well my parents are pretty stingy and don't use either the heater in the winter or a/c in the summer all the time. They switch either on irregularly. With that said im concerned if i did decide to go through with an aquarium the ambient temperature of our house would not be able to foster one because of the temperature element. Will having the heater in the aquarium be sufficient in the winter even if the room temp isn't always constant? And what about summer.... I figure temperatures in side our house at winter drop to about maybe high 50's and 60's without the heater and in the summer maybe high 70's and 80's... please let me know your expert opinions
thinking about a reef aquarium but have a crucial question..
- Thread starter djmeistro
- Start date
i'm no expert, but my apartment fluctuates between 68 to 73, give or take.
my tank heaters (600 watts worth in a 180 gallon system) struggle to keep the tank in the high 70's when colder, and when the halides kick on, it quickly heats up to 84 if i don't run 2-12" fans - one on the tank, and one on the sump.
now as for the heating up- there are some variables to consider:
1. i use a topless system, so there is nothing but 10 inches of air between those hot bulbs and the water.
2. i don't use a chiller.
summer comes around, and i end up running the a/c around the clock till fall :?
from my limited experience, i'd say you are going to have a real tough time keeping the tank heated when the room is in the high 50's.
as for the hotter days, if you are not as stingy as your parents (or me) purchasing a chiller should correct that problem.
my tank heaters (600 watts worth in a 180 gallon system) struggle to keep the tank in the high 70's when colder, and when the halides kick on, it quickly heats up to 84 if i don't run 2-12" fans - one on the tank, and one on the sump.
now as for the heating up- there are some variables to consider:
1. i use a topless system, so there is nothing but 10 inches of air between those hot bulbs and the water.
2. i don't use a chiller.
summer comes around, and i end up running the a/c around the clock till fall :?
from my limited experience, i'd say you are going to have a real tough time keeping the tank heated when the room is in the high 50's.
as for the hotter days, if you are not as stingy as your parents (or me) purchasing a chiller should correct that problem.
depends on where you live, since you said it'll reach between 70-80 degrees in the house, i would think thats fine since you want your tank to end up between 78-81ish. As for winter, just make sure you have a big enough heater.
Personally, instead of buying one 200watt heater, I'm buying and using two 100watters at the same time. That way I have a backup that will at least help keep the temperature near where I want it incase one dies in the winter and I don't catch it for a day. And incase I do catch it, I bought a 200watt backup also. Temperature is Really important.
My apartment sits around 63 all year round. I love the cold.
Personally, instead of buying one 200watt heater, I'm buying and using two 100watters at the same time. That way I have a backup that will at least help keep the temperature near where I want it incase one dies in the winter and I don't catch it for a day. And incase I do catch it, I bought a 200watt backup also. Temperature is Really important.
My apartment sits around 63 all year round. I love the cold.
First off
:welcome:
Second, depending on where you live it is doable. I live in Houston. We keep our AC between 75 and 78 in the summer. I do not run a chiller. I have 4 fans on my tank. 2 are in the hood blowing across the water and two blow straingt down on the sump. My tank gets up to 81, but that is not a big deal. If where you live is low humidity evaprative cooling will do better for you.
Depending on what you want to keep head my be less of an issue for you. If you want to keep soft corals you will not need intense light and flow so you will have less heat input to your tank throught the lights and pumps. If you wnat to keep small polyp stonies (SPS) then the heat input from lights and pumps will be more.
From the heating end that should not be a big deal. If it were me I would get 2 heaters rated for about 2/3 or 3/4 your total system volume. It will give you more power to heat the tank in winter but shoudl reduce the chance of over heating the tank if one stick on.
IMO a chiller should be a last resort. They are expensive to buy and run. IF you are to the point you will need a chiller I would see if you could run the AC.
:welcome:
Second, depending on where you live it is doable. I live in Houston. We keep our AC between 75 and 78 in the summer. I do not run a chiller. I have 4 fans on my tank. 2 are in the hood blowing across the water and two blow straingt down on the sump. My tank gets up to 81, but that is not a big deal. If where you live is low humidity evaprative cooling will do better for you.
Depending on what you want to keep head my be less of an issue for you. If you want to keep soft corals you will not need intense light and flow so you will have less heat input to your tank throught the lights and pumps. If you wnat to keep small polyp stonies (SPS) then the heat input from lights and pumps will be more.
From the heating end that should not be a big deal. If it were me I would get 2 heaters rated for about 2/3 or 3/4 your total system volume. It will give you more power to heat the tank in winter but shoudl reduce the chance of over heating the tank if one stick on.
IMO a chiller should be a last resort. They are expensive to buy and run. IF you are to the point you will need a chiller I would see if you could run the AC.
thanks for the welcome and information! I live in north carolina and was planning to do a 50 gal tank. So with that said i would probably want to buy two 100 watt heaters (as for the temperature in the house, i really am not sure exactly what they are, but lets say worst case scenario in the winter it gets down to high 30 to 40 degree at night) and they would be sufficient?
what kind of lights will you have on this tank? how will your setup be erected? you need to also consider these very important factors-
your lights may very well increase the heat considerably. as i stated earlier- my apartment never gets hotter than 73, however, my tank gets in the low 80's.
with my heaters, i guess somewhere around 3 watts per gallon or so, my tank got down to 77 last night. that was with the heat set at 69.
if you run halides, it will help greatly with heating the tank, but at night when they go out and the parents set the heat at 50 or whatever, the drastic change might cause problems. i think it's going to be a tough one stabilizing the temp.
do a test run. get a 50 gallon tote from walmart and fill it with water and try to heat it. it's cold enough to get a "wintertime scenario" atleast.
your lights may very well increase the heat considerably. as i stated earlier- my apartment never gets hotter than 73, however, my tank gets in the low 80's.
with my heaters, i guess somewhere around 3 watts per gallon or so, my tank got down to 77 last night. that was with the heat set at 69.
if you run halides, it will help greatly with heating the tank, but at night when they go out and the parents set the heat at 50 or whatever, the drastic change might cause problems. i think it's going to be a tough one stabilizing the temp.
do a test run. get a 50 gallon tote from walmart and fill it with water and try to heat it. it's cold enough to get a "wintertime scenario" atleast.
I disagree with you X, my tank is in my basement and it is usually around 65-70, I have 1 heater in my fuge and one in my tank. my temperature is at 80 even, never ever fluxuates. summer or winter I still don't see how you have a heat issue if your apt. is 73 usually I know you have tried to explain to me this but i don't see it, turn your heaters down.
can somebody tell me the accceptable temperature levels for a reef tank? what is the lowest you can go and the highest you can go. I heard between 72 and 80 but 72 sounds a little low to me.
can somebody tell me the accceptable temperature levels for a reef tank? what is the lowest you can go and the highest you can go. I heard between 72 and 80 but 72 sounds a little low to me.
but...your basement temp never changes. plus, the fact that your halides are double ended, behind glass. not SE bulbs directly over the water. what is it that you disagree about exactly?
if i was to turn my heaters down, my tank would still heat up above 80 during the day(BECAUSE THOSE BIG LIGHT BULBS ON MY TANK ARE VERY VERY HOT), and would get much colder at night(BECAUSE MY HEATERS ARE TURNED DOWN). think man...think!
if i was to turn my heaters down, my tank would still heat up above 80 during the day(BECAUSE THOSE BIG LIGHT BULBS ON MY TANK ARE VERY VERY HOT), and would get much colder at night(BECAUSE MY HEATERS ARE TURNED DOWN). think man...think!
Lots of things will play a part to determine how the temp in your tank fluxuates. If your parents decide to keep the temp low in the winter you would want to turn your fans off when your lights go off. This will cut down on the evap and store more heat in the tank for the night time.
If you run any lights you will get heat input to the tank. If not properly vented then can cause trouble, especally the metal halides.
If you run any lights you will get heat input to the tank. If not properly vented then can cause trouble, especally the metal halides.
Sponsor Reefs
We're a FREE website, and we exist because of hobbyists like YOU who help us run this community.
Click here to sponsor $10:
