Temperature Issue?

[redmachine]

Not sure whether this is a problem or not so here goes.

45L tank with a 50 watt Interpet heater (all seems fine within the guidelines)

The problem is the heater rarely seems to be turned on? I know the heater will turn itself off once the water reaches the temperature ive set it on (22 degrees) but the thing never seems to actually turn on? Ive seen it running for a few hours when I first set the tank up but never since.

I bought a thermometer to check the temp and the water is reading 27 degrees at the moment.

Why is my water so warm without my heater seemingly never being on? Is it the light on my aquarium?

New to all this and only introduced a few Harlequin Rasbora into the tank a few days ago - they seem happy but just wondering about this temperature thing.

Thanks in advance.

 

[tidytourniquet]

What kind of lighting do you have on the tank? If its incandescent then it very well could be the light, they can get very hot and warm up a small tank fast

 

[redmachine]

Not sure?

Iit all came in a big kit, says on the box its a 15w light, no more info than that.

 

[tidytourniquet]

Do the lights look like this or this?

 

[redmachine]

Definetly the second one i.e not incandescent

 

[tidytourniquet]

Well the only other thing I can think of is, how warm is the room that its in?

 

[redmachine]

Think you are probably right about the lamp - I left the thermometer lay on top of the tank and its reading 30 degrees (through the plastic lid)

 

[rdd1952]

The problem isn't with the heater but what you have it set on. 22 degrees (72 degrees F) is actually cooler than room temp so the heater never has to come on. For a tropical tank, the temp needs to be around 25 or 26 degrees C (77 to 79 F). If you have goldfish, they really don't need a heater at all as room temp is fine.

 

[redmachine]

The problem isn't with the heater but what you have it set on. 22 degrees (72 degrees F) is actually cooler than room temp so the heater never has to come on. For a tropical tank, the temp needs to be around 25 or 26 degrees C (77 to 79 F). If you have goldfish, they really don't need a heater at all as room temp is fine.

Thanks! Ive turned the heater up and its now clicked on - but what of the actual thermometer reading 26 degrees? Is that the light?

Heres my tank!

 

[rdd1952]

Thanks! Ive turned the heater up and its now clicked on - but what of the actual thermometer reading 26 degrees? Is that the light?

Your right, that is the lights. My small betta tanks really don't need a heater at all (I keep one in them anyway to make sure the temp stays steady at night when the lights are off). They stay at around 77 or 78 degrees most of the time even though the room temp is at about 74 or 75. It's amazing how much heat some of the lights put out, especially power compacts.

 

[redmachine]

Thats great then! Thanks for all your replies guys youve been a great help!

This place is brilliant!