Lights heating up the tank

Cub21rak

Cub21rak

New member
My cube goes from 80 deg in morning to 84-85 by the time the lights turn off. Is that to big of a swing for fish and corals? The lighting is 1 150w de mh bulb. I do have an option of taking that hood off and putting on a pc hood instead.
I've heard in the past that in the ocean there are areas that have large temp swings so it somewhat mimics the wild. True or false?
 
Thats a pretty drastic swing. You might want to invest in a fan, a chiller or a different kind of light that doesnt put off so much heat. The temp does swing in the wild but it is more ideal to keep a stable environment.
 
Where is this Tank at? Usually MH don't case that much heat if it's high enough off the water but if you have it sitting directly on the rim then I can see it being a problem. But normally you experience these types of swings during the summer months... It's almost 0 degrees out... The air is not that humid either....??
 
I don't know of any areas in the oceans that have large temperature swings. The water volume of the ocean is so large that it isn't easy for massive water temp swings to take place. Drastic water temperature shifts usually occur in smaller bodies of water such as freshwater lakes.

I wouldn't bother with a chiller. For the cost of a chiller you could buy and LED unit and save yourself money in the long run since you won't need to buy a new MH bulb every 6 months.
 
I think the important question not being asked is this.

Is it a AIO Cube with Stock MH Hood?

If so, then we can answer intelligently instead of just making suggestions without knowing the root problem. The problem is the fact that the MH is producing a lot of heat that is not escaping anywhere. The stock hoods door a poor job with the fans on air circulation. So there's always the expensive option of going off and changing your lighting or buying a chiller, but in my opinion that is boarder line retarded unless you actually want different lighting. Why not try something a bit more reasonable and try to find a way to either upgrade the fans. (There's plenty of kits that not only make them quieter, but allow them to be adjustable and stronger resulting in more air movement and cooler waters), or again depending on the tank put a small clip on fan on the tank, there's some made that can be hidden.
 
Thanks guys for the feed back today. It's a 28g jbj and has a mh hood that traps in a lot of the heat. It's in my daughters room and she is listening good when I've told her its for her to look but not touch it. Non the less I'm still apprehensive of taking off the hood to put an led unit on it instead. Still that chance a child feels like doing something they aren't suppose to do. The temp swings haven't been to bad lately but still swing. I do have a secondary pc hood I can put on but just haven't and the only things in there now are 2 fish and some snails and crabs. So they are still doing good. I don't wanna go in the direction of a chiller. I'd rather get LEDs sometime and find a way to cover the tank so my daughter doesn't do anything or switch over to the pc hood until I arrange something else
 
My biocube always had crazy temp swings like that also. I had modded the hood (quad pc's) and what I would do is open the back hatch (I guess I would call it). And placed a fan on the hood blowing in. Not a big box fan, but a small desk fan. It wanst the best looking thing but it reall helped me. Upgrading the fans is also an option, I could give you a hand if you needed.
 
Smaller swings are good IMO, but that seems like alot..... Also, I dunno about starting at 80 degrees either, let alone it getting to 84-85.... My tanks have always been 78'ish and gone up maybe 2 degrees.

Another "option" is to set up a small controller so anytime it reaches 2 degrees up in temp it'll cut off the lights so they dont just keep heating everything up.....
 
You want to keep the hood for your daughter correct? Why don't you try retrofitting the hood, take the mh out and put some LEDs in there.
 
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