost 85 today down to 80. Ill see what happens when i get a smaller clamp on fan tomorrow.
 

Antics

Active Member
I crammed a large box fan under my stand just to see if a fan would help before i went and bought one and my temps went from almost 85 today down to 80. Ill see what happens when i get a smaller clamp on fan tomorrow.
I'll be curious to know the increase evaporation going forward. [emoji38]
 

MatroxD

Active Member
I crammed a large box fan under my stand just to see if a fan would help before i went and bought one and my temps went from almost 85 today down to 80. Ill see what happens when i get a smaller clamp on fan tomorrow.
Ha ha ha! Been there dude! It works massively I'm telling you! Now honestly, as I have done the box fan trick myself, if you don't have to remove the box fan(yes, it's, and I hate the term but ghetto), keep it there, and then, mount the clip on as an exhaust.. It's thermodynamics, and works well... Lol... Leave it on, and just watch what happens...

We don't think about the simple things we can do to alleviate basic issues, but they make shank the difference in the world...

Sent from my SM-N920F using Tapatalk
 

MatroxD

Active Member
I'll be curious to know the increase evaporation going forward. [emoji38]
It's definitely going to increase! That is the trade off, that depending on what side your on, is either good or bad.. For me, ids always been a win, win..

First, your cooling the system and making it more stable.. You control the amount of cooling by the speed of the fan..Second and probably the largest benefit, is that the surface of the water the fan is blowing on becomes a massive gas exchange point.. Your reliance on surface agitation goes down, your injecting more oxygen and hopefully blowing off more Co2, while at the same time, I want to say I remember long ago when I first started running fans, that ammonia is blown off also at the exchange point(but don't quote me 100% on this one.. Lol)..

But, honestly, evaporation in a home reef is a good thing..It allows you to, if nothing else, if you desire to run kalk.. That alone, depending on your stance on it also, makes the simple fan worth while..

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Cannoy

Member
I got the temperature stable and it has been for several days, but now the acros that didnt die are starting to bleach. Is this just because of stress from the temperature changes?
 

MatroxD

Active Member
I got the temperature stable and it has been for several days, but now the acros that didnt die are starting to bleach. Is this just because of stress from the temperature changes?
Could be, especially if they are already stressed in some way..

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Antics

Active Member
I got the temperature stable and it has been for several days, but now the acros that didnt die are starting to bleach. Is this just because of stress from the temperature changes?
I think this is the most likely explanation assuming nothing else has really swung out. Acro's can be resiliant though. Give them some time and don't do anything extreme in an attempt to solve a problem that you may have already taken care of.
 

Cannoy

Member
a lot of the stuff i had was new frags and they were all just starting to get real color when the temperature went up, so i was assuming that was the cause of the bleaching. nothing else has really changed.
 
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