# Water Temperature Staying above Room Temp. Help



## Old Salt (Aug 11, 2009)

I would unplug it and see if the temp drops. If it doesn't , try turning down the one that is flashing.


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## Wasserpest (Jun 12, 2003)

It's Summer, your tank is overheating, unplugging heaters takes only a couple of seconds. I don't understand why folks wonder about malfunctioning heaters in Summer... yes, the thermistor should turn them off, but why risk it if they are not needed. Pull them already.

Lights transfer a lot of heat. Did you run that same fixture last year in Summer? Try turning off half of it for a couple of days and monitor the temperature.

Are your filters in an enclosed stand? If so, open the doors to keep them cooler, otherwise they turn into little heaters.


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## TheCryptKeeper (Mar 9, 2008)

Wasserpest said:


> It's Summer, your tank is overheating, unplugging heaters takes only a couple of seconds. I don't understand why folks wonder about malfunctioning heaters in Summer...


 With all due respect.. that comes off a little harsh.

I understand it is summer and the heaters do not have to run very often but as I said in the original post this just started happening. I do not live in AZ, CA, or any other scorching hot state and the tank is in my basement which is always cooler. I had some really hot days this year and no issues until now so I don't think that has anything to do with it. So that means that the light doesn't factor in either. There is no reason other than a malfunction that would cause the heaters to heat the tank water 6 degrees warmer than room temp. My filters are both enclosed in my tank stand but the back is open and they run fairly cool.. barely feel any heat from the motor head. I can't leave it up because of my young children, electric plugs(many of them) and my co2 tank.


I just unplugged both of them for now and will see what the temp is in the morning. I had the one that I thought might be malfunctioning unplugged for the last few hrs and no change so I unplugged both of them and will see if the temp drops. Tomorrow morning I will plug one in with it set to 78 and see what happens.


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## Postal Penguin (Mar 30, 2009)

Do you have a glass top? If so take them off if you can(no jumpers) and you'll see a good drop in temps. I have open top tanks and even with UV sterilizers running the tanks would never get above 84F even when my room would get to 86ish at times. If you aim a fan at the open tops you'll get even more cooling. 

If the heater was truly broken and stuck on I would imagine the tank would be a lot warmer than just 6F above room temp. Try sticking your hand into the tank and feeling if the heater is warm.


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## mountaindew (Dec 10, 2008)

Tb, 
I would suggest checking and or calibrating your thermometers
I have found most thermometers sold for aquariums to be mostly junk and not very accurate.
Now this part I dont recommend for most aquariums and aquarists. My home is kept around 72 deg year round. Very comfortable for me and I have found all my aquariums do not require heaters at all!
All systems are open top with t5 lights and they generally run about 4-6 deg higher then room temp, day or night.
They must vary in temp by a couple of degrees over 24 hour period but I have yet to see it. If you are heating the water up during the day "with room temp changes or when lights are on" then a heater would be recommended to keep large temp. swings down. Much of this Is imho old school, I guess for older homes that dont keep a very constant temp. I have found over MANY years of observation that in newer homes with a more constant interior temperature, heaters are just not required. Of course this varies from house to house and climate to climate.
md


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## lauraleellbp (Feb 3, 2008)

If that doesn't work you can get a fan.

Odd that the temps just now started climbing... if it's not the heaters, something else changed...


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## TheCryptKeeper (Mar 9, 2008)

I have had the heaters unplugged now since my last post and the temp has dropped 2 degrees overnight. so I will check it again later on in the day once the lights have turned on. I am betting that for some reason the heaters have taken a crap which sucks.


anyone have any experience with the inline heaters, realiability and functionality?

Ken


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## lauraleellbp (Feb 3, 2008)

The Rena smart heaters are really new on the market, so I haven't heard much to date.

I always use Hydors and they've got a good rep (though of course no one is fail-proof...). I've never had issues with mine, but then they also aren't plugged in but a few months each year...


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## Burks (May 21, 2006)

Might sound dumb but I doubt the heaters are heating to what you set them. The reason I say this is because I've never really had a heater keep the water at, or near, the setting I have it on.

I had a Rena and set it to 76. I'd come in and find my tank at 80-82 constantly, so I turned it down to 72 and sure enough, tank stayed around 76-78. *shrugs* 200w in a 70g system, not like I was under/over heating.

Never used an inline, too afraid too. Just another fitting to come dislodged or tubing to pop off.


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## hbosman (Oct 5, 2006)

I would plug just one heater in for a day and if no change, unplug that one and plug in the other one. Assuming that you didn't change the settings higher during the summer, one of them might be bad. It would be doubtful that both went bad at the same time.

As mentioned already, the numbers on the adjustment knob usually, don't coincide with the targeted temperature. I find the numbers arbitrary ie... 72 might mean 78 degrees.


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## CaliEAB (Aug 17, 2009)

I've had the same problem here (tank > 84 with room at 78-80) in NorCal where the temp outside hits high 90 most days and is pushing 105 today. On recommendation of the forum members, I tried the fan and it works great ("swamp AC" I was told!). The light in combo with the hood was the culprit for me. I went out and got some legs for my light, ditched the hood and voila! Temps sitting at 76-78! I even got rid of the fan which was really evaporating a lot of H20 and it's still sitting at 76-78 after 2 days. I was also using frozen water from the our watercooler - that helped and the fish really follwed the ice around. I could imagine them all saying, "Ahhhhhh!"


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## TheCryptKeeper (Mar 9, 2008)

Burks said:


> Might sound dumb but I doubt the heaters are heating to what you set them. The reason I say this is because I've never really had a heater keep the water at, or near, the setting I have it on.
> 
> I had a Rena and set it to 76. I'd come in and find my tank at 80-82 constantly, so I turned it down to 72 and sure enough, tank stayed around 76-78. *shrugs* 200w in a 70g system, not like I was under/over heating.
> 
> Never used an inline, too afraid too. Just another fitting to come dislodged or tubing to pop off.


these rena smart heaters have actually been dead on the money with temps.. I periodically check them and they have been spot on.



hbosman said:


> I would plug just one heater in for a day and if no change, unplug that one and plug in the other one. Assuming that you didn't change the settings higher during the summer, one of them might be bad. It would be doubtful that both went bad at the same time.
> 
> As mentioned already, the numbers on the adjustment knob usually, don't coincide with the targeted temperature. I find the numbers arbitrary ie... 72 might mean 78 degrees.




as I just posted above these heaters are very accurate winter/summer doesn't matter. I have had them for over a year and a half with no issues and I believe that there are still no issues.









84 deg 12am- unplugged both heaters

82 deg 12pm today unplugged uv sterilizer

82 deg 2pm just before lights come on ( so 14hrs of no light and temp up)

82 deg 3pm opened the tank stand doors

82 deg 10pm at end of photo period.

I have checked it with sinking, floating thermometers, digital, and instant grilling digital thermometers and all of them reading 82 deg.

I am at a loss as to what to try. I am running a danner mag pump for co2 injection. running 2 rena xp3's. the danner pump is ran inline on one of the filters in the discharge. I am thinking that I will try to unplug one filter at a time to see if it drops.

? though.. can the motor head get warmer if it needs to have the impeller mag cleaned? The filters have great flow and were cleaned about a month ago if that.

thanks, Ken


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## mistergreen (Dec 9, 2006)

I think water is actually pretty good at absorbing heat, especially 75G of it. It'll take a long while for the heat to dissipate unless you have a fan at the surface or aeration.

My little heater recently malfunctioned. I noticed the light stayed on even if I set the thermostat to the lowest degree. I think heaters have a life span like light bulbs. The heater either dies or the thermostat dies.


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## TheCryptKeeper (Mar 9, 2008)

mistergreen said:


> I think water is actually pretty good at absorbing heat, especially 75G of it. It'll take a long while for the heat to dissipate unless you have a fan at the surface or aeration.
> 
> My little heater recently malfunctioned. I noticed the light stayed on even if I set the thermostat to the lowest degree. I think heaters have a life span like light bulbs. The heater either dies or the thermostat dies.


I just unplugged my needle pump and one of my canisters to see what happens. should I drop in an airstone to see if it helps it drop?


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## Minsc (Jul 9, 2006)

My tank has been running warmer since I added a magdrive. It figures though, every piece of electric equipment is going to add some heat. Though I'm not sure why your tank would suddenly start warming if you haven't changed anything...

If you just want the temp to drop, a fan really does work great. Point it right at the water. It sound like you want to figure out how much heat everything is adding though.
84 isn't that bad, the only things I've ever seen die from that temp are shrimp.


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## TheCryptKeeper (Mar 9, 2008)

I just plugged the filter and needle pump back in and set the discharge to make a very heavy agitation, loud enough to be heard in the next room.

I will wait til morning to see it it helps it come down or not. if not then I will unplug one filter at a time to see if it drops.


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## TheCryptKeeper (Mar 9, 2008)

Minsc said:


> My tank has been running warmer since I added a magdrive. It figures though, every piece of electric equipment is going to add some heat. Though I'm not sure why your tank would suddenly start warming if you haven't changed anything...
> 
> If you just want the temp to drop, a fan really does work great. Point it right at the water. It sound like you want to figure out how much heat everything is adding though.
> 84 isn't that bad, the only things I've ever seen die from that temp are shrimp.


it isn't good for some plants though right? I also have shrimp that I don't want to die either. 

You are exactly right.. I want figure out what is causing it all of a sudden to jump in temperature. The smart heaters have red led's in the dial. if it is on then it is heating the tank. If they are flashing then the temp is either 3 degrees too high or low from the current setting. I know that it works because when I do water changes it sometimes flashes if the water is too cold. Not easy to get exact temp straight from the faucet... damn close but not perfect. That tells me that the heater warning me now was right and not malfunctioning.

I have had the mag pump for about 5-6 months now I believe, so that is it either.


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## mountaindew (Dec 10, 2008)

TB
A water pump will add exactly as much heat as it’s power rating therefore a 40 watt water pump will add 40 watts of heat as the kinetic energy of water flow degrades into thermal energy.
C.Delbeek, J Sprung the reef aquarium v3
md


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## lauraleellbp (Feb 3, 2008)

Ken, can you ID ANYTHING that changed for the tank or the room the tank is in within the past week or two?

Any chance that the tank is getting more sunlight than it may have at other times of the year? Or that the room the tank is in is getting more direct exposure?

That's a huge issue in my own office, as it's a south-facing room... the temperature difference depending on the seasons is really dramatic.


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## TheCryptKeeper (Mar 9, 2008)

lauraleellbp said:


> Ken, can you ID ANYTHING that changed for the tank or the room the tank is in within the past week or two?
> 
> Any chance that the tank is getting more sunlight than it may have at other times of the year? Or that the room the tank is in is getting more direct exposure?
> 
> That's a huge issue in my own office, as it's a south-facing room... the temperature difference depending on the seasons is really dramatic.


It is in a basement with no windows in the room. See the thing with the mag pump is that the temp wasn't up before with it on. I understand that would do it but it wasn't doing it before so I don't believe that was it.. 

I think that the heaters were the culprit because the tank temp is down at 11am this morning to 80 and now at almost 5pm 79-80. the lights have been on now for about 4hrs so that wasn't causing it.

I will plug in one heater at a time and see if it goes up.. if so it will be replaced. same with the other one.

I will keep this updated. Thank you all very much for the help with this problem. Much appreciated.

Ken


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## kid creole (Dec 25, 2008)

mountaindew said:


> TB
> A water pump will add exactly as much heat as it’s power rating therefore a 40 watt water pump will add 40 watts of heat as the kinetic energy of water flow degrades into thermal energy.
> C.Delbeek, J Sprung the reef aquarium v3
> md


Very interesting. I never thought about it like that.


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## Tex Gal (Mar 28, 2008)

I'm surprised its the heaters. When I added my mag drive I noticed a substantial raise in temp. I would have bet is was your mag drive. I don't have a heater in mine anymore since I have the mag drive.


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## Postal Penguin (Mar 30, 2009)

If you go with in-line heaters the Hydor Eth series have worked great for me. No reduction in flow and it helps unclutter the tank.


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## TheCryptKeeper (Mar 9, 2008)

Tex Gal said:


> I'm surprised its the heaters. When I added my mag drive I noticed a substantial raise in temp. I would have bet is was your mag drive. I don't have a heater in mine anymore since I have the mag drive.


It might be that too now that I think about it.. see the heaters only start flashing with a warning if the temp rises 3 degress over the designated heat setting. I think with the mag drive with the combination of the light fixture being on for 10 hrs a day it brought it up.

at the end of the photo period the temp was at 82 deg.

you guys were saying put a fan in? where would I put a fan? in the fixture? on the back of the tank pushing the hot air away from the water? sorry if that is a stupid question.

thanks,

Ken


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## mountaindew (Dec 10, 2008)

Tex Gal said:


> I'm surprised its the heaters. When I added my mag drive I noticed a substantial raise in temp. I would have bet is was your mag drive. I don't have a heater in mine anymore since I have the mag drive.


That is why I use no heaters in two of my systems. As the pumps put in more then enough heat. My systems are open top with lights 4" above water line, this keeps down on the heat transfer from the t5 lights and thus very little if any temp change during light on periods.
I must stress that my house keeps a constant temp +- just a few degrees and the aquariums do the same "about 4-6 deg higher" as long as the pumps are running. Also I do keep heaters in storage just in case they are required.

TB, 
If your cabinet does not have good ventilation it will build up heat and transfer those units to the display. 
I have one system that requires me to keep the door open because the 55mm cabinet vent fan become noisy a while back so I shut it off until it can be replaced. 
md.


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## Tex Gal (Mar 28, 2008)

I also keep the cabinet doors open sometimes. I can feel the heat under there. I have thought about fans too, but really don't have any way to do it to cool the water. I thought about fans under the cabinet, which is doable, but just haven't done that. So much equipment under there....


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## fastfreddie (Sep 10, 2008)

TB, 
WalMart sold this little fan for less than $10 a few years ago. It's 4" tall and mine has been running for 4 summers.

Lakewood Bahama Breeze® Hi-Velocity Fan (FE10-CD) 4" 









Good luck with the heat issue.


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## lauraleellbp (Feb 3, 2008)

You just need a fan blowing across the surface of the water and away from the tank...

Any type of fan will do.

I can't remember if you've got a hood on this tank or not? If you do, I hear computer fans are super cheap and would be easily mounted in your hood. Otherwise I bet you could rig a small fan behind the tank hooked onto something...


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## TheCryptKeeper (Mar 9, 2008)

fastfreddie said:


> TB,
> WalMart sold this little fan for less than $10 a few years ago. It's 4" tall and mine has been running for 4 summers.
> 
> Lakewood Bahama Breeze® Hi-Velocity Fan (FE10-CD) 4"
> ...


funny thing is that we just bought that little fan this past weekend at target for 5.00. I haven't read this thread in a while so that part is funny. What is funnier is that I put that fan at the end of the tank blowing longways between the water line and the light and the temp dropped to 78 degrees with the lights on. so a fan is the way to go. I am going to look into some computer fans that I can mount on the sides of the tank to get air across there. I will put them on timers.


I have a catalina t5 solar fixture.. would this help instead of a fan?
http://www.catalinaaquarium.com/product_info.php?products_id=1423

I sent them an email asking how much


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## fastfreddie (Sep 10, 2008)

Torpedobarb said:


> funny thing is that we just bought that little fan this past weekend at target for 5.00. I haven't read this thread in a while so that part is funny. What is funnier is that I put that fan at the end of the tank blowing longways between the water line and the light and the temp dropped to 78 degrees with the lights on. so a fan is the way to go. I am going to look into some computer fans that I can mount on the sides of the tank to get air across there. I will put them on timers.
> 
> 
> I have a catalina t5 solar fixture.. would this help instead of a fan?
> ...


 That is funny. What a coincedence. I'm running mine right now. You probably don't want to be ghetto and use duct tape like I did. It left gunk all over my tank rim. :hihi:

Computer fans or the Catalina thing may be the way to go. It doesn't take a lot of air. It just has to clear the area right above the water surface or there is a 95 degree "cloud" over the water.


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## lauraleellbp (Feb 3, 2008)

I happened to notice that Dr F&S has fans for sale that mount on the back of the tank for $20-25.

Might be a solution for you.


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## TheCryptKeeper (Mar 9, 2008)

lauraleellbp said:


> I happened to notice that Dr F&S has fans for sale that mount on the back of the tank for $20-25.
> 
> Might be a solution for you.


nice... maybe a link for me? gosh Laura.. you are getting lazy these days


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## TheCryptKeeper (Mar 9, 2008)

http://cgi.ebay.com/JEBO-Aquarium-F...2a0153aa5d&_trksid=p3286.c0.m14#ht_3503wt_954

this one? the little fan I am using is about this size. let me know.

ken


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