temp issue?

[coral_diver]

Hey guys I know it has been a while! Shame on me! I need some quick help though PLEASE! I have been so tied up with the seahorses lately and so many other things I hadn't done a water change in a few months and even more ashamed right now I havent been doing tests....dont ask why I know bad bad bad. Anywho...Tank parameters Ammonia 0, Nitrite 0, Nitrate aprox 20-, PH aprox 8.2, SG 24-25 as usual. I just added an additional power head about a day ago from another tank that I had torn down that only had the seahorses in it they got a new tank plus the nine yards....I also did about 7-8gal water change as obviously it was overdue....prior to all this I lost yet another coral banded shrimp and a gudgeon goby kinda out of the blue but the gudgeon had been dropped and I took a chance on him so I cant really consider his death anything related and the coral banded's I have never been able to keep over 6months or so...? Some of my corals have had a strange appearance for example my yellow polyps dont have that long flowing look they are short and stubby? The issue tonight is that I just fed the tank and went to look and it seems the fish look distressed breathing a bit hard? They are not hugging the top or anything so I dont think it is a O2 issue? Color of the fish looks good also. The temp of the tank hit 85F today I just put some ice in a ziplock and lowered it a bit the digital temp says 83.9F I usually keep the tank at about 82F but with seeing that the temp is going up so much with the hot weather and no a/c in the house I have removed the thermometer in hopes it will drop a bit in the evening and when it goes up some in the day it will not hit to high. The equipment for this tank is 37gal corner bow, now 2 sweeping power heads turned at opposing directions and a internal filter with carbon. I have a DSB of arag alive by Coral life, PC's with moonlights and gosh I am not sure how much LR now??? maybe 30-35+? Tank has been up almost 2yrs now? (I have a 2.5gal and 5gal with less probs!) so do we think there is some stress from the addition of the new power head or temp is a bigger issue? and what do I need to do. I opened the glass canopy and turned a fan in that direction for now....think I am going to have to deal with the evaporation and leave it open for the summer. Working on moving to FL and I have a feeling this is going to be a worse issue when I finally get there! ASAP suggestions please I cant tank further losses after so long!

[Doctor_Reef]

I can see that there are may be three issues going on here...first your nitrates are getting a little on the high side...the water changes ought to help that...the temp is a problem...the higher the temp the lower your O2 level in the tank is going to be...the high temp plus the lower O2 levels are going to cause stress in your fish...Putting a fan where it can hit the surface of the water can reduce the temp and hold the temps down...82 is warm in my opinion but 85 is really going to the limit in a home aquarium. Reduce the temps and keep flow up...do your water changes and get the nitrates down....Not sure why you are having problems keeping the coral banded shrimp other then they do not do well in higher nitrates...

[coral_diver]

Hey Dr Reef glad to see you are still hanging on the boards! I am aware of the O2 relationship to the temp however the flow in the tank is quite high especially with the addition of the additional sweeping powerhead. Nitrates are up a bit but mainly like I stated I have been slacking with the theft of my car, loss of the job, planning on a move so garage sale galor, well you know there is so much more going on so that is a bit of my fault but I never have this issue with nitrates so I am thinking that today they could be up due to the additional powerhead stirring up all the goodies. I have also kept the tank at 82F always? All the books I have read and advise I have been given was that that was ideal until now? Yes I know 85 is to high I dont want to cook the fish! The coral banded's and I have just never got along? Same with my favorite xenia!? Does anyone or u Dr have any additional advice on keeping tank temp down minus a chiller? please remember I said I am unemployed! so not much cash on hand! Thanks as always now off to help a bit if I can....while I am here.

[Doctor_Reef]

82 is ok...I have run my tank to that mark to...the problem is you don't have much room for error...82 to 85 can happen quickly in the summer...I have started to set my tank temp at 79 now and it seems to be easier to maintain at that temp...as far as cooling the tank if you can't go with a chiller fans are the next best thing...I have used small fans over the tank and aimed at the surface...that can reduce temp very well and consistently...I use a chiller myself but in the past i have used the fans successfully...I would think that flow is good as it has a tendency to move the water around the LR and break the surface of the water, unless it is outrageous flow I wouldn't change that at all…if you think that the newly increased flow is causing the Nitrate spike it ought to settle down after a few water changes…

[Ocean Singer]

my tank got to 92F today, my two cleaner shrimp died

[Condiman]

I would say the max you can really go is 88 or so mine right now stays around 86

[Doctor_Reef]

Condiman...what is your orp at that temp...I am just curious...I know several reef guys here in the valley that run theirs at about 85 or so and do ok...