Temp in Nano tank

[nanonewbies]

My heater is set at 68, while my tank will not drop below 84. I have tried lowering the temperature that the heater is set at, though it doesn't seem to be lowering the temperature in my tank - I have two thermometers going, one that hangs in the tank with a suction cup to the glass and a sticker that is on the outside of the tank. Both are reading the same temperature of 84 degrees, what gives? any thoughts?

 

The only thing I can think of is that maybe my heater gauge doesn't work - although it is brand new...or maybe just the air temperature in my apartment is too high? I have my nano cube sitting next to me on my desk with happens to be right next to the heat register, do I possibly need to move it away from that? (It justs seems that the heat register in my apartment shouldn't affect the temperature in my tank this significantly.)

[sukeband]

A heater, is just that. It's built to heat up th water. If you'r water is already warm to begin with then you need something to cool it down.

 

What are the specs of your tank?

 

Hows the temperature outside of the tank? If its covered, try uncovering it to get some more evaporation going. You may have to top off more, but it might cool the tank a degree or two. If you have some hot lights, you might wanna try some sort of fan if you dont have one already.

[MB3]

I first would establish if your tank is reaching a temperature of 84 with or without the heater. Is the heater coming on even though you have it set to 68? If so, yes, the thermostat is way off. If not, unplug it to be sure and watch the water temp for 12-24hours. Does it still maintain a temp of 84, does it only hit this temp with the lights on?

 

If it still stays at 84, are there any openings on the top of the tank you can open. I have an eclipse 12, and until I removed the top flap, the lights and power heads kept the water at 84. Without the flap the temp stays at 81 during the day, the heater keeps it at 81 at night.

 

If it is the heater: I bought 3 heaters at a fish store before I finally took the advice of the posters in here and bought an ebo jager. This heater has proved to be much more accurate than the other no name brands I bought. Because this item is such a critical piece of your tank, and has the power to destroy it if it malfunctions, get a high quality one.

 

Last of all, if a chiller is in your future, there is an 'iceprobe chiller' that supposedly works well for nano-reef's and is relatively cheap. There is even a hang on model if you are unable or unwilling to drill a hole in your aquarium.

 

Good Luck!

[Ike]

A couple of questions:

 

1) What lights are over your tank?

2) Is the hood vented?

3) What is the room temp set at? If the tank is next to a heat register, like you said and the room temp is set high...well....

4) Does the tank get any direct sunlight?

5) Is the heater turning off or is it stuck on even though it's set for a lower temp?

 

Try blowing a fan across the surface of the water. Evaporation=cooling. I have 345 watts of light in my hood @ 3 inches off the surface of the water. The lights get HOT!!! To cool them down I installed a 3" radio Shack fan that blows into the hood. That little fan creates so much cooling action that it now takes a 50 watt heater AND a 100 watt heater just to maintain my tank temp @ 80 degrees. If I unplug the 100 watt the temp will immediately begin to drop & will contine to fall as long as the fan is blowing. The fan also makes the tank evaporate up to a gallon of water a day.

 

Fans work wonders.

 

Ike

[nanonewbies]

Thanks for all your help! Installed two 2 1/4 inch PC fans...Heat was coming from the lights...now I have a stable temp at 80 - 81 with the lights on, will be turning the fan off at night, I'm going to run it off the same timer that my lights are on...thanks again!