The cheapest ?

Ill probally install another fan on the other end I dont know how much of a diffrence its gonna make...

Another thing i did I took the ballists out of the bottom next to the sump and put them on the floor next to the tank...And it didnt seem to help much...
 
Adam, How big is your tank, and what are the lights (how many MH bulbs, how many watts, how many PC bulbs, how many watts)? That seems like a lot of light unless you've got a really big tank. How big is your sump. Any chance of putting the sump and ballasts in the basement? Is your return pump external or submerged?

Maybe you can take the ambient temperature of the room the tank is in as well. That will help people tell you how much an AC would help, and how much of the problem is tank-setup-related.

Just some ideas.
 
hmmm my tank is 75 gallon
my sump is 25 gallons

My lights are pfo 2-175-400W Mogul Base Lamps
-2-96W PC Lamps
-Tempered Glass Lens
-95% reflective Reflector focus's light into the tank.
-Low Profile- 5.5" High, 11" Wide, 49" Long
-All Ballasts External
-1-3" Fan

my temp today is like 80 degrees

my tank setup is in the dining room and there is really no way of getting the ballests in the basement or the sump for that matter..
 
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This probably isn't that helpful, but I know a lot of people are running that size tank with 175 or 250 watt MH, and keeping SPS and clams. Maybe they'll chime in.

It would probably help your heating problem a bit to downgrade lights, and I don't think it'll hurt your stocking abilities at all. I'm sure the experts will chime in.

80 is pretty hot for my northern blood, so I'd say a room AC will help, but 89 is a really hot tank, so you might have to take a multi-pronged aproach to getting that down.

Another advantage of downgrading from 400 W MH to 175 or 250 is that you'll use a lot less electricity, and that'll more than offset the AC bill.

Does anyone use 150W DE bulbs? How do these compare for light and heat? Might be a good option for you.
 
What about a sump fan, do you use one? I run a 6" clip-on fan on my sump and although it increases evaporation it also lowers temp quite a bit
 
IMO if the room temp is 80, and the tank has 400 W MHs on it, no amount of fans will be able to keep the tank temp from rising 2 degrees. I only have a 175W mogul, and 2 95W VHO on my tank (40g total), and the temp is usually at least 5 degrees hotter than the room, with 2 canopy fans, and a 6" sump fan.

Think of how happy your housemates will be with that new AC you buy them :cool:

Nate
 
Fighting a losing battle...

Adam Stone said:
wouldnt adding fans to the lights help alot?
Well, yes and no:eek:...

Assume your tank is sitting in your room with no equipment running, no lights or heaters on, and no evaporation taking place. In this scenario, your tank really can't be any colder than the room.

Now I don't know how warm that room gets, but if your tank has already hit 89F, and with the hottest days of summer to come, I would imagine that you are going to push (and ultimately exceed during a heat wave) the limit of what the tank inhabitants can survive.

Most corals cannot tolerate temperatures above 85F, and the warmer the temperature in the tank, the more likely it is that fish will start to undergo stress and ultimately perish; the warmer the water, the less DO it can hold. In ither words, the fish start to suffocate:(. If I were you, I would desperately not want to have a repeat of 89F:eek:, let alone anything above 84F.

Now back to the tank sitting in the room with no equipment or lights running. If your room reaches 89F during the day, eventually, the tank will reach 89F. If you turn on the lights, pumps, and powerheads, these are all additional sources of heat energy which will elevate the tank temperature above the room temperature. My tank runs consistently 5+ degrees warmer than the room even with a powerful fan and no canopy.

Fortunately, the process of water evaporating from your tank removes energy from the system, thereby lowering the temperature. Evaporational cooling is actually a very powerful source of cooling. It is why we sweat, and it is what causes us to be cold when wet, even on an otherwise warm day. So you are always going to have evaporation on your side (of course, that means more RO/DI water).

So yes, dissipating heat from the bulbs themselves with a fan helps, but the light transmitted by the bulbs will still warm the water as it is adsorbed by the tank and water, even if the bulbs were room temperature to the touch.

To enhance evaporational cooling which you get pretty much for free, I would suggest using one or two large box fans blowing air across the surface of the tank. I have a box fan on an x10 controller that turns on and blows across my Aquaspacelight when the MH lights turn on. It has done wonders. This might be hard to set up with a canopy, and if you are having heat problems, a canopy might not be the best way to go (or you may have to elevate it off the tank).

Now, will all this evaporation and heat dissipation from the bulbs be enough? I don't know, but probably not. You're best bet is to try and lower the temperature of the room with a window unit air conditioner unless you can place the chiller where the exhaust will be open to the outside.

I hope this helps,

Matt:cool:
 
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If i had a Ac I actually dont think it would do much cause my rooms in my house are open..
 
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