Help with temperatures please

[Lea9119]

Hi, i have recently set up a 135l tank its been cycling for nearly 4 weeks so yesterday i put my first group of fish in.

I thought the water felt cold (i keep meaning to buy a thermometer) so i bought another heater. Currently I have 2 200w heaters on either side of the tank at 30 degrees C and the water still feels tepid. My cardinals seem to be doing fine for now but I am starting to worry. I have another smaller betta tank that is only 50l but that always feels warm and the one heater is set to 27 degrees.

Any advice would be very appreciated x

 

[cynic]

Get a thermometer.

No other way round it, it may feel cold to you but you cannot guess temp. Depends on what your doing before you stick your hand in.

My tank feels cold when i stick my hand in first time but compared to my daughters goldfish tank its bathwater.

Depending on the fish, (you don't mention types) the temp could kill them if they are a cool water fish. There are plenty sub tropical (temp wise).

 

[Byron]

I agree. You really must have a reliable thermometer in a fish tank. The floating type with a little suction cup to stick on the glass in one of the corners is the best for the money. The stick-on digital plastic ones that you stick on the outside of the tank are not always very reliable. You can get more expensive digital thermometers that attach to the outside glass but there is really no need for this expense, unless you don't mind. The floating stick thermometers I mention are only a couple dollars and come in various lengths.

I use my hand to assess the temperature of the tap water during a water change, comparing it to tank water in a small container, as that is not so specific. And in most tanks fresh water can be just a tad cooler to invigorate the fish (spawning frequently results the next morning).

Heaters can vary in their settings, even though still reliable. But I have heaters that when set on say 25C will heat at 28C so I have this one set at 22C and it heats at 25C. Once you have the setting where it keeps the water at the temp you intend, it should be fine.

 

[LittleFry]

It's very hard to get an accurate temperature from your hand, and tepid to me means that several of my tanks are a little warm. Depending on the type of fish(it sounded like tetras?), they might be able to live within quite a large range of temperature so long as it's consistent and not a shock to their systems but if you feel like you have reason to be concerned you should definitely get a thermometer. Most pet/fish stores will have some pretty cheap options.