Water Temperature too high? Cause by cheap lighting... any solutions?

The very first thing I want to make clear is that I have NO money for expensive equipment. When it comes to a hank that's getting too hot I know the best thing to do is get a chiller, but again I have no money for that!
My tank usually sits around 80F but today I noticed it was way up to 82F. The lighting I am using creates a lot of heat (compact Flourescents) and tends to heat the water up. Is 82F too warm for my reef tank? It's a 10gal nano. Kenya trees, frogspawns, mushrooms, zoos, devils hand and anthelia and 2 clownfish. Everything seemed to be perfectly fine and happy. It just seems that 82F is a little high. Should I be worried?

 

you are probably fine at 82 but it doesn't leave you a lot of cushion. you could set up a small fan to blow across the water surface. Is your tank covered?

 

thats about where my tank is always at,79/80 in the mornings,right around 82 by the end of the light cycle.Never had any issues (knowingly )

 

Post a picture of your tank if possible. Could be a couple of things causing the issue. Your temperature sensor could be faulty. Your light is too close to the water and or being left on too long. If you have a heater switch it off. Raise your light as high as you can.

 

This is my tank. It has a freshwater canopy that I modified. Two 20w coralife mini compact flourescent bulbs. One of the problems is that I also have to have a piece of plexi glass to stop splashing into the workings of the fixture and bulbs since they aren't water/salt proof. So, that traps a lot of the heat in and I get virtually no evaporation. I also have a crappy maxi jet powerhead (that I will be replacing tomorrow) that creates heat aswell. The heater is unplugged during the day but have to turn it on at night or it will get too cold. (It's cold at this time of the year where I live). The mornings are fine, temperature stays around 80F but then once it hits around 3pm it is around 82F until lights out at 6pm. Lights turn on at 9am and turn off at 6pm. So, I'm possitive it's the heat from the lighting. Should I maybe have lights on later in the morning early afternoon instead of 9am?

 

whats your heater set at?it should shut off by itself after it reaches the set temp (especially with the lighting),also can you open the front lid or remove it from the hood?if so,it'll allow for more gas and temperature exchange but you'll notice a little more evap.

 

A faulty powerhead could be the culprit but i would figure out a way to protect your bulbs without covering the entire surface. When i removed the glass lids from my tank, the temp dropped 2 degrees.

 

My tank does the same thing, the fan idea works great but after a while I saw that it doesnt hurt the fish or corals at all. Everything is growing like weeds in my tank. Yours by the way looks great!