MH and Heat - turning my tank into soup cooking pot?

[andsoitgoes]

lol - thanks Danny ^_^

having a very expensive pot of partially cooked sushi is NOT something I'm wanting to think about And speaking of Sushi - I was thinking about the LED lights, but OY vey - I'm trying to save money

fkshiu - I don't have the fan pointed directly at the surface, I have the unhealthy fear that said fan will dip and make a dive into the water, and I don't want to test out my voltage grounding thing that much. I guess getting a better fan would be an idea - any suggestions at what would work?

Chaotic Cricket - thank you for the response, I hadn't thought about that, as prior to this the person that had the tank simply had it resting on the glass top I've taken off. With only having a 150w MH, I know I'm limited at the extent of corals I can have, and I was hoping to get a clam at some point and time, and unless I put up top, I'm still going to struggle. Also, raising it up would include the need to install it in the ceiling, which could be an issue due to renting and not planning on that when we set up the tank.

I'm okay doing tanks with daily top-up, if that's what it is then so be it. But I also need to ensure that my room isn't a sauna, it's hard enough to sleep in there on GOOD nights, let alone on really hot ones. The tank is really bringin' down the heat and it sucks, to say the least.

So - right now my options seem as such:

- AC unit in the bedroom for the hotter times
- 1/10hp chiller for the tank
- Fans pointing at the top of the tank, causing surface evap

The question is - with my tank temps hitting as high as they are now in middle of winter, they'll obviously bump up way more in summer (right now ambient room temp is about 75, tank temp is about 6 higher normally with the MH on, heater is off during the day) will the fans only do UNTIL summer?

Is the noise and extra heat from the chiller worth it, PLUS the cost?

Does an A/C unit seem like the most logical solution?

[fkshiu]

An AC unit does sound logical. Another thing I forgot to mention was that you get more evaporation with lower relative humidity. I noticed that you have multiple tanks in the same room. This could be driving up the humidity preventing proper evaporative cooling. An AC should help this, but in the meanwhile, try venting the room with a fan flowing out the door/window.

Lastly, try eliminating a few of your powerheads if possible. I've got just two in my 45 bow on a wavemaker and everything's been dandy.

[andsoitgoes]

Hmm - that might be an idea. What PHs do you have? I wonder if maybe getting a few lower-power PHs would help, and again - once sump, then I have a spot for my UV and the powerhead for that..

Thanks!

[Chad]

My tank stays at around 80 - 82 with a dual stage Ranco temp controller, in a blistering hot summer such as the last. All I have is 1x 10in ( I believe) clip on fan that points right down on the tank. I lose about 1/2in of water a day in my 50gal which has dual 250w MH's over it.. The lights are probably a good 14in off the top of the tank mabe a bit more.

Needless to say, if the lights were much closer it would cook easier. I'd suggest like some others have said, raise the lights. Sounds like your hood is not enclosed, so no need to vent that. but blowing some air across the water will help.. Might want a de-humidifier tho

[fkshiu]

Originally Posted by andsoitgoes

Hmm - that might be an idea. What PHs do you have? I wonder if maybe getting a few lower-power PHs would help, and again - once sump, then I have a spot for my UV and the powerhead for that..

Thanks!

One MJ900 and one MJ1200 in a softies/LPS tank.