Water Temps way too high!

So, I noticed my coral is just not doing very well at all. The water levels all look good, the skimmer is doing its job and the fish seem to be VERY happy.

I think the problem that I am having is that the water tempratures are too high. They sit at 80-82deg no matter what the house temps are. (75 most of the time)

I only have a 20g tank, so I have the powerhead in the tank, and the skimmer is mounted on the back. The only thing that I can think of to reduce tempratures at the moment is to mount a few fans inside of my light, as that guy gets hot.

I don't have the money to get a chiller of course. Any suggestions on what I should do?

 

And a picture for your amusement. (This was before I had any problems) Changes since then: Shaving brush is moved, filter on the back is off and being converted to a refugium, powerhead is on other side of tank.

 

i think a fan would do the trick for you dan. just make sure to direct it at the waters surface to get cooling from evaporation. i have heard chillers are too $ and not that great. good luck

 

To me, the tank looks pretty new. Your LR isn't very purple and green which to me is a sign of your tank's age. To which I pose this question; how old is your tank? My tank temp stays at around 80-82 during the day also, and I live in a ground level apartment with central air. The ambient temp in my apartment stays around 74. My heat can definitely be attributed to my lights. However, with the exception of a now subsiding Brown Jelly outbreak, which only affected 3 corals and I only lost one, I have had no problems with my corals shriveling up due to that heat. And I'm not entirely positive the Brown Jelly was because of the temp anyways, I'm pretty sure it wasn't. Without knowing any better, my guess would be that your tank is not mature enough yet for corals.

 

I have used fans very successfully as well. I would suggest plugging the fan into the same timer as your lights. this way when the lights are off you do not cool the tank beyond were you want it. Adding a fan will of course increase evaporation in the tank. This could lead to bigger problem than you currently have. So have a top off system or plan in place before adding the fan.

Good Luck
J

 

Very new tank. (think 2 months) The coral was already on the rock when I purchused it from tampa bay saltwater. It did great for a bit, and I have started to notice that it is not doing near as well now.