I've got a maxi-jet 600 powerhead and some high power lighting on my tank right now. I have my heater set at 79 degrees, but the tank stays consistently at 82-84 degrees. It even jumped up to 85 degrees the other day!

My wife and I like to save electricity, so we just open the windows and doors and let cool air blow in. This means it stays relatively hot in the house during the summer months. We consider it a big waste of money to heat and cool the house while I am gone for 12 hours a day and my wife is in school.

I'm needing a way to cool down my tank. It sits right against the wall, and is an open top tank with the lighting up on stands.

I'm considering small computer fans, but can you plug those up to an outlet? How many would I need to run, and are they loud? I've got a spraybar from a filter that's providing a lot of circulation in my tank. Could my powerhead be causing the heat? Could I take the powerhead out and get away with it?

As far as the fans go, since I don't have a canopy, how would I mount them? Could I screw them into a wall, or attach them somehow? Would I have to worry about them setting the wall on fire? Could the water short them out?

I don't have the finances to buy a chiller, so that's out of the question. Is there a way that I could cool my tank down?

Thanks in advance.

I have never used computer fans to cool down a tank but I heard many people use them. Having a fan blowing across the water makes a big difference. If you do use a computer fan I guess you could screw it to the wall or prop it up on the top of the tank, but remember you want the fan to blow across the surface of the water. You could also try turning your heater down or completely off and see if that helps.

Powerheads do produce some heat, but you do need adequate flow in the tank so not running any powerheads in a 29g isn't such a good idea. The light fixture doesn't have a fan installed in it?

Right now for my 55g tank I am using a regular house fan that is on a bookcase next to the tank that blows across the waters surface and it keeps the tank around 78-80F.

You could maybe find a good deal for a chiller on ebay, or they sell a chiller that sits in HOB filters and cools the water that way. Really though there is no need for a chiller since they are quite expensive. How hot does it get in the summer where you are?

The guys down at The Coral Reef told me that I could use a clip on fan that you can purchase at any dollar store. They said I just needed to have it blowing across the water. They also said the good thing was I could clip it to the side of the tank, so that's a plus. I'm going to go check into that tomorrow. The light fixture has two sets of fans, but I think it only keeps the bulbs slightly cool, but not enough to completely make heat problems non existent. I ran into this problem with my power heads producing too much heat, but the lights just made it a bit worse. I have no problem at all in the winter, but the summers get 90-100 degrees and we just open windows instead of turning on the AC.

I have the same problem but in the summer i do more frequent water changes 3 per week maybe 4. Salt water is different you can't do this all the time so if you are going to use a few computer fans you will need a good power supply. You can pick these up at radio shack or electronic place. Remember that those fans can crank out alot of noise.

:blink: :down: Why do I keep posting while i'm not logged on?

Thought of making your own cooling system?

Simpley putting a bucket of ice near the tank, and having water pumped from the bucket, through a tube that runs through the tank, and back into the bucket - so cold water isn't being pumped into the tank, just through it... Make sense? :huh:

That sounds a lot harder than buying a fan.

:lol: I guess so. Not sure which would be more effective, though.

LoL! When you invite people to come over and see your cooling system BEFORE you show them your reef tank, then there might be a problem... :P I looked all day yesterday to try and find a clip on fan at like a dollar store. Just a simple one that you can plug into the wall. They are quiet and if I have it blow across the top of the water, it should make a difference. Plus we decided to turn on the air conditioning and it's brought the temp down to about 80 degrees. Hopefully I won't need a fan. 80 degrees doesn't seem to bad.

yeah, the fan will help a lot, but you'll also have a lot more evaporation.

That is why you hook up a simple and cheap Auto Top Off. B)

hmm, how do you do that cheaply? I'm thinking it would take plumbing, and an electrical shutoff switch.

There is no plumbing as in pvc and you don't necessarily need a Float switch. You can use this method as described in the link.

http://www.nano-reef.com/forums/index.php?...5554&hl=sun+tea

I simply had a container that held around 2 gallons and had it higher than my main tank, then drilled a small hole in the side right above the bottom, then siliconed airline tubing to the container running the tubing to the tank, and finally I tied a knot in the tubing towards the end so it slowly dripped water. I used this method for my 2.5g as only a small amount of water would evaporate, but for larger tanks you would have to use a container that could hold more water like around 5 gallons.

The way I did it there was no way that the Water would stop if it got too high, but I let it drip as such a slow rate that it wouldn't overflow.

:lol: I just pictured the fish with their little coats on once the cooling system gets going. :lol:

FishyFry - Haha! LIttle fish with coats on. What a picture!

That auto topoff doesn't sound like a bad idea if I had a way to put it above the tank. =) Since we turned on the air conditioner the temperature has came down to more a more manageable 80 degrees.

Well I had my ATO next to my 2.5 gallon and it was higher than the tank as I layed some puts underneith the container. I have a bookcase next to my 55g and it is almost even with the top of the tank.

Interested in doing a DIY article for an auto top off system? :D

Yeah I would be happy to, although I would have to see if I have any pics of my old ATO or maybe I could draw a picture using a program I have.

I simply just add ice cubes. I also add those hard plastic frozen things you add to your lunch. But then my tank is only 10G. Fan sounds too noisy to me, and then you are talking about alot more on your electric bill.

I found a small clip on fan, like something you can get at a dollar store, but decided against it. I turned on the AC and brought the temp down to 80, so that's a plus. One thing you can do is freeze water bottles in the freezer, and then use those to cool your aquarium down. Just be sure to watch how fast it cools it down.

Yeah, that is a good idea for bigger tanks. I just have the 10G myself, and the hubby has the 29G coldwater. I will use the bottled water in his this year. Can't believe I forgot to even mention that. It was time for my weekly cleaning tank ordeal. lol. :o

maybe the heater is broken? try and take it out for a couple of days and see what happens.