\water Temperature

[mark4880]

Hi Im new to the forum, so hello. My question to everyone is that I currently have a 28L tank with a built in light. My heater is set at 26 degrees and is very constant (intrepet 25W heater) but when my light is on after a few hours the water temperature goes up to about 28 degrees??

I dont have any fish in yet as Im just at the end of my cycle and had to use a buffer to reduce my Ph to 6.5 - 7.0. Im planning on getting:

5 Neon Tetras
3 Sunset Platys
1 Betta

But im worried the slight temperature increase wont please my new potential housemates. I have tried opening the lid slightly so there is a very small gap say 3mm, which has helped a bit.

Please advise is this is fine or am I going to do them harm.

Thanks

 

[mike455555]

why not turn your heater down to 25? ... then you'll have it at 27 when the lamps on... and 25 otherwise...?

its only a 2 degree rise. or 1 either side of 26

 

[TropicalJuwel]

If your looking at keeping them I would lower the temp even more, platys and neons prefer low 20's and the betta mid 20 ish, aim for about 23-24 then with the heat rise from the lights wont be to bad for the fish. Unless your willing to keep the lid open theres nothing you can do and the water temp will still rise then,thats what the lights do, the fact its a slow temp rise wont matter to much just try not to have it to high at first. The other week when we had our mini heat wave my tank was up at 30.9c there was nothing I could do, had all doors and windows open but there just wasn't a breeze. Good luck with the new tank.

 

[creeker]

I'm guessing this is an incandescent bulb? You might try replacing it with a compact fluorescent 10 watt bulb. They make some that fit in an aquarium hood. Puts out a much nicer light with less heat.

 

[mattyd1701]

Betta's prefer the temps of 24-30°C and neon tetras 20–26°C unsure about the platys so aim for about 25°C im sure your fish wont mind if the temp is a few degrees if you miss the mark.

but i believe everybody will experience some sort of temp rise with the lights been on. My Edge uses 2 10W MR16 60 SMD Bulbs which make the water stupidly hot i dont even know why i bother having a heater with them sort of bulbs all you can really do is turn your heater down a bit so it drops the temp and let the bulbs and heater work together if you get me (i.e if u want a temp of 26°C? and your bulbs put the temp up by 4 Degrees let your heater make the water 22 degrees)

 

[mike455555]

just think in nature the sun rises and so does the temp and it drops at night. you dont have anything to worry about

 

[mark4880]

Thanks for the advice, tonight was the night I got my first fish for my new tank. I started with the 5 neons, then hopefully on monday coming i'll add three sunset platy's. I reduced the heater to 25 degrees and the water temp dropped to that, the light has been on all night and only risen to about 26 - 27 so looks great.

My new neons are loving the tank, swimming around happy and playing in the flow of the filter which drops into the water like a waterfall.

Also how do I add pictures to my posts?

 

[mike455555]

upload them to Photobucket or image shack and then copy and paste the IMG thing =]

 

[mark4880]

Thanks, think this is right

not sure if im doing this right, lol.

 

[mark4880]

Seems to have worked. We'll its been 24 hours now and the neons seem happy. They tend to stay towards the back of the tank just swimming along and in the flow of the filter, and also one was hiding under the bog wood which scared me as I couldn't find him. They are'nt swimming in the middle of the tank just the bottom, is this normal?

I do have a few questions though, I put 3 small flakes of food this morning but the didnt go up and eat. How do I know if they have eaten them, and are the calm because its all new to them or is something wrong. I think two of them are female based on the markings and they have fatter stomach's, hope they aren't pregnant.

Thanks

 

[tyler88]

Hey if you just put the fish in a day ago its probably normal for them not to eat right away, sometimes when i get new fish they don't want to eat till they settle into the new tank. Also if your still having trouble with the temp of the tank try putting in fluorescent lights that helped keep my temp from rising too much during the day.

 

[mattyd1701]

to be honest i wouldnt worry too much about your fish not eat its normal for fish not to eat the first day or 2 when been introduced to a tank, fish are scavengers basically they will eat anything they can get. a think fish can go without food for about a week maybe 2 and they will be fine a think there is a post within the past few days on here asking about how do you feed them while away somebody mentions it in there they are fine if they dont eat

 

[mark4880]

The only thing im worried about is that they all seem to be hiding and not moving much, should I be worried. the temperature is spot on 26 and hasn't changed for hours. Am I being paranoid. lol.

 

[mattyd1701]

The only thing im worried about is that they all seem to be hiding and not moving much, should I be worried. the temperature is spot on 26 and hasn't changed for hours. Am I being paranoid. lol.

if theres anything wrong with them it would be your water chemistry not your temperature what are the readings of your last test?

either that or there just tired and lazy

 

[mark4880]

I know my temperature I know is good and my water from the last test the shop performed was perfect. Ammonia was 0, nurture was 0 and oh is 7. Maybe they are just getting used to the environment, but when they are buzzing around in the shop you expect to see the same in your tank.

Sorry meant nitrite. LOL