Cooling your reef tank - quick tips and long-term solutions
The water temperature of your reef tank is rising a little bit more every day and an end of summer is not yet in sight? No need to panic! Here are some tips that will help you.
Especially on hot summer days, you should regularly keep an eye on your thermometer in the aquarium. If the water temperature rises to 28 °C or more, it becomes critical: oxygen saturation decreases, corals can bleach and bacterial infections are more likely.
Some corals, such as zoanthids, won´t open up when the water temperature rises above 26 °C. Thus, reason enough to think about cooling in time.
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Zoanthids prefer cooler water temperatures (22-25 °C).
In an emergency and for smaller aquariums, bags filled with ice, PET bottles or cold packs can help. You can also put ice cubes of osmosis water into your tank. For a sufficient oxygen supply, always leave your skimmer running and remove any existing covers. As jump protection you can still use net covers. Furthermore, the sump should be open and uncovered if possible, in order to further promote evaporation cooling.
In the long run you can still upgrade technically:
#1 Fans, aquarium fans, cooling fans
Here the cooling effect takes place via evaporation. Aquarium ventilators are inexpensive to buy, they reduce the temperature by 2-4 °C on average and are quickly put into operation. A disadvantage is that the salinity fluctuates more strongly due to increased evaporation and you have to refill more osmosis water.
An aquarium fan is a cost effective way to cool down your reef tank for a few degrees during summer.
#2 Cooling units
These units work very effectively and can keep the temperature at a desired level. A disadvantage is the somewhat higher initial costs as well as the additional work involved in setting up (additional water inlets and outlets).
#3 Air conditioning for room cooling
Also here the temperature is kept at a desired level in an energy-efficient way. The disadvantages are the high initial costs as well as the additional effort for installation.
By the way: In order to keep the energy consumption of cooling systems as low as possible, you can regulate the operation via timers or thermostats.