Heating Issue

[ChimolaFish]

Hey, guys,

I just set up my 90 and I'm running a 150w heater and one 300w. The 300 is in the overflow of the RR and the 150 is in the 20l sump. I have an eheim 1262 (I know its big, I have it chocked back) and a coralife 220 super skimmer ( I know it sucks, I have it so...) and I have a fluval 1375 gph power head. I'm waiting on reef breeder photon 48s for the lights.

So, for the first couple of days, I had the heaters on (set to 82) and when I turned them down to 79, they obviously haven't turned on, however, they haven't turned on for almost three days now. I have a digital thermometer and two different brands of glass thermometers, and the heat stays at 81 degrees. My house is set to 69, but my room stays warm. Still, according to the same thermometers, my room is somewhere around 73-4 degrees at the warmest.

Does this make sense? I know the equipment generates heat, but that's a lot and the lights aren't even on. I do have a hood, but I took it off for a day and the temp only went down to 80.8 degrees and stayed there. I live in Ohio, and I'm buying leds. I dont want to buy a chiller, what should I do!

[sirreal63]

First thing is to stop worrying, it is doubtful your tank will get too hot with the LED's over it. As long as it is 84 or less there is no need to consider any cooling methods.

[ChimolaFish]

Well, I just looked again and my tank is 81.1 degrees and my tank sits in front of a vent that sets the temp of the room at that area around 69 degrees. And I know right now its sitting on the 'perfect' temp, but I might need another power head for the other side of the tank. Do you think it's the equipment causing the heat? I have a ton of rock so maybe it was just taking some time to dissipate. I just don't want to worry about it when I finally add fish. I mean 12 degrees is a lot for equipment that's not lights, isn't it?

[sirreal63]

Add up the wattage of all submerged equipment, that is equivalent to a heater of the same wattage running 24/7 so yes it could be the equipment but without seeing what you have, no way to know. High wattage pumps can add greatly to the heat in a tank. You can either replace high wattage pumps or ventilate better, which in turn can heat the room.

[ChimolaFish]

Hmm, I never thought about adding the wattage, haha. Ok, I'll do that real quick and come back.

[ChimolaFish]

Well I couldnt find the watts on the pump for my skimmer. Coralife claims it runs between 650-750 gph, but I doubt it. Even still, I gave it the same amount of watts compared to my return pump. So here's the break down of everything right now;

Return Pump (eheim 1262); 80w, according to BRS
Power Head (Fluval Sea 1375): 7w, according to Fluval
Skimmer Pump (Coralife): 80w, see above

So, there doesn't seem to be a way for the tank to be so hot without the help of a heater. My heaters aren't doing anything right now and it's maintaining the temperature.
This worries me because I was going to add a small pump for a uv sterilizer I have. I know they arent that useful, but I already have it, so why not use it. I have the return pump dialed back, so it might be putting out more wattage, but it doesn't seem hot to the touch, nothing does. It was my understanding a 90 gallon would need somewhere around 500w of heaters to be effective, maybe saltwater translates heat better, Im from the freshwater world?

[sirreal63]

I have a 200 (maybe a 250, not positive any more) watt heater for 130 gallons of water, though it rarely comes on, it is more than enough to keep the tank heated when needed. Unlike a heater, the pumps are providing that heat constantly where as a heater is thermostatically controlled.

This is to be expected, watts are heat, and you need devices to move the water. How you deal with that heat is what is important. A well ventilated canopy and sump will take heat that is produced and help to move it away from the tank. Using lower wattage pumps also helps but I don't see a problem, your temps are not high and it is doubtful they will climb much higher.

You can run the UV from the Eheim, a simple tee and a valve for flow control is all that is needed.

[ChimolaFish]

hmm, ok, I mean, as long as they aren't going to climb higher, it's not a problem. I thought it was alarming that the water wouldn't go lower than 80 degrees. I know that's good for reefing, but I would rather my heaters turn on occasionally and heat the water than relying on the room temperature+equipment that's there. It's better for electricity I guess, and I can use one of the heaters for heating water change water :\

[sirreal63]

84 as a high temp is perfectly fine unless you have species from cold water that need cooler temps, not many people have those creatures though, most of the stuff you find will be fine at your temp.

[ChimolaFish]

Yea. How much heat do you think another powerhead and the leds are going to add? I'm planing on the photon 48s and was considering getting two korilias and a controller at some point, but honestly, I might just get a second fluval sea since I'd hate mismatched powerheads. I have the canopy and sump doors open and have a for a while with the overhead fan running and the temp hovers around 80

[sirreal63]

Probably not much.

[ChimolaFish]

Alright, well I'm looking into a small fan I can experiment with. Thanks for your help

[sirreal63]

I would unplug the heaters, just to make sure they are not heating.

[ChimolaFish]

I did :\

I have the doors and hood open and the fan on and so far the temp has dropped to 79, so I think a small fan will help dissipate some heat. Now I need to find one small and quiet.