Summer time temp

[Jenn]

I haven't tried a clam yet , they are really nice..

I don't have my calcium really high.. stays about 340

Think thats enough to keep a clam happy?

I was also worried about the clam swimming around and knocking stuff over...
Do clams do that or will they stay put

yeah , I would like to find a bright blue zoo

or anything in a new color would be cool

 

[onefish2fish]

what kind of lights do you have? clams need high lighting. they do not swim around.

 

[mgonz]

yeah clams don't swim around. But they will move if they are unhappy. Your t5 lights should hold clams. They do for me. I have two maximas pretty low on my tank but again I would recommend getting higher par value bulbs. Also I would suggest getting your calcium up around the 420 mark. Alk around 9 and mag around 1400.

 

[Jenn]

yep , that will be my next investment to change out the bulbs for the reef tank.

 

[gogol]

Well most folks can't fit a garbage bag in their sump and two most household garbage bags are treated to keep down odors and bacteria. I wouldn't trust putting them in any part of my tank. Just a couple 1 or 2 gallon size Ziploc bags will do. You can also use frozen water bottles too and they are able to be refrozen and used over and over again.

What is the ratio of tank capacity to frozen water capacity if I would like to do 12 hour frozon bottle changes? I have a 23 gallon setup, and was thinking of putting frozen bottles in my 3 gallon refugium.

 

[magic]

Well most folks can't fit a garbage bag in their sump and two most household garbage bags are treated to keep down odors and bacteria. I wouldn't trust putting them in any part of my tank. Just a couple 1 or 2 gallon size Ziploc bags will do. You can also use frozen water bottles too and they are able to be refrozen and used over and over again.

What is the ratio of tank capacity to frozen water capacity if I would like to do 12 hour frozon bottle changes? I have a 23 gallon setup, and was thinking of putting frozen bottles in my 3 gallon refugium.

Gogol

Make sure you watch the temp you don't won't it to change to fast. The temp swing will be more determental then a temp that's little high.

Bob

 

[gogol]

Well there is no way to control the heat absorbed by the ice/cold water bottle, but there is a thermostat in the heaters. I would put 2 two ice bottles in the fuge and turn the dial of the heater to around 80. This way the temperature doesnt go down too much.

Anybody tried variable speed fans by icecap, or know of some other relatively cheap but reliable temp monitoring and cooling solution ?

 

[onefish2fish]

personally IMO if i was to use fans i would go with computer fans as they are like $5 a piece instead of the icecap ones. now i dont know how effective they are but the price is def. wallet friendly. thats the one thing i didnt like of having a smaller tank. the temp swings from lights alone was a big difference.

 

[duijver]

I never used MH, but my 47g tank still hits 83-84 now with my TEK 4x39w T5 fixture. The AC is already on in the house and set to 77 degrees. So, I can only imagine how hot it would have gotten with MH's. I need to dig up the DIY computer fan --> tank fan convertion kit to decrease the temp.

Good suggestion on using the ziplock bags full of ice. That's a great emergency solution!

 

[Mbodell]

I have been keeping my tank at 80 through the winter. On Sunday and Monday the temp has shot up to 83 and my controller kicked off my lights. My coral didn't seem to care about the temp rise. I guess this is because it is only fluctuating a few degrees. I have no a/c where I am and I will only have to battle the heat for a month until I move. The ice in a ziplock is going to be a great idea. I feel stupid for not thinking of that. :

 

[beerfish]

I have an interesting idea for a low energy chiller, but it requires that there be a hard line to a water supply and drain. If anyone has this type of setup, let me know and maybe we can work together on a prototype.

 

[Mbodell]

I was thinking about just looping a pump line through my minifridge, but I am too lazy to do it.

 

[gogol]

I was thinking about just looping a pump line through my minifridge, but I am too lazy to do it.

Off the top of my head I can think of two things that might happen if mbodell overcame his laziness.... either Frozen Fish .... or Fishy Food !!

 

[Mbodell]

;D
Seriously I don't think it would be too hard to do. I have a controller that I could have enable the pump when the temp goes up and disable when it drops. Just run some vinyl tubing and coil 50 or so feet into the fridge.

 

[duijver]

I think someone on TRT talked about running flex inside of the fridge, but ultimately they said it would have been pretty inefficient. But, as you said.. I guess if you had a temp controller you could put a very low gph pump into the system and slowly flow the water in. In my case, I would be worried about overcooling the tank. I know that in my tank I can lower the temp 1-3 degrees just by topping off with newly made RO water.

 

[Whitebird1]

My solution was to break out my 2 window AC units an hour ago and have them going full blast. 93 degrees here at the shore!
As for a homemade chiller, simple, had them made for bait keeping!
Find someone who works on AC units cheep!(like for beer or frags)
Locate a small refrigerator, like the 2x4 glass front models that retailers use to sell soft drinks, have the working parts cut out and re plumed with a coil that sits in the sump, DONE! The new coil should be titanium or stainless steel, but, you can use copper if you coat all exposed copper with the plastic heavy coat that is used for tool handles.

 

[MadReefer]

What is an ideal temp? My tank was 82 and hit 84. I unplugged the heater, set at 78, and this morning the temp is 77. I measure temp in the sump. That is a 7 degree drop in less than 24 hours and am concerned.

 

[concept3]

I think someone on TRT talked about running flex inside of the fridge, but ultimately they said it would have been pretty inefficient. But, as you said.. I guess if you had a temp controller you could put a very low gph pump into the system and slowly flow the water in. In my case, I would be worried about overcooling the tank. I know that in my tank I can lower the temp 1-3 degrees just by topping off with newly made RO water.

tried this a few years ago.

temp drop was a degree if lucky. Flex tubing is a very good insulator. Too good unfortunately. I tried to source out titanium coil tubing, but the cost would have offset the savings of the electric bill not to mention the cost of running the refrigerator and heat the compressor makes anyways.

The cheap HD fans for less than $15 do the best job through evaporative cooling, as does lowering the photoperiod of the tank, and keeping the lights on at night where temperatures are generally cooler. My tank runs between 80-84 in the summer, I keep the AC on to kick in at 78, but this is done gradually so the corals don't get temp shock. This normally happens naturally in the wild with the different seasons anyways.

 

[gogol]

While we are all full of ideas ... If anyone has their skimmers hooked externally, try sitting it in a bucket of ice!! Might actually work ... The maintainance cost would be buying the bags if ice ...

I'll let you know if it does when I get a skimmer ;D