Hi there everyone! My husband Charles and I started our saltwater tank journey about 6-7 months and really enjoy this website…

wmcm

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Salt water Tank setup:

70 gallon corner tank (all glass)
Glass top cover
Canister Filter: Aquatop Forza FZ13, 13W UV light, 550 GPH
Heater System: Hygger HG902/HG9021 500W, 60-120 Gallons
Light: Current Orbit Marine LED
Wave Pump: Current flux Accessory Wave Pump
Skimmer: Aquatop SSK-65 GPH Internal Service Skimmer


The Problem:
In the last 6 weeks or so, we’ve noticed a slow increase in our water temp, yet we’ve not changed the heating bar temperature (set to 76) The heater system description says that the difference between the heating bar temp and the actual water temp should not be more than 2 degrees. We are currently at about 6 degree difference.


What we’ve tried:
We’ve contacted Hygger customer support and provided pictures, videos of the tank, etc. We tried several of their suggestions to no avail and finally they simply agreed to replace the entire heating system. The problem is that even when we installed the new heating system the difference in temperature is still the same. We tried placing the thermometer closer to the heating bar for a day or so, but that made no difference. We unplugged the heating system for several days - no difference. We’ve made sure to keep our house at a stable 73-74 degrees. There is no direct sunlight on the tank. Also, the tank sits almost 9 inches from the two corner walls behind it. In addition, we contacted the Canister people and they assured us that it will not heat up the water as it filters it.

Has anyone ever had this problem before? If not, how about some suggestions on what could be causing this problem.

Many thanks in advance!
 

revhtree

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Welcome to your new home for saltwater reef aquarium resources and fun! Welcome to the family! :D
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vetteguy53081

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Glenner’sreef

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Welcome to reef2reef!!!!!

So you have both the problems and the solution in your opening post.

Problems:
Canister filter “pump”
UV light
Heater
Wave pump
Skimmer

All heating up the water in your 70 gallon tank.
Plus summer started about “6 weeks ago “
Glass top that keeps moving air from cooling the water.

Solution: move part of your glass top and clip a small fan pointed at the water’s surface.
I live in Az. My tank is presently at 81. Corals and fish are fine.
 
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cdemoss01

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Salt water Tank setup:

70 gallon corner tank (all glass)
Glass top cover
Canister Filter: Aquatop Forza FZ13, 13W UV light, 550 GPH
Heater System: Hygger HG902/HG9021 500W, 60-120 Gallons
Light: Current Orbit Marine LED
Wave Pump: Current flux Accessory Wave Pump
Skimmer: Aquatop SSK-65 GPH Internal Service Skimmer


The Problem:
In the last 6 weeks or so, we’ve noticed a slow increase in our water temp, yet we’ve not changed the heating bar temperature (set to 76) The heater system description says that the difference between the heating bar temp and the actual water temp should not be more than 2 degrees. We are currently at about 6 degree difference.


What we’ve tried:
We’ve contacted Hygger customer support and provided pictures, videos of the tank, etc. We tried several of their suggestions to no avail and finally they simply agreed to replace the entire heating system. The problem is that even when we installed the new heating system the difference in temperature is still the same. We tried placing the thermometer closer to the heating bar for a day or so, but that made no difference. We unplugged the heating system for several days - no difference. We’ve made sure to keep our house at a stable 73-74 degrees. There is no direct sunlight on the tank. Also, the tank sits almost 9 inches from the two corner walls behind it. In addition, we contacted the Canister people and they assured us that it will not heat up the water as it filters it.

Has anyone ever had this problem before? If not, how about some suggestions on what could be causing this problem.

Many thanks in advance!
Welcome to Reef2Reef!
 
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tharbin

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Welcome to R2R! @Glenner’sreef gave you a pretty precise answer. Every pump or light adds heat to the tank so even without a heater a tank will normally run several degrees warmer than the room it is in. The main tank cooler, other than a dedicated aquarium cooler, is evaporation. The evaporation is facilitated by surface water movement. It seems that first of all you probably do not have a lot of surface movement and you have a glass lid which greatly reduces evaporation overall. I would open or remove the glass lid and wait a day or so to see what happens to the temps. If it does not come down enough then have a small fan blow across the surface of the water. It will cool the tank. Be aware your evaporation will increase substantially. You probably already know this but it never hurts to remind people, replace the evaporation with freshwater only. The salt doesn't evaporate. If these don't fix the issue ask again as there could be other issues but this seems most likely.

I also live in Arizona and my main tank is currently at 80.1 degrees. Everything is fine.

R2R-Welcome3.jpg

EDIT: I forgot to add, if you have fish that tend to jump, like Firefish, Gobies or Wrasses, you can place nylon screening over the tank to keep the fish in and still allow for evaporation.
 
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threebuoys

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Lighting can add several degrees of heat to the tank, particularly in the summer when you likely set the AC higher than you set the heat in winter. Also, as someone else said, glass tops prevent as much evaporation but traps heat.

To prevent a heater malfunction, I use an inkbird controller which turns off the electricity to the heater should the water temperature exceed the threshold set by the user.

TANG-WELCOME.gif
 
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DOES TANK SIZE MATTER WHEN TRYING TO MAINTAIN A STABLE ENVIRONMENT FOR YOUR REEF?

  • Yes, the environment in smaller tanks is harder to maintain.

    Votes: 23 57.5%
  • Yes, the environment in larger tank is harder to maintain.

    Votes: 1 2.5%
  • Reef environments are hard to maintain no matter the size of the tank.

    Votes: 9 22.5%
  • You have problems maintaining your reef's environment? Noob.

    Votes: 4 10.0%
  • Other (Please explain!)

    Votes: 3 7.5%
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