Just getting started (40g)

Delprincipe · 03/15/2012, 03:30 PM

Hi everyone,

We are just getting started on our 40 gallon tank. We are planning on ordering live rock from TBS in a few weeks. Last night we put our tank together with our Reef Octopus Protein skimmer, 2 circulation pumps, Aquatic life 36" T5 HO lights fixture, thermometer and saltwater.

We just wanted to make sure everything was going to work and that the tank did not have any leaks. Everything is running great but we are curious as to how to keep the temperature in an ideal range. Last night it was holding steady at 72 degrees and this morning it is up to 80 degrees. How do we lower the temp?

Don't want to sound neurotic but want to make sure we can hold water properly prior to ordering rock and possibly ruining it. Thank you for your time and help.

Humuhumunuku · 03/15/2012, 03:32 PM

72 is on the low end of where you want it. I would say most run high 70s to low 80s. If overheating is a problem, you can run a fan over the top and the evaporating water will cool the tank. To keep it warm buy a submersible heater.

Delprincipe · 03/15/2012, 04:04 PM

Thank you. We read another forum to that mentioned not having a lid on the tank. We just removed part of ours to see if that will help take it down a bit. So 80 degrees would be acceptable when we get rock and other life?

Humuhumunuku · 03/15/2012, 05:06 PM

Sure is.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Reefs.com

...an appropriate temperature range for reef aquariums... 77-82 °F with a relatively safe minimum of 72 °F and maximum of 84 °F.

Keep the top open to help with gas exchange. Get a heater for sure (two smaller ones are better than one large if you can). Pick a temp (I use 78) have your heaters set to this. If it gets more than a couple degrees above this, use a fan blowing across the surface of the tank. If that still doesn't keep you low enough during your Arizona summer, then a chiller may be in order. If your tank gets more than a couple degrees below your target, add another heater.

What you really want is some sort of stability. Some people few people run at 72, some run at 80, but swinging between the two on a daily basis is a bit much for a reef tank.

rpjaws74 · 03/15/2012, 05:51 PM

ofcourse there always a chiller! but a little expensive but you plugg it in set the temperature desired and leave it alone it will cool down your water when it gets to hot

Delprincipe · 03/15/2012, 07:06 PM

We've left 1/2 the lid on to protect the light from the skimmer sprinkles that are occuring from the bubbles. So far it's holding steady at 80. I think we'll let it go through the night and see what more time will do for it before we decide heater or cooler.

Will life in the tank effect the temp? Up? Down?

Humuhumunuku · 03/16/2012, 12:12 AM

I would say there shouldn't me much of an effect on temperature from the life, most of our critters are cold blooded.

Sent from my DROID2 using Tapatalk

Delprincipe · 03/19/2012, 02:48 PM

Well, we've been checking our tank for the last few days and it appears to have settled at 78-79 degrees even with our crazy up-and-down temps we've experienced the past few days in AZ. We generally keep our house between 74-78 and that swing does not appear to have had an effect on the water

Humuhumunuku · 03/19/2012, 03:53 PM

Good stuff

Are you running lights yet? T5s won't add as much heat as metal halides, but they might change things up a bit. AC should help, I don't have one in my house, and while coastal California weather is usually very mild, things can get interesting during the summer. AC does dry out the air though, so when things start to heat up, expect to see your evaporation rates pick up. Remember, in a 40 gallon tank, a gallon or two of evaporation between top offs can really add up and change your salinity fast. Either try to top off manually twice a day, or consider an auto top off system at some point.

http://autotopoff.com/new/Double/index.html

Delprincipe · 04/04/2012, 08:49 PM

We do have our T5 lights on the tank. It has stayed consistently stayed at 78-79 over the past few weeks and we're in our AC season already, ugh

We're still waiting to order our items fom TBS since we are still a bit unclear how to balance salinty, ammonia, etc. We're getting an ammonia reading now despite the fact that our tank is empty...maybe it's something in the Reef Crystals.

Definetly need to understand water changes before we order sand/rock.

03/15/2012, 03:30 PM	#1
Delprincipe Registered Member Join Date: Sep 2011 Location: Arizona Posts: 89	Just getting started (40g) Hi everyone, We are just getting started on our 40 gallon tank. We are planning on ordering live rock from TBS in a few weeks. Last night we put our tank together with our Reef Octopus Protein skimmer, 2 circulation pumps, Aquatic life 36" T5 HO lights fixture, thermometer and saltwater. We just wanted to make sure everything was going to work and that the tank did not have any leaks. Everything is running great but we are curious as to how to keep the temperature in an ideal range. Last night it was holding steady at 72 degrees and this morning it is up to 80 degrees. How do we lower the temp? Don't want to sound neurotic but want to make sure we can hold water properly prior to ordering rock and possibly ruining it. Thank you for your time and help.

03/15/2012, 03:32 PM	#2
Humuhumunuku Premium Member Join Date: Mar 2004 Location: Townsville, AU Posts: 616 Blog Entries: 1	72 is on the low end of where you want it. I would say most run high 70s to low 80s. If overheating is a problem, you can run a fan over the top and the evaporating water will cool the tank. To keep it warm buy a submersible heater. __________________ They mostly come at night. Mostly. Current Tank Info: 135g mixed reef

03/15/2012, 05:51 PM	#5
rpjaws74 Registered Member Join Date: Sep 2008 Location: El Paso, Texas Posts: 1,340	ofcourse there always a chiller! but a little expensive but you plugg it in set the temperature desired and leave it alone it will cool down your water when it gets to hot __________________ rpjaws Current Tank Info: 500 glln system/ Reef

03/16/2012, 12:12 AM	#7
Humuhumunuku Premium Member Join Date: Mar 2004 Location: Townsville, AU Posts: 616 Blog Entries: 1	I would say there shouldn't me much of an effect on temperature from the life, most of our critters are cold blooded. Sent from my DROID2 using Tapatalk __________________ They mostly come at night. Mostly. Current Tank Info: 135g mixed reef

03/19/2012, 03:53 PM	#9
Humuhumunuku Premium Member Join Date: Mar 2004 Location: Townsville, AU Posts: 616 Blog Entries: 1	Good stuff Are you running lights yet? T5s won't add as much heat as metal halides, but they might change things up a bit. AC should help, I don't have one in my house, and while coastal California weather is usually very mild, things can get interesting during the summer. AC does dry out the air though, so when things start to heat up, expect to see your evaporation rates pick up. Remember, in a 40 gallon tank, a gallon or two of evaporation between top offs can really add up and change your salinity fast. Either try to top off manually twice a day, or consider an auto top off system at some point. http://autotopoff.com/new/Double/index.html __________________ They mostly come at night. Mostly. Current Tank Info: 135g mixed reef

03/15/2012, 04:04 PM	#3
Delprincipe Registered Member Join Date: Sep 2011 Location: Arizona Posts: 89	Thank you. We read another forum to that mentioned not having a lid on the tank. We just removed part of ours to see if that will help take it down a bit. So 80 degrees would be acceptable when we get rock and other life?

03/15/2012, 07:06 PM	#6
Delprincipe Registered Member Join Date: Sep 2011 Location: Arizona Posts: 89	We've left 1/2 the lid on to protect the light from the skimmer sprinkles that are occuring from the bubbles. So far it's holding steady at 80. I think we'll let it go through the night and see what more time will do for it before we decide heater or cooler. Will life in the tank effect the temp? Up? Down?

03/19/2012, 02:48 PM	#8
Delprincipe Registered Member Join Date: Sep 2011 Location: Arizona Posts: 89	Well, we've been checking our tank for the last few days and it appears to have settled at 78-79 degrees even with our crazy up-and-down temps we've experienced the past few days in AZ. We generally keep our house between 74-78 and that swing does not appear to have had an effect on the water

04/04/2012, 08:49 PM	#10
Delprincipe Registered Member Join Date: Sep 2011 Location: Arizona Posts: 89	We do have our T5 lights on the tank. It has stayed consistently stayed at 78-79 over the past few weeks and we're in our AC season already, ugh We're still waiting to order our items fom TBS since we are still a bit unclear how to balance salinty, ammonia, etc. We're getting an ammonia reading now despite the fact that our tank is empty...maybe it's something in the Reef Crystals. Definetly need to understand water changes before we order sand/rock.