Water Temp?

[heavenly_d3vi1]

What sort of temp should I be aiming for in my tank? Theres nothing but a bit of LR in there atm, but would rather have the temp stable in plenty of time! I heated the water up to about 24C when I mixed the salt, then put it in the tank, but left my heater in my mixing container! Ive had the lights on through the daytimes, and the water has gone up to 27c.. is this a suitable temp?
And what is the max temp your average marine life will be happy with? I'm thinking I may have to look at ways of cooling it once the whether warms up!

 

[-Nemo-]

27 is fine for now... the higher temperature will actually aid in helping the bacteria to form quicker.
Once you get the fish, I would drop it down to around 25. Once you start getting up to 29, you start entering bad territory.

 

[ben1987]

Tough time of year for us salties! Nowhere near as tolerant to temp swings as FW fish! Aim for 25-26 and as stable as possible

 

[weezawoo]

Is there a way of keeping it at that temperature in the summer without a chiller on there? I hear they are expensive to buy and run! These halides are appearing more and more a bad idea! haha

 

[woody88]

Is there a way of keeping it at that temperature in the summer without a chiller on there? I hear they are expensive to buy and run! These halides are appearing more and more a bad idea! haha

As long as the halides are vented well, you shouldn't really have a prob imo.

You could always buy a tiny cooling fan ( like the ones they use on laptops) as these are normally thermostatically controlled.
Maplins sell 230v ones so just simply plug it in, mount it somewhere near your halides if poss and let the thermostat switch it on and off when needed.

It would require a bit of trial and error as at times it would be fighting against the heat of the water and the mh but once you've found the right balance then the overall temp of the tank should be quite stable.

Others might disagree on this but it has worked really well for me in the past on other setups.

 

[weezawoo]

Ive never heard of Maplins!!!

Thanks for the tip do you by any chance have a pic of how you had it set up on your other tanks? It gets so hot as we are in an extension and gets baking. Worried about my tank getting too hot!

 

[woody88]

Ive never heard of Maplins!!!

Thanks for the tip do you by any chance have a pic of how you had it set up on your other tanks? It gets so hot as we are in an extension and gets baking. Worried about my tank getting too hot!

I don't I'm afraid as that setup came and went before I joined here.
It's not hard though just simply plug them in and off you go basically.

Not sure on your current lighting setup (I apologise) but if the halides are in open air above the tank then you'd want to mount the fan at the side of the tank blowing across the top to expel the heat generated from the mh away from the water. Or mount them so they're pushing the heat back up towards the halides.

If the halides are in a hood of some sort sitting on top of the tank then the same rule applies but you would to make vents/holes in the hood for the heat to escape.
Depending on size tank you may need 2 or 3 of them.

You've never heard of maplins?
Most popular electronics outlet in the U.K

Try their website (google maplins) and use their store locator as I'm not sure wether or not you can buy from them on line.

 

[weezawoo]

I don't get out much!

Oh don't apologise I haven't told you how my lighting is setup as I don't have them yet!haha! Halides come at the weekend and I have to figure a way to mount them. Being in a wooden extension I can't wall or ceiling mount so figuring out building a stand for them connected to the top of the tank. Need it open top but I have the problem of sprays and the like which I don't want getting in the tank. Its a whole long story that I am going to talk through with the guy at lfs as I don't think I can make sense of it on here haha!

Its a 6ft tank, 5ft halides 3x150w.

I will check them out when I am on lunch Thank you!

 

[heavenly_d3vi1]

So do these cooling fans work with T5's aswell? I dread to think what temps i'd be getting if I had MH!

 

[woody88]

So do these cooling fans work with T5's aswell? I dread to think what temps i'd be getting if I had MH!

Hi hd, the fans are independent so will work with any lighting but I wouldn't worry about it with T5's as They only give off a small amount of heat unless you have a lot of them say 6 and above and they're HO lamps. then they will more than likely require ventilation to allow for air escape.
Might be worth considering a fan or 2 for the summer if the lights are inclosed in a sealed hood with no air vents.

Weezawoo don't be embarrassed as maplins isn't exactly the no. 1 place for women to shop. Just stick to Bon marche! Lol

 

[weezawoo]

BONMARCHE!!!!! haha!

I don't buy clothes I buy fish!! haha I haven't been in a clothes shop since I got my fish tank, and I don't think thats a lie!!!

I thought you meant chaplins instead hehe, I see the difference now!

Will see how it goes, its been a lot warmer recently and actually my trop tank temp is all good atm, might not be too bad....

Having problems anyway now because of this sump business, I pretty annoyed but thats another story lol!!!

 

[woody88]

BONMARCHE!!!!! haha!

I don't buy clothes I buy fish!! haha I haven't been in a clothes shop since I got my fish tank, and I don't think thats a lie!!!

I thought you meant chaplins instead hehe, I see the difference now!

Will see how it goes, its been a lot warmer recently and actually my trop tank temp is all good atm, might not be too bad....

Having problems anyway now because of this sump business, I pretty annoyed but thats another story lol!!!

No clothes then! A naked female fish keeper!.........interesting! Lol

 

[weezawoo]

I should have known a man would think like that!

 

[woody88]

I should have known a man would think like that!

Can you blame me! You left yourself..er.....wide open! Lol

 

[weezawoo]

It gets worse!!!!