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Water temp question..


DodgerDave

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Hello everyone

I have a newbie water temp question.

I have a 8 gallon JBJ rimless nano cube. My tank is running a AquaTop Aquarium Heater Digital Dual Display- 100W.

Last week, it showed the the setting temp for 78 degrees but the actual temp was 82 degrees.

I check tonight and the setting temp was 76 degrees but showed actual temp at 85 degrees! I checked tonight when I came back from dinner so my place was pretty warm inside. I've read that tank water temp should be be in the mid to high 70's, hence my concern with the 82 and 85 degree readings.

 

Is this something I should be concerned about? Coral and fish seem to be doing fine though. But I do have a bad algae, mostly cyano problem. Wondering if some of the issue is do to the water temp.


Thanks in advance.

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Don't rely on your heater to have an accurate thermostat, just a consistent one. Get a better heater with an adequate wattage for your tank (depending on room temperature, 50W or 75W will probably be fine for your case), and measure it against a glass thermometer. Set the heater to whatever setting is necessary to keep the tank's temperature somewhere between 78-82F all day, and make sure it's not varying by more than one or two degrees within 24 hours. I'd say higher is better if you're compensating for the somewhat higher metabolisms and slightly lowered oxygen levels. I'm using an Eheim Jager TruTemp (75W in a Nuvo16), and it keeps my tank within the 80.5-81.5F range all day. I hear good things about the Cobalt Neo Therm heaters, and they've got smaller footprints if you're worried about that.

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Maria is "spot on". The thermostat is not reiable. Use another thomometer and adjust the heater to the temp you want.

Took me two or 3 day to get mine to settle down at 78.6

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Based on your description, you have a broken heater - not just an inaccurate one. Most heaters will be off by a specific factor, not all over the place like yours. For example, if you set it to 75F the temperature will be 81F and if you set it to 72F, the temperature will be 78F - it's off by a consistent factor of 3F - yours isn't like this. Additionally, aquarium heaters are a ticking time bomb waiting to go off and fry your tank. The cheap thermostats used in them only have a limited number of cycles before they fail - and they typically fail in the ON position - it is only a matter of time before your heater fails. Failure is a certainty if you don't regularly replace it (and even if you do, some don't last very long) so you should have a backup for when this happens.

 

I would really suggest a controller, either for your entire system of just for the heater. If you don't want to spend for a system controller, you can use what I do - a Ranco 111000 controller which can be had for about $50. They are industrial, bombproof temperature controllers that are incredibly reliable and digital. Simply set your desired temperature and set the delta to 1 degree, set your heater's thermostat 3-4 degrees warmer than your set point and you are done. Never have to touch it again.

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Is the heater even running? AIO cubes are notorious for getting too hot. Pumps and lighting add heat, and the top traps it in and discourages evaporation.

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