Rjohn Posted September 15, 2014 Share Posted September 15, 2014 I am wondering why my tank is still at 81 degrees. It is 69 outside and we have all the windows open. The lights have been off since 8pm. It is now 8:30 am and my tank is at 81 deg. The room ambient temp is 74. I have a 10in fan blowing in the sump. I am using a mag 9.5 pump for my return and the pump is 5 to 6 years old. Could that be raising my tank temp? What pump do you use for a return? My sump is not drilled for an external pump. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CaptainK Posted September 15, 2014 Share Posted September 15, 2014 Anything electrical with moving parts can generate heat. Mags usually don't put off enough heat to greatly effect your tank temp, unless something is wrong with it. I had one of those rotating powerheads from petco a few years ago that raised the temp in my tank 5 degrees. If you do have powerheads and other devices, just turn one off at a time and see if the temp changes in an hour. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jestep Posted September 15, 2014 Share Posted September 15, 2014 Could definitely be the pump. Do you have a heater in the tank at all? I would rule that out first before replacing the pump. I use eheim hobby or compact+ pumps for my returns. The 3000+ is adjustable and works great for my 90 gallon. If you have room, the hobby pumps are pretty much the best made aquarium pumps you can buy. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dean Posted September 15, 2014 Share Posted September 15, 2014 A dirty or partially clogged return pump will also heat up. You may just need to clean yours out. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Neon Reefer Posted September 15, 2014 Share Posted September 15, 2014 I seem to remember you has a simular issue some time back? Be sure and look at all your pumps to include: Power heads in the display, skimmer pumps, other utility pumps IE reactor pumps, and main pump. My rule of thumb is a pump should raise the temp of the water by no more than one degree. I run five motors in my system. IE: Main return pump, utility pump, skimmer pump all Sicce & two power heads in the display Korallia 850 for a total of five motors. I run a 360 watt LED lighting system at ~ (70%) 250 watts + 70 watts T5 Actinic w/ a 4" fan that runs with the lights. My system runs exactly 5 degrees warmer than the ambient room temperature. And drops one degree when the lights (fan) is running. I have an open top and a lot of surface agitation and about 0.85 gal of evaporation per day to help with cooling. With a room temp of 74* my tank would run 79* F a pretty good temp for a reef tank. I would look for the other 2 degrees. Make sure your heater is turned off and unplugged first, and then unplug one at a time any remaining pumps and wait about 3 hours inbetween to see where the issue is. Once all pumps but main is turned off you can be pretty sure this is the problem. You should be able to place your hand on it while it is running in the sump and feel some heat if it is in raising the temp. If it is pull it and clean it. Reinstall it and if it still is raising temp then replace it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rjohn Posted September 15, 2014 Author Share Posted September 15, 2014 Neon, I have 3 motors running - Mag 9.5, skimmer motor, and one power head which is new. I will clean all three as soon as possible. Thanks. I am thinking about the Sicce 3, 3.5, or 4 to replace my mag. Which do you use for the main return? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Neon Reefer Posted September 16, 2014 Share Posted September 16, 2014 Sicce 3.0 Return Pump @ 714 gph (550 gph at 4 ft head pressure) or 7.3 X my display and I use a sepaerate motor for utility. I would probaby step up to a 3.5 if going to use for both. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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