Temp wayyyy to high SOS

[Dyngoe]

ALERT! Make sure you don't drop your temp too quickly! Fish can really be F^&KED if you do. Perhaps ~.5 degrees an hour should be safe.

[4G1v3N]

I took the one out that was the 23 w and thats all i have done. should i do something to slow down the cooling? because just taking that out seemed to make the difference.

[4G1v3N]

Well scratch that temp went up back up .2

[Dyngoe]

Well, if the temp is dropping then that's a good sign. If it's dropping more than 1 degree an hour then I'd actual turn up your heater. Bring it up to just before it turns on and then turn it down slowly over the next few hours. My belief is it will heat up once the lights go back on. So, you still need to investigate some cooling options for the long haul. But, at least it looks like there is a light at the end of the tunnel.

[Jason McKenzie]

check your thermometer that temp is really high
if it is correct
I don't think the PH has anything to do with 88F Temp. Is there a glass cover on the top of your tank, between the water and your Lights?
Please monitor your heater many heaters calibrations are not the greatest and even though you set it to 78 it may come on at 87. Try adjusting the heater until it come on and verify the reading with your thermometer.

J

[sssnake]

Off the bat I think your room temperature is too high.

If your room temp will hover around the 80*F mark your tank would automatically be higher (logic dictates) when you factor in the tank lights and heat given off by pumps etc. So there is really no need for a heater in the tank. At this room temp you would need a cooler instead of a heater.

Place a fan to blow across an open part of your tank. This should cool off the tank. You will experience evaporation so have some water ready for top off (NO SALT IN THE NEW WATER AS WATER EVAPORATES .....SALT DOES NOT).

If you are OK with bringing down your room temp to 70-72*F this would help allot. If you cannot bring down the room temp and a chiller is out of the question ($$$$$$$) go with the fan thing for as long as needed.

Like Jason said make sure your heater is working properly. To be on the safe side (heater-wise) I would replace the heater with either a new one or one that you know works well and I would test the questionable heater. Test it in another bucket to heat some water. Place a thermometer in the bucket and monitor the temp maintained by the heater. Once the temp in the bucket reaches where you have set it at, add some cold water in the bucket and see if the heater warms that. Keep doing this for a couple of days. So what you want to do is challenge the heater to reach a certain temp and maintain it. This should tell you if your heater is working properly.

Good luck & let us know how things turn out.

[coral reefer]

Heat generated from powerheads is not due to the wattage but is generated by the impellers and magnets. That is probably where the heat is coming from. That said I would try to lower the temp in the room as well. A fan blowing across the top of your tank will also drop the temp of your water due to evaporational cooling-the only thing is that you will need to replace water lost with FRESH WATER only-as the water evaporates...NOT the salt!
Also, if your ambient temp in the room is that warm...you don't need a heater-or it shouldn't come on at all if you set your temp at say 80 degrees.

[Blade_Runner]

A high 70s to 80 degree room temp will pretty much force the tank into the low 80s at a minimum. Still 8-10 degrees over room temp seems like a lot for the lighting in the tank. As a quick BS check list:
1. Check the power heads to make sure none are running hot to the touch.
2. Check your Rena too.
3. Make sure there is adequate ventilation in the hood so the lights don't add too much heat.
4. Ditch your heater just in case it went haywire. (Maybe run it in a bucket to see if it is OK.)
5. Make sure you get as much air circulation as you can with the water surface. If you have plex tops, consider replacing them with egg crate. Add a fan or 2.
6. Get your house temp down to the low 70s or less!!!

Good luck.

[Matt Rogers]

NIce list.
I'm with sssnake/Bladerunner.
Hot room, hot tank.

[grubbsj]

Two easy ways to increase cooling:

1. Use a fan to blow air across the top of the tank, this increases evaporation and thus cooling. For example, one of the "personal" fans with a clip on the base would work.

2. Ice cubes out of RO/DI is good, but you have to wait to make them. Ice cubes in a zip-lock bag also works.

But as has been mentioned several times, don't drop the temp too fast.

Question, are you sure the digital temp is correct? Just because it is digital, does not automatically mean that it is accurate. How does it compare to the glass therms, temp strips, or what ever you had before the digital? They can all very from one another by several degrees. How do the occupants of the tank look, if it is that hot, you are likely to see other changes......

Good luck;

Joe