Few Overall Start Up Questions

[dputt88]

A slight correction to e quality's original post. The order of a cycle is ammonia then nitrie then nitrate. You shoukd expect spikes in that order

Sent from my Samsung Smartphone using Tapatalk. When I should be doing something more productive.

[Babby]

Yeah it held 85 overnight with no light. It is warm in my house usually. Its an actual thermometer, not one of those strips you stick to the glass. Perhaps the koralia 750s are too much? Im also running a uv destroyer.

[Babby]

[Jim_Dont_Care]

well if u were able to run a sump it would help drop temps i thi.k but not a whole lot u might want to check into a chiller or a bigger tank more water is always better anyway sorry

[katymunoz]

Originally Posted by Babby

Yeah it held 85 overnight with no light. It is warm in my house usually. Its an actual thermometer, not one of those strips you stick to the glass. Perhaps the koralia 750s are too much? Im also running a uv destroyer.

I have a couple tanks and my 37 gallon bow front is able to stay at 78-79 no problem, I have 2 koralia 420s, and the hang on back filter, and 2 led fixtures.

So heat control is possible, but you need to figure out what is heating your water up so much, because 85 at night with no lights is too much! If you aren't able to get it down to 80 degrees during the night, then a chiller might be necessary, and those aren't cheap. I'd definitely look at changing out the koralias and switching to the smaller ones (still more than enough flow), and also taking out the UV sterilizer, and seeing what the temp goes to. Uv sterilizers are good, but definitely not necessary, so you need to get down to the "MUST NEED" equipment, and hopefully that will be enough!

Definitely don't worry about a heater change right now, the heater you have is fine! It's probably not turning on at all since your tank is so hot.

[E-quality]

I'd recommend still getting another thermometer to double check the temperature to confirm that it's correct. If that reads the same, it's your pumps/lighting/room temp./etc.. As was mentioned, running one pump may reduce the temperature. raising the lights off the tank a little may help (looks like it's directly on the tank). A sump would help and it'd be great for several other reasons also, plan for one when you can afford it.

My biggest question is are glass tops on the tank or is the tank covered? I can't tell from the pictures. If so, uncover it and the temperature should drop to a good level.

Originally Posted by dputt88

A slight correction to e quality's original post. The order of a cycle is ammonia then nitrie then nitrate. You shoukd expect spikes in that order

Just to clarify, that's exactly what I said. I then said that you'll get spikes starting from nitrate to nitrite to ammonia once the tank is established if the tank is being overloaded.

[katymunoz]

Also my house stays at 76 degrees or lower, if your house is staying around 80 degrees, then it's going to be impossible to get the water lower than that without a chiller. You should expect a tank to run at least a few degrees hotter than your house temps because if the equipment. So you mentioned your house is warm, you might want to look at that. Some people have to have their tanks in the basement for that reason, or run a sump into the basement to allow the water to cool.

[Jim_Dont_Care]

true i always run topless and it will releive alot of heat as well make a canopy maybe like he said so u can raise your lighting off the tank or maybe make a bracket to bring it up if u run. topless u want the lights about 6 inches off the water anyway

[chadf]

When I used to work at a restaurant we'd put our thermometers in a cup full of ice and water to calibrate them to 32 degrees. You could try that to see if your thermometer reads 32 if it goes that low.

[katymunoz]

Originally Posted by E-quality

Just to clarify, that's exactly what I said. I then said that you'll get spikes starting from nitrate to nitrite to ammonia once the tank is established if the tank is being overloaded.

Sorry but that's not correct, the nitrate cycle only goes one direction, it doesn't reverse in established systems. It just passes through the ammonia and nitrite stages very fast, leaving only nitrate levels to be detected. The nitrates are the hardest to break down, and therefore tend to rise in established systems.

[katymunoz]

Originally Posted by jim48442

true i always run topless and it will releive alot of heat as well make a canopy maybe like he said so u can raise your lighting off the tank or maybe make a bracket to bring it up if u run. topless u want the lights about 6 inches off the water anyway

That is another option. I should also mention that my tank DOES have a full glass top on it and still stays the correct temp. I'm only mentioning this specifically because it seems we have almost identical set ups (other than the lights), and it is possible to keep heat down without a sump. My 180 gallon reef has a 75 gallon sump/refugium so I'm definitely not refuting the superior benefits of a sump, but it's not a necessity. I chose to not run one on my 37 gallon because I basically didn't feel like dealing with plumbing it and a sump wouldn't fit in the stand, and I'm perfectly happy with my decision.

[Jim_Dont_Care]

well i had the excat same hex with a puffer in it no sump 1 power head it was before korillas were around lol and pc light no t5's at that time i had zero trouble with heat so the pumps are more than likly the trouble using 750's and has 450's as well i would switch them out or turn em off for a day

[E-quality]

Originally Posted by katymunoz

Sorry but that's not correct, the nitrate cycle only goes one direction, it doesn't reverse in established systems. It just passes through the ammonia and nitrite stages very fast, leaving only nitrate levels to be detected. The nitrates are the hardest to break down, and therefore tend to rise in established systems.

I know. That's why I'm saying you'll see nitrates pop up, then possibly nitrites, then ammonia if things get really bad. The cycle always remains the same though, we get it. I hope that clarifies what I'm saying.

[E-quality]

Forgot to mention that 84 degrees is fine if that ends up being what you can get the tank down to. That's the upper limit of where you want your tank to be but it's perfectly fine even if it jumps up to 85 here and there. No need to go out and trade your car in for a chiller.

[Babby]

Tank is completely covered with plastic top and light fixture is elevated off that by about 3 inches.

As of now im down to 80 degrees. No light, one koralia 750, heater unplugged, and uv sterilizer unplugged. Right now im at work so we shall see where it sits when I get home. I picked up a second thermometer and gonna drop that in and swap out the 750s for the 425s.

Thanks for the help and patience.