Tank getting to hot

[Jim_PA]

Over the last few weeks, my tank starting to heat up. Hit 81 last night with the light on. In the past it has stayed around 77 with heaters.

Recent changes...
Added power head
Added UV Light
Increased amount of time light on by 4 hours

Tank 125 Gallons + 38 gallon sump

House is kept at 72 with AC

Should I be worried or just keep eye on it? My fish are doing great and same with plants. Even after lights have been off for 5 hours, the temp does not go down. Tank is not by a window or outside wall, so no direct sun light

[vincenz]

Personally, I wouldn't worry about it, but it also depends on what species of fish you have. 81 degrees isn't so bad. If it's 91, then you should really be worried.

[HD Blazingwolf]

lights i don't think are the major cause - minor cause
powerhead... ehhh depends on its efficiency.. but probably not it - minor cause
UV DEFINITELY makes a difference. they get warm

[somewhatshocked]

If you're concerned about temperature, cooling fans are the cheap way to go.

[Jim_PA]

Originally Posted by HD Blazingwolf

lights i don't think are the major cause - minor cause
powerhead... ehhh depends on its efficiency.. but probably not it - minor cause
UV DEFINITELY makes a difference. they get warm

After a bit more looking into the problem, the tank itself is only 78, which that what I keep it at, so only the sump that getting up to 81 ish. I unplugged the UV for now to see if that causing a problem, as that drains right back into my sump

[fishyboy]

If I had my guess I'd look at the mag 18. Is the temp probe close to it?

[hbosman]

If it's the UV, maybe you could put it on a timer and only run it when your lights are off.

[Powchekny]

Just something to think about - this may or may not apply to your situation.

I was recently upset that my year old jager heaters were becoming progressively more inaccurate. Over a few months, my tank increased in temperature form a steady 77 deg. F to 79. 5 or so. Nothing else had changed, lighting schedule, ambient temperature - anything.

I was complaining about this to my brother, and he told me to check my thermometer. My thermometer is a "Tiny time and Temp" electronic thermometer. So, I went and got my brewing thermometer - it's a foot long glass / alcohol thermometer and is very sensitive and accurate, unlike most aquarium gear.

Lo and behold, my water was actually exactly 76 degrees, right where I set the Jager heaters.

So, take your aquarium thermometer readings with a grain of salt. Especially readings from the absurdly inaccurate and imprecise (but sexy looking) liquid crystal "sticker" thermometers. And anything electronic is suspect as well, especially if made in China.

The ones sold for home brewing are particularly good, since variances of less than a degree can really affect your end product. I'm sure you can find good scientific thermometers from a host of sources online.

[BBradbury]

Hello Jim...

Most aquarium fish are comfortable with water temps between 76 and 82 degrees. So, you shouldn't allow the tank water to get much warmer. You can cut back on the time the tank lights are on. Tropical plants can do fine with a minimum of 10 hours.

Apparently, the AC isn't helping much. You could set up a small electric fan close to the tank to cool things a bit when you're home.

B

[Gplus]

A good way to set things up with a UV is to set up the UV after an inline heater. The uv will heat up the water on its own so if your running an inline heater and uv, let the uv do some of the work so the heater isn't heating water thats gonna get hot anyways

[Mk4Gti]

My 90 gallon rainbow fish tank fluxes from like 78-83 all the time. the fish dont mind but thats not a big temp swing.

[acitydweller]

you can try to run a fan across the top of the tank and overhead lamp to maintain some airflow in that area...

[fusiongt]

I would worry because once it gets to 81 it will take a really long time to cool off. Chances are, it won't even cool off by the next day. Then when the heat gets hotter the next day, that 81 might turn to 83. Soon the temp swing will just be 79-85 which might not be safe for your fish depending on the type you have. And it's only May, not even summer yet.

I would suggest getting a small fan and blowing it onto the surface. It takes a while for it to cool down that way, but that is good because you don't want sudden temp swings. I have one of those office desk Vornado fans that can aim down and it works fine on my 10 gallon.


http://amzn.to/KUxJmX

If your tank is much larger you can try getting a larger fan (the above has a few versions) but I actually think that small fan above will work well.


Haven't tried this one but it looks nice as well:


http://amzn.to/KwMWMz

[AirstoND]

Depending on how desperate you are, here's something you can try,

If you have an airstone, use it, and place unit on a frozen water gallon, preferably on a metal dish pan and keep a desktop fan unit blow air across it to keep air intake cool.

Your tank temp is not that high, but your surrounding air is cooler, so an airstone strip by itself might do

[kwheeler91]

Try the uv on a timer. You could also run your lights on a split schedule, 4hrs on 4 off and 4 on. That gives your bulb time to cool down and your tank a little while to cool as well. Fans blowing at the tank or across the top would work well too but it causes a lot of evaporation, leading to top offs and water stains.