Morcs Posted December 12, 2009 Report Share Posted December 12, 2009 I have a strange problem... My 450L is simply too hot. Even after a 200L cold water change yesterday, temp only went down to 28C. Heater is a 300w Jager and is turned right down. This morning tank was 29.2C, unplugged heater all day so far and tank is sitting at 29.5C Tried throwing in bottles of frozen water, Ice cubes etc. Tank is in the garage which is the coolest room in the house (though still warm) and ive tried leaving doors open etc... I am running an FX5 and an AC70 Powerhead so plenty of turnover and surface movement. I cant remove the lids as I have bichirs that will escape out of the smallest of gaps... Its only going to get worse as summer warms up... Any ideas? I know the current temp isnt a huge issue, but I dont like not being in control of it... I could have a fine mesh rather than tank lids? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
snookie Posted December 12, 2009 Report Share Posted December 12, 2009 could try an electric fan Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cichlid7 Posted December 12, 2009 Report Share Posted December 12, 2009 Are you sure your thermometer is correct?? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kiwiplymouth Posted December 12, 2009 Report Share Posted December 12, 2009 It is impossible for your tank to get hotter than the ambient air temperature if there is no other source of heat. Look for the external heat source. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ryanjury Posted December 12, 2009 Report Share Posted December 12, 2009 This all seems weird to me too.. How can the tank (with no heater plugged in) read 29+C it must mean your room is that warm, have you stuck a thermometer in the room? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
phoenix44 Posted December 12, 2009 Report Share Posted December 12, 2009 it is possible, as the water will hold the heat in the glass tank for quite a while before cooling down to the room temp. it is not ideal. since my tank gets bathed in evening sun, I have turned down the heating on the tank as well. my tank sits at 30degs and the room is 24-25 ill tell you what the tank is at tomorrow eve. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
livingart Posted December 12, 2009 Report Share Posted December 12, 2009 how much heat is the powerhead providing in the tank? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
suphew Posted December 12, 2009 Report Share Posted December 12, 2009 Turning down heaters won't really help, and in fact may make the temperatures harder on the fish. The heater is only going to turn on if the temperature goes below what it is set to, which is unlikely with that bigger volume of water. What may become a problem is if you do have a cold night the temperature might drop low, and instead of your fish just having to put up with high temperatures they will also have a large temperature swing to deal with. With larger tanks I'd recommend buying a temperature controller, you get far more accurate and reliable heater control, and if you get a dual channel controller they can also turn on fans or a chiller. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Adrienne Posted December 12, 2009 Report Share Posted December 12, 2009 Unfortunately its the weather up here, not a faulty heater or anything else. My discus tank, in the house, sits at 28 in the winter and in the last week has hit 30 -32 degrees during the day. Suggest you leave the lights off as much as you can and run a fan in the room, let as much cooling breeze get in as well. The outside temperature yesterday was 26 degrees. I also did a 200 litre water change yesterday, my tank remained at 30, but remember in the summer the pipes are not as cool as they are in the winter so the water is not really really cold. By the way my tank is 30 degrees atm. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Morcs Posted December 12, 2009 Author Report Share Posted December 12, 2009 equipment in the tank doesnt generate a lot of heat. Thermometer is digital via a probe inside the tank. Therer is a narrow (10'' wide) window behind the tank which ive now boarded off to prevent that heat source. Tank is a 4x2x2 so its pretty chunky and will hold temperature very well (as ive found!) Got it down to 28 this morning just by unplugging the heater overnight. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ira Posted December 12, 2009 Report Share Posted December 12, 2009 Got it down to 28 this morning just by unplugging the heater overnight. Why did you have your heater set over 28° to start with? Just set it at a lower temperature. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
skippy_49nz Posted December 13, 2009 Report Share Posted December 13, 2009 Re-read the post, the heater is set low. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Adrienne Posted December 13, 2009 Report Share Posted December 13, 2009 If you think the reason the tank dropped to 28 was because you unplugged your heater, then maybe the heater is faulty. I still tend to go with the hot weather theory. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Morcs Posted December 13, 2009 Author Report Share Posted December 13, 2009 If you think the reason the tank dropped to 28 was because you unplugged your heater, then maybe the heater is faulty. I still tend to go with the hot weather theory. Nah its a brand new Jager. I think the heater actually hadnt needed to turn on at all for the last few days... Boarding of the small window helped a lot! May still make up some mesh lids though just in case it gets hotter in the midst of summer. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
David R Posted December 13, 2009 Report Share Posted December 13, 2009 I think the heater actually hadnt needed to turn on at all for the last few days... So why unplug it? I thought thats why they had thermostats. What is the air temperature in the room?? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SamH Posted December 13, 2009 Report Share Posted December 13, 2009 So why unplug it? I thought thats why they had thermostats. I think he let it drop to below 28C over night so then it was cooler before the room started to heat up again. Leaving the heater in would keep it at 28C therefore giving the tank a "head start" on heating up. Just a thought. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Morcs Posted December 13, 2009 Author Report Share Posted December 13, 2009 I think he let it drop to below 28C over night so then it was cooler before the room started to heat up again. Leaving the heater in would keep it at 28C therefore giving the tank a "head start" on heating up. Just a thought. Yep. heater thermostats arent the most accurate of things, even in good water flow, and even a Jager. At the moment, if i set it to anything above 22C it turns on straight away - I cant even calibrate it that low now either Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ira Posted December 13, 2009 Report Share Posted December 13, 2009 Sounds like it's either faulty or you need to let it adjust to the water temp longer. All mine hold the temp within a degree or so. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Morcs Posted December 13, 2009 Author Report Share Posted December 13, 2009 It Sounds like it's either faulty or you need to let it adjust to the water temp longer. All mine hold the temp within a degree or so. Its not the heater, its been running for 2 weeks. Before that I had a 300W Jebo and had the same problem, hence replaced the heater. Ill go throw 2 other different thermometers in the tank and see what they read also Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Morcs Posted December 13, 2009 Author Report Share Posted December 13, 2009 Since my last post I had 3 thermometers of different varieties in the tank, in the same area. Cheapo Digital: 24.9 Hagen Aquaminder: 28.2 Aquaone Glass: 26 Doh. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SamH Posted December 13, 2009 Report Share Posted December 13, 2009 I think you mean facepalm Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Morcs Posted December 14, 2009 Author Report Share Posted December 14, 2009 I think you mean facepalm Im not that hasty! Although there are 2 thermometers that are reading very close compared to the other one, and they match the thermostat better, whats not to say the aquaminder is correct, and everything else is wrong, huh? But using the extremely accurate arm dip test method, I can say it isnt 28. My arm goes in 60 tanks per day and 28-30 feels noticeably warm compared to 26 which feels luke-warm. But yes facepalm. Rather annoyed that a $60 thermometer is far less accurate than >$10 ones... Just as well i didnt pay $60 for it then Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SamH Posted December 14, 2009 Report Share Posted December 14, 2009 I've only ever used glass thermometers (less than $5.00 ea) and have only ever had one misreading. I later found out that this particular one had been smashed so I removed it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
smidey Posted December 14, 2009 Report Share Posted December 14, 2009 I know a guy that used to have over heating issues with his marine, when his house was shut up during teh day the temp would rise considerably. He had to leave enough windows open so the house didn't get hotter than the ambient temp outside which fixed the heating issue but raised security issues. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ira Posted December 14, 2009 Report Share Posted December 14, 2009 Its not the heater, its been running for 2 weeks. Before that I had a 300W Jebo and had the same problem, hence replaced the heater. Ill go throw 2 other different thermometers in the tank and see what they read also Soo...The tank is too hot with the heater in it. You remove the heater and it cools off. I dunno, seems to me like you either need to adjust the heater or it's broken. You're not using the useless temperature marks on the side of the heater are you? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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