Aquarium too warm?

[B2k2]

Hi,

I've just set up my new aquarium and it looks pretty good but i'm concerned about the temperature its running at.
I have a 36"x12"x15" tank with a 50w undergravel heater cable under a layer of florabase and topped with sand. Its quite heavily planted so this is the reason for me buying the heater cable.
It has been set up for about a day now and is currently running at 29 degrees C (84 degrees F). I also have a 200w heater inside the tank which hasnt came on since the water has reached that temperature, I have it set at 26 degrees C.
Please can you tell me if this is too warm? an idea I had to get the temperature down is to maybe run the heater cable on a timer so it warms up at say 30min intervals, do you think this is possible or would the constant switching on and off of the cable damage it???

please help

 

[CFC]

Does the heater cable have a thermostat? If not then you will need to buy a seperate thermostat with a probe which is placed in the tank, these can be bought from any petstore which sells tropical animals such as reptiles and insects/spiders for around £20.

 

[rdd1952]

I would definitely say that is too hot. Can you adjust the thermostat on the UG heater or simply unplug it? Your tank is a standard 29 gallon. The 200W should be able to keep the temp stable in that tank without any problems. That's what I have in my 29 gallon.

 

[annka5]

i'd go for the thermostat option also. Otherwise, you could have the cable on a timer to come on when your house is coolest, e.g. overnight -the danger of that is that the tank temp could end up fluctuationg quite a bit.
What fish do you have? There aren't that many tropicals that like a temparature so high.

 

[B2k2]

Thanks for your replies peeps!

I've been out and bought a Habistat Mat-Stat which is designed for heat mats and heat cables. I've installed it and turned everything off so the tank can cool down so I can set it to the right temperature.

What temperature would u recommend for my tank to be at? I haven't got any fish as yet but i'm going to start with some neons. Eventually i'd really like some cories and maybe some discus too, also i really like rams so i might get a couple of them too.

My other question is where do u recommend i place the probe on the termostat, i've got it down by the filter at the moment about 2" above the sand.

Thanks again for ur advise, at least I wont be having white bait for dinner when i finally get some fish

 

[-cAtFiSh-]

discus are better suited to more experienced fish keepers and i believe they do better in a species only tank (may need to check up on that though).

as for starting with neons that should be alright but keep in mind that they are quite fragile to be putting into a new tank and you MIGHT have some deaths.

rams are good fish. Bolivian rams are hardier than German blue rams though.

as for the tank temperature, about 26 C would be fine.

HTH

 

[B2k2]

Thanks for the advise -cAtFiSh- think i'll forget the discus idea... Definatly be getting some Rams tho, think their really beautiful fish.

I've had real success with the Habistat my tank sits nicely at 26 degrees now, wickid piece of kit..

Also from reading other posts on the forum I have decided to take the route of a fishless cycle. Went to my local hardware shop and bought some household ammonia, took quite a bit to get it up to 4-5ppm. Definatly worth a go I really dont want to hurt any fish. Hopefully get my first ones in two weeks, maybe less..

Thanks again all!