Keeping tank from overheating

[sportparadise]

The last few weeks something is going in with my tank. All levels are checking in really good. The only thing I need to get is a chiller. Yesterday my tank was 89. And it has been getting in that range the past week. I have noticed some brown algae growing on rock. Some of my coral is shrinking down. Also I cannot keep my Caulerpa growing. Just fades away. I have lights on it during the off time from main tank. But when I run them longer I get green on all over glad in main tank. Does all this have to do with higher temps? What else can I do to cool tank down? Hopefully I can find a chiller used under 4-500 in the next month.

 

[StirCrayzy]

Put a small fan blowing the top of the water (Evaporative cooling) you need to cool that water ASAP!
89° is bad news, even if only short peroid will do damage. I lost a lot of livestock from a 8 hr temp spike.
also you could fill a couple milk jugs with tank water and throw it in freezer for a few hours, then pour back in.
Repeat as necessary until temp drops.

Also make sure your heater is not stuck ON.

Get a temp controller to prevent / alert future problems.

 

[PSU4ME]

You can put fans over your sump, get water bottles and freeze them then put them in your sump or go the chiller route. I know carlfike is selling one on here for 600 ish I believe (don't quote me on the price)

 

[PSU4ME]

^ beat me to it

 

[sportparadise]

Will this make the brown fuzzy algae grow and stop the growth in refug or is that something else

 

[ChrisOaty]

There are an innumerable species of algae and all occupy a slightly different niche from another. Your algae bloom is likely due to your temperatures because it will out-compete anything else in the tank due to it's tolerance at such a temperature. In college I used the water bottle trick during the summer. I had a little 20 gallon under a couple t5 lights. It heated up into the mid 80s without it. When I finally finished my DIY LED, the heat was no longer as much of an issue and evap cooling with a fan was enough to keep temperatures to within tolerable levels.

 

[sportparadise]

I am just afraid that i will be in the mess i was in a few months ago. I had a complete green-out in the tank from a bloom. It took me 2 full days to completly empty tank and clean it all including all the rock. It seem like my tank in like on a schedule, every 2-3 months something like this happens. I just started to get my xenia and softies growing and full and now they look like they are all about to die again. I dont think they can handle to many more blooms like this again. Maybe i am doing something wrong that i am not realizing. My equipment is all good, lighting is good (2 250 halide pendants and a flour on sump) skimmer seems to be doing its job. I empty cup every 3 days full of green But my refug never seemed to be growing. I just keep adding caulerpa instead of pulling it out. Something isnt right just by that not growing i would think. I always test at least once a week usually within range on everything or at least never in the danger zone. Also my water is never crystal clear, always seems alittle cloudy. My sump is setu pwith intake right into a sock overflows into refug overflows again into return which is were the skimmer is. I think thats good. This isnt a new tank its been running for over 3 years with this setup. The only changes are powerheads 2 one in each corner. What should i do to get this once and for all running smooth and heathly?

 

[BigAl07]

It sounds like it could be several factors.

A) Nutrient Rich Environment - What are you feeding, how much and how often?
B) Filtration Issues - is all of your water going into and through your filter sock? How often are you changing it out?
C) Clean Up Crew - What do you have in terms of a CUC ?
D) How often are you doing water changes?
E) It's possible the high temps are contributing to your inability to grow macro algae and to your constant coral decline.

In all probability it's a combination of many factors but you stating "water always looks cloudy" is an indication something isn't right in your tank.

 

[sportparadise]

All water goes into sock and i clean it once a week and usually change it to a new one once a month. Feeding is every 3-4 days of flake and sea veggie on a clip
water changes every month about 20-30 gallons all thru ro/di and a vac of the bottom of main tank which is glass no sand. automatic top off is thru ro/di as well. CUC about 25-30 turbo snail and mess of hermit crabs. I would love to get rid of the sock thing but without growth in refug the only thing the water will pass over is carbon mat that i have hanging on on of the overflows. when i said cloudy its not completly cloudy it just looks like there is a haze or fog in the water. Basically just not clear as it should be.

 

[Conway Corals]

The temp thing will cause serious issues with nuisance algaes as well as cause problems with your corals being able to cope with the growth of the algae.

All of the above suggestions are good advice, get the temp down and keep it down. IME, the more stable your temp, salinity, and pH are, the better off your tank is.

I use fans over my tanks to keep them cool, also you may check your RO/DI and make sure the resin isn't spent. Sometimes when your DI resin gets used up, you will start inadvertently adding heavy metals to the tank. Even if it is a small amount each time, if there isn't anything taking it out it will build up.

And could your haze actually be micro-bubbles? Check out your plumbing and make sure there aren't any pinholes where it is sucking in air.

Your feeding items, flake and sea veggie, can sometimes cause phosphate problems. Do you run GFO at all? I use it in every system I have and maintain. You might try adding some in a filter bag in your system.

But your temp is definitely an issue. I have had problems with hot tanks before, and once the temp issue was resolved, the other problems, algae blooms, cyno, and sick fish, all went away quickly. Get it down to about 76-80 (I prefer 79-80) and I think a lot of your issues will resolve themselves. Also you might add some dwarf cerith snails to make sure the interior of your rocks is getting cleaned as well.

Keep us posted!

 

[BigAl07]

First thing is the sock... 1x a week is probably not enough. I'm thinking 2-3 days and the sock is becoming filled with detritus and possibly even contributing to your problem. I always had 3 socks and rotated them out pretty much 3x a week.

I might suggest you step up your water change frequency. Each tank is different but in all of my tanks I like to see about 10% water change weekly when things are good and stable. If something gets out of whack one of my first lines of defense is increasing amount and frequency. 15g-30g a week for a couple of months might help.

Does the tank get any "Natural" light? It doesn't have to be direct sunlight but could be reflected from a light colored all or something.

A refugium doesn't take the place of a filter sock. If you have enough particles to need a filter sock and you replace it with a fuge you're most likely creating a detritus collection zone. This will cause cascading water parameters in a short period of time.

When your tank is stable and optimal most of the time your water should look pretty clear.. sometimes so clear you wonder if there is water in the tank....

 

[sportparadise]

The temp thing will cause serious issues with nuisance algaes as well as cause problems with your corals being able to cope with the growth of the algae.

All of the above suggestions are good advice, get the temp down and keep it down. IME, the more stable your temp, salinity, and pH are, the better off your tank is.

I use fans over my tanks to keep them cool, also you may check your RO/DI and make sure the resin isn't spent. Sometimes when your DI resin gets used up, you will start inadvertently adding heavy metals to the tank. Even if it is a small amount each time, if there isn't anything taking it out it will build up.

And could your haze actually be micro-bubbles? Check out your plumbing and make sure there aren't any pinholes where it is sucking in air.

Your feeding items, flake and sea veggie, can sometimes cause phosphate problems. Do you run GFO at all? I use it in every system I have and maintain. You might try adding some in a filter bag in your system.

But your temp is definitely an issue. I have had problems with hot tanks before, and once the temp issue was resolved, the other problems, algae blooms, cyno, and sick fish, all went away quickly. Get it down to about 76-80 (I prefer 79-80) and I think a lot of your issues will resolve themselves. Also you might add some dwarf cerith snails to make sure the interior of your rocks is getting cleaned as well.

Keep us posted!

Thanks for the info
I thought it was bubbles in the water but I went threw the he thing and it's not. My main tank is on my first floor and I have 2" flex pipe running about 25' down to my basement to the what I call filter room. Going to be shopping on craiglist for a chiller. I have been wanting to get it for awhile so nows the time. Just have to find one that I can afford for now.

 

[sportparadise]

First thing is the sock... 1x a week is probably not enough. I'm thinking 2-3 days and the sock is becoming filled with detritus and possibly even contributing to your problem. I always had 3 socks and rotated them out pretty much 3x a week.

I might suggest you step up your water change frequency. Each tank is different but in all of my tanks I like to see about 10% water change weekly when things are good and stable. If something gets out of whack one of my first lines of defense is increasing amount and frequency. 15g-30g a week for a couple of months might help.

Does the tank get any "Natural" light? It doesn't have to be direct sunlight but could be reflected from a light colored all or something.

A refugium doesn't take the place of a filter sock. If you have enough particles to need a filter sock and you replace it with a fuge you're most likely creating a detritus collection zone. This will cause cascading water parameters in a short period of time.

When your tank is stable and optimal most of the time your water should look pretty clear.. sometimes so clear you wonder if there is water in the tank....

Thanks I will up my water change time and I'll do like you said have 3 socks ready for cleaning and swapping. Is it ok to clean them out with regular water or tank water or Ro water? The tank doesn't get really any natural light. What would you recommend my 2-250 halides to be on for? I have them going on about 10am to 7pm. An hour before and after my actincs are running. Also which bulb would you say is the better 10k 14k or 20k?

 

[Conway Corals]

Thanks I will up my water change time and I'll do like you said have 3 socks ready for cleaning and swapping. Is it ok to clean them out with regular water or tank water or Ro water? The tank doesn't get really any natural light. What would you recommend my 2-250 halides to be on for? I have them going on about 10am to 7pm. An hour before and after my actincs are running. Also which bulb would you say is the better 10k 14k or 20k?

Light schedule seems fine to me, bulbs are preference items. If you want good growth and don't mind a "yellow" look, then the 10k are for you. If you like the florescent colors and a "darker" looking tank, go with 20k. And Goldilocks goes with 14k cuz it's just right.

 

[ChrisOaty]

I love the look of 14k, but to each his own. How are your bulbs? This could also be a contributing factor.

 

[BigAl07]

Thanks I will up my water change time and I'll do like you said have 3 socks ready for cleaning and swapping. Is it ok to clean them out with regular water or tank water or Ro water?

Honestly I used a "Washing Machine" with nothing but straight bleach to clean them. I would "hose them off" with the water hose as to not introduce hard material into the washer. Let them air-dry and I never had a sock issue.

The tank doesn't get really any natural light. What would you recommend my 2-250 halides to be on for? I have them going on about 10am to 7pm. An hour before and after my actincs are running.

That's not a HUGE photoperiod but you can slim it down some. Really you just want to experiment and find out which one works best for your tank. Until you get the other issues under control you wont really know because your coral aren't happy at the moment.

Also which bulb would you say is the better 10k 14k or 20k?

That's a personal preference. Lower K will grow some coral better and higher K others. My personal pref is 14K or higher but that's because I happen to like that color temp. It's really up to you so long as you don't dip into lower K bulbs which could add to an algae problem.

 

[sportparadise]

Bulbs are or should be good. Just bought the 2-250 pendants about 4 months ago. I had 175s before them.

Anyone know about what size chiller I should be looking for? Tank is a tall 125 and 55 in the sump plus whatever is in 50' of 2" pipe

 

[ChrisOaty]

How close are the pendants from your water? You have a fairly large volume of water for 2 250w MH. I've seen a lot of other tanks this size get nowhere near these temperatures even without a chiller. I'd double check your heater. I had a Stealth heater go bad on me 2 months out of its box. The thermostat wouldn't work anymore and kept heating water. Luckily I was only using it to heat my water changes.

 

[BigAl07]

Yes Chris is right. That's a lot of water for your MH to be heating up. Check your heater and any pumps/powerheads to see if they are adding a significant amount of heat into the tank. That's unless one of the tank rooms is kept VERY warm for some reason.....

 

[sportparadise]

How close are the pendants from your water? You have a fairly large volume of water for 2 250w MH. I've seen a lot of other tanks this size get nowhere near these temperatures even without a chiller. I'd double check your heater. I had a Stealth heater go bad on me 2 months out of its box. The thermostat wouldn't work anymore and kept heating water. Luckily I was only using it to heat my water changes.

The pendants are about6" or so off the top of the water. The canopy is open on the top and the back do heat really can't be trapped in that. I have no heater even in the tank. The only power heads in or the koralis and it's just the two. Wait and one in sumo for skimmer. The room where the sump is is usually very cool as its in my basement. The only thing down there that gives off heat is my return pump. It's a pool pump. I needed something to push water back up the 25' of 2" flex pipe to main tank. It's strange but I don't really ever think my heater has come in at all. The lowest the tank has gone that I can remember is about 76. And that was only for little while in the very early morning during last winter. The basement and room ate finished so it's not a freezing cold room.