Need help figuring out why my tank is so hot

[Glostik]

I have an acrylic 400 gallon tank

I have no submersible equipment - no heaters and no lights. I have 3 Reeflow pumps and 2 Eheim 2262's as far as equipment goes.

I also have a 140 gallon sump. I have acrylic lids on the tank and sump. My overflows are external and the lids on the sump have ventilation. I also have a good amount of water agitation in the tank from the reeflows.

My stand is a skeleton so the heat isnt getting held in below.

My house stays a constant 82 degrees but the tank is running close to 88 degrees

Any ideas on why this is happening?

 

[aclockworkorange]

Heaters are unplugged? I would guess it's the three pumps.


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[Tyler2012]

Maybe the pumps are overheating.


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[skjl47]

Hello; have you verified the thermometer is accurate?

 

[duanes]

Pumps are not necessarily overheating, if submerged, pumps give off plenty of heat into the water as part of normal operation. In some cases pumps can be plumbed outside the sump, so most of the heat escapes into the air.
I have also heard of people who keep aquariums upstairs, but putting their sumps on the floor in a cool basement to reduce heat transfer.

 

[Egon]

Acrylic is a super good insulator, I'm sure your tank is at least 3/4" thick acrylic. I have the same problem, I'm always trying to get rid of the heat here in Phoenix.

Any movement of water creates heat. Your pumps are the number one culprit. Lights are number 2. I keep my lights on stands so they are 3" off the top of the tank. Summer months I never turn my lights on.

To get heat out of an acrylic tank cheaply, you need to let it out through the top openings. Evaporation will let off a lot of heat. You can take the lids off the sump if your fish are jumpers. You can put a small fan blowing air across the top of your sump. That will cool it the most. You can also set up a trickle system. I trickle 2 gallons of cold water (Phoenix cold, maybe 70 degrees) per hour and sometimes raise that flow to 3 gallons an hour in the hottest months.

Last thing is a chiller. Expensive but you only need to run it three months or so. Thats worse case, my temps get to 87 - 88 range sometimes and my fish are fine.