Warm Water

[roxcarr]

Hi - I have a 55 gallon tank and a 25 gallon high. Since yesterday afternoon my water temperature has gotten out of control. I thinl I'm supposed to keep them around 78 degrees, right? The 25 is at 81.4, and the 55 is at 79.9 Is this ok? They were both higher when I went to bed. I have the heaters both turned way down. I live in an old school apartment with a gas panel heater which I turned to off last night, but I think the pilot still produces some amount of heat. Can I throw a few ice cubes in the tanks? Or would that be worse than warm water? My temp sensors are at the very bottom of the tank, so I'm sure the water on the top is warmer. Thanks for any help. -RC

[Complexity]

My tanks generally run warm all the time because I have canopies which traps in the heat from the lights which, in turn, heats up the water. I don't even have heaters in my tanks, and I keep the house around 72°F. None of my fish have ever minded.

I wouldn't add ice cubes to the water. Instead, figure out why your tanks are so warm. Do you even need heaters? Do you have canopies or glass lids? Bright lights? Once you figure out the source of the heat, then you can begin to figure out how to remedy the problem.

[imagirlgeek]

What kind of fish do you have in each tank? Different fish thrive in different temperatures.

Heaters malfunction all the time. I'm sure if you did a search here, you'd find a lot of threads about crazy temps after a heater goes haywire. I've had a tank go up to the mid-90's because of a flaky heater. The main thing is NOT to change the temp too fast...up or down.

I used to have a tank that ran hot because of the light. I ended up put a fan on one end of the tank so the air blew across the top. That works amazingly well.

Now I don't have heaters in any of the larger tanks, and the fish are all just fine. I do use small heaters in the smaller tanks, just because the temp in smaller amounts of water fluctuates faster, and the heater tends to keep it a little more steady.

[roxcarr]

Should I just turn the heaters completely off?

[Complexity]

You should first figure out what's causing the heat, then address that. If the heaters are causing the problem, then you might need to replace them. If the heat in the house is warm and you have large tanks, then you might not need heaters. If you have bright lights with canopies, then you might need a fan. There are different causes for heat in a tank, and the solution to the problem can only be found once the problem itself has been identified.

Tell us about your tanks. How large are they? Are they open top or do they have glass tops and/or canopies? What lighting do you have? What heaters are you using? If you need help diagnosing the root cause of the heat, we can help, but we need to know more about your setup to do so.

[aggrocichlidfan]

What kind of fish are they?

[roxcarr]

I have one 25 gallon high (tall?) - 24"longx12"widex20"high - tank with 5 neons, 5 black stripe tetras, one smallish angel (Popeye), 2 Dwarf gouramis, and 5 painted tetras I ended up with when I bought all the fish a girl had to get started. There are 3 very small roseline sharks in there temporarily. I realized when I got home with them that the ghost knife might eat them, so I need to let them grow before I move them to the bigger tank. They're barely bigger than the tetras. It has a glass lid and an old style flourescent lamp w/ a 120V 19 watt bulb. It has plastic plants at this point in time. It has a hang-on-back fiter that's supposed to be big enough for a 50 gallon tank.
I think the 55 gallon is normal size - 48"long x13"widex18"high. It has a fancier, more modern light fixture w/2 T5 bulbs that are 120V 28 watts. One is 6700K and one is a colormax. I have no idea what anything I just said means. It also has a glass lid. It's a planted tank with two filters that are each supposed to be big enough for a 60 gallon tank. I have 4 Angels that are about 3" square, a plecostamus (sp?) that's about 4-5" long, a black ghost knife that's at least 6" long, 4 rainbows (I have no idea what kind) about 2" long, and 3 julli cories in there.
I have turned both heaters all the way off - actually, I goofed and turned the heater on the big one all the way up, but I caught it before I cooked my fish. I have also opened both lids.
Now u guys have more information than u probably want. Ideas?

[Complexity]

Not sure on your smaller tank, but on your 55g, the lights you have are appropriate for a planted tank. While T5's aren't the hottest running bulbs, that's what I have, and they still put out a lot of heat. So that's probably your heat source right there. My 75g with two identical T5's running is around 81°F most of the time, but I have a canopy which traps the heat and I don't want to use fans. With glass lids, the heat is still trapped, but not quite as bad.

I think you're already on the right track. Turn the heaters off and open the lids if the tanks are too hot (watch out for jumping fish), but in the end, your 55g may just run hot. Make sure it's not in sunlight. You can reduce the photoperiod (the number of hours the lights are on) which will give the water a chance to cool down. Or you can install a fan. For me, my fish and plants all do great at the higher temp so I don't worry about it.

There's two main concerns with high temps in a tank. One is when you have fish that prefer cool water. They just can't take the heat long term. The other is when the temp is normally cool and then spikes up. It is the sudden change in temp that's the problem there, not necessarily the higher temp itself.

I have tetras, roseline sharks, and plecos in higher temp tanks without any problems. I can't speak for angels, ghost knives, rainbows, or julies, but you can google them. As long as they aren't particular cool water loving fish, and I don't think they are, they should be okay. But keep the heaters off. Like I said, I removed my heaters. I never need them. Not everyone does.

Regarding your smaller tank, the lighting does not explain the heat. Is the tank getting any sunlight during the day? Is the vent for the heater in your house blowing directly on it? Maybe the heater got too hot and it's just taking time for the water to cool back down. When you do your next water change, add cooler water to drop the overall temp a degree or two and then see if the temp goes back up or stays at hte new, lower temp with the heater off. If it goes up, then something's heating up the water. Otherwise, it's just residual heat trapped in the water that's taking some time to be released. The glass lids will help hold the heat in if that's what's going on.

[aggrocichlidfan]

I think all those are tropical and like warmer water anyway

[aggrocichlidfan]

I keep my cichlids at 80 and they love it

[roxcarr]

Thank you everybody! I'm pretty new at this, and I wasn't sure. Back when I only had one tank and my angel got popeye, the guy at Fish Gallery told me turn the temp up to about 80, but not to leave it that way too long - so I was worried. I'm kind of surprised by how attached I've gotten to the little guys. I mean, I eat fish.