Gr8_Outdoorsman Posted February 20, 2011 Share Posted February 20, 2011 I've been having some temperature issues recently and I was curious what others' experiences may be as well. The other day I noticed that my temp had risen to 84 degrees. I immediately unplugged the heater and opened the front and back covers of the BC 29. I also unplugged the light for the rear chamber refugium. I was still having a problem getting the temperature to drop below 80 after a day. Ruling out a faulty heater being the culprit, I unplugged the two Koralia Nano 425 gph power heads that were in the tank. My tank has now dropped to 78degrees. I'm running an AquaticLife 115 skimmer in chamber 1, inTank Media rack and fuge basket in chamber 2, and the stock pump with heater in chamber 3. I haven't tried unplugging the skimmer to see how much heat it is adding to the system. Are the Koralia Nanos known to cause temperature problems in these tanks? I really want to get this straightened out with the warmer temperatures quickly approaching for us here in the south. Also, I want more flow in the tank than just what the stock pump puts out. Link to comment
RayWhisperer Posted February 20, 2011 Share Posted February 20, 2011 At 3 or 3.5 watts apiece, I'd say it's doubtful. More than likely the stock pump, or the pump for the skimmer. Link to comment
Gr8_Outdoorsman Posted February 20, 2011 Author Share Posted February 20, 2011 At 3 or 3.5 watts apiece, I'd say it's doubtful. More than likely the stock pump, or the pump for the skimmer. You know, that's what I was thinking also, but the temp did come down when I unplugged them. I just plugged them back in for today and I'll closely watch. If the temps stay reasonable, I'll focus more on the skimmer and pump. When I was cycling, before the skimmer was added, my temps were much lower. So, I'll probably start with the skimmer first.... Link to comment
Pickle010 Posted February 20, 2011 Share Posted February 20, 2011 I agree - 84 is not that bad. I had my BC 29 hit 90 a time or two but you want to get ahead of it so you don't have to deal with that. I'd trouble shoot it to narrow it down and see what pump is causing it. I'd also make not e of the room temp while doing it. With a BC 29 it could be a matter of checking your hood fans to make sure they are working properly or even using a small 4" desk top fan to blow across the opening in the rear chamber. Be careful though - pointing it at the water too directly can drop your temps too much. Link to comment
Gr8_Outdoorsman Posted February 20, 2011 Author Share Posted February 20, 2011 My hood fans seem to be working ok as I can tell that one is pulling and the other is pushing and they aren't making any noise. I may pick up a small fan to put over the rear chamber also. It's good to hear that 84 isn't that bad. I would really like to keep the tank ~78, but that may not be possible with where I live here in TX. Link to comment
RayWhisperer Posted February 20, 2011 Share Posted February 20, 2011 If the fans and all else is in order, it's a reasonable assumption that it is likely to be the pumps. You have 4 pumps in a limited quantity of water with an enclosed hood. Every pump will add heat to the system. It's a matter of how much heat. Assuming the pumps are operating correctly, it's a matter of finding out which one produces the most. As I said before, at 3 or 3.5 watts apiece, it's unlikely those are the main culprit. Sure, they'll add to it, but I doubt they are the primary cause of it. AIO's are notorious for using crappy pumps for their filter system. I'd start there, if I were you. Switch it out with a MJ 900 if you have one laying around. Seems everyone has a few MJ's somewhere in the house. I think the 900's run at 8 watts, many stock AIO pumps run around 20 watts. Link to comment
Gr8_Outdoorsman Posted February 20, 2011 Author Share Posted February 20, 2011 AIO's are notorious for using crappy pumps for their filter system. I'd start there, if I were you. Switch it out with a MJ 900 if you have one laying around. Seems everyone has a few MJ's somewhere in the house. I think the 900's run at 8 watts, many stock AIO pumps run around 20 watts. That's good to know! I'm new to this so i don't have any spare pumps laying around. With that being said, I have no problems buying an upgraded pump if it will help me be more successful considering what I've already invested to get to this point. Thanks! Link to comment
qbical Posted February 20, 2011 Share Posted February 20, 2011 i actually use the stock BC pump for my salt mixing bucket and that 5 gallon bucket gets REALLY warm. like way warmer then i ever expected. i always have to put a bag of ice in the water now before i add it to my main tank just to get the temp close to normal. so i would try to get that one out asap and our tanks covered def. get warm no matter what. Link to comment
dling Posted February 20, 2011 Share Posted February 20, 2011 Whats the temp of the room the tank is in? Link to comment
Formula462 Posted February 20, 2011 Share Posted February 20, 2011 That's good to know! I'm new to this so i don't have any spare pumps laying around. With that being said, I have no problems buying an upgraded pump if it will help me be more successful considering what I've already invested to get to this point. Thanks! my bc14 before ANY mods whatsoever go to around 84 if i had the lid closed. i'm a scared of the summer coming up now that i have a halide hanging over it. i really really need to pull the trigger on a good ATO. i actually use the stock BC pump for my salt mixing bucket and that 5 gallon bucket gets REALLY warm. like way warmer then i ever expected. i always have to put a bag of ice in the water now before i add it to my main tank just to get the temp close to normal. so i would try to get that one out asap and our tanks covered def. get warm no matter what. i use the stock pump for that as well, i always wondered why it only took my heater about 45 seconds for the temp to match. even if the water starts out at like 64 degrees, it gets to 78 very quickly. Link to comment
Gr8_Outdoorsman Posted February 20, 2011 Author Share Posted February 20, 2011 Whats the temp of the room the tank is in? 71 at night and 75 in the day.... Link to comment
RayWhisperer Posted February 20, 2011 Share Posted February 20, 2011 Do some investigation first. Find out how many watts your pump runs at. It has been years since I bought a stock AIO system. The pumps may be better. It's doubtful they are better than an MJ, but they may be closer. I know the Hydor Pico Evolution pumps run much cooler than even a MJ. However, even though the Pico 1200 is rated at 300 GPH. It sure doesn't seem to put out even close to a MJ 1200 rated at 285 or 295 GPH. Still MJ 1200's are rated at 20 watts IIRC. So, figure out what your pump is running at. Find one that is going to give you the same or more GPH at lower watts. Like I said before, an MJ 900 is always a good place to start, IMO. It pretty much sets the standard when it comes to power vs consumption. Besides, you still need an extra pump to mix salt water. That's why God created crappy AIO pumps. Link to comment
Walking_Target Posted February 20, 2011 Share Posted February 20, 2011 Replace your return pump. Really. The stock ones are *Crap*. Link to comment
Gr8_Outdoorsman Posted February 20, 2011 Author Share Posted February 20, 2011 It sounds like the stock pump's days are numbered.... I appreciate your help... Now I need to decide which one to go with. Probably the MJ 900 will be the ticket.... Link to comment
Gr8_Outdoorsman Posted February 21, 2011 Author Share Posted February 21, 2011 After my un-scientific experiment, it looks like the Koralia Nanos are adding ~3 degrees to the water temperature. I left them plugged in yesterday and noticed the temp back up to 83 degrees yesterday afternoon and 81.5 degrees this morning after having all night to cool off. Hopefully replacing the stock pump will reduce the heat output into the water enough to compensate for these guys. I really like having two separate powerheads running in combination as it seems to be a good amount of flow through all of the LR in the tank. Link to comment
Gr8_Outdoorsman Posted February 21, 2011 Author Share Posted February 21, 2011 Just a quick question on the return pump upgrade.... I noticed that the MJ900 actually puts out less flow than the stock pump (230 vs. 243 gph).... Would this cause a problem? Also, does anyone know what the wattage is of the BC stock pump? Link to comment
RayWhisperer Posted February 21, 2011 Share Posted February 21, 2011 13 GPH will not be noticed. Especially with those two Koralia's. Link to comment
Gr8_Outdoorsman Posted February 21, 2011 Author Share Posted February 21, 2011 Thanks! I'll see if I can find one locally and go that route. I'm researching now and see a common pattern... 1)A lot of people recommend the MJ1200 because of the higher output. My hangup with this pump is that it is still higher wattage and won't help me lower my temps in any way. Maybe increase them?! 2)A lot of people like the Rio 6HF because of the lower wattage and higher output. Also, there are complaints all over the place about how loud these are and that they easily clog. Clogging is a concern as I have chaeto in chamber 2 and pieced could easily get pulled into chamber 3. 3)The MJ 900 isn't an upgrade in terms of flow rate (which isn't what I'm looking for). It should be a considerable upgrade in terms of Watts used, thus lower the heat being introduced into my tank (which is exactly my goal). I live in a warmer climate with very high humidity and want to minimize the amount of heat going into my tank. I feel that the two power heads will keep me covered in terms of adequate flow throughout the tank. Keeping all of this in mind, the MJ900 seems like the best fit. Feel free to speak up if my logic seems flawed in any way... Link to comment
Rcplain123 Posted February 21, 2011 Share Posted February 21, 2011 Get the Hydor Pico Evo 1200. It is weak but is damn near silent and uses something like 7 watts. If you have the two 425 Nanos in your tank your overall flow will probably be OK. If temp and not flow is your main concern go with the lower wattage pump. I also have the AquaticLife 115 and I feel that that adds 1-2 degrees to my BC29 tank. Link to comment
danilew Posted February 21, 2011 Share Posted February 21, 2011 I have a smaller tank (12g AIO). The stock pump was 106gph. I went with a mini-jet 606 instead of the MJ 900. the JM606 was still an increased flow (160gph), but only runs at 7watts. I don't think you can get away with going down to 160gph, but keep in mind that your are running Koralias in the tank for most of your flow. Since you're doing that, the return pump isn't really for flow anymore, but just to keep water running through your filtration (floss, chaeto, chemipure, w/e). The Pico might be a better choice than the MJ900 since it's lower wattage. The 1200 is 300gph with the same wattage (8w) and physical footprint as the 1000, which is only 260gph. For the MJs, the 900 is 8.5w and 230gph, the 1200 is 20w and 295gph. Pico specs MJ900 specs Link to comment
Gr8_Outdoorsman Posted February 21, 2011 Author Share Posted February 21, 2011 Thank you for the heads up on the Pico 1200. My only concern is that, from what I read, the output was much less than the 900 and the stock pump. Although they claimed 300gph, some people didn't feel that it was anywhere close to that.... Any experience? Link to comment
danilew Posted February 21, 2011 Share Posted February 21, 2011 No experience with the Picos, unfortunately. Hopefully someone else can chime in. If that is indeed true, then a MJ900 and the Pico 1200 would be about even. Providing the 1200's true output was at 230gph or above, it would have a slight advantage for you since it's slightly less wattage. If you need to get something ordered, I'd just go with the MJ900 since it's a tried and true pump. Heck, if you have the money get one of each and let us all know which has the higher output. It never hurts to have a spare pump laying around. Link to comment
qbical Posted February 21, 2011 Share Posted February 21, 2011 RIO6HF (i feel like i am the only one that still uses these things lol) Link to comment
danilew Posted February 21, 2011 Share Posted February 21, 2011 That's a 15w pump and only 350gph RIO 6HF Link to comment
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