What is going on with the temperature?

[Beckyx]

Hi,

I brought home a beautiful Betta called Raphael last week. Very foolishly, I was sold a BEtta bowl at the store. When I got home I was horrified and immediately ordered a Biorb flow, lots of decorative hides holes for him and a heater.

Today the Biorb arrives and I merrily fill it with warm water and stick the heater on... the temperature reads 35C! It doesn’t come down even though I switched the heater off. I bailed out the water and started again with cold and the temp fell to 24C which is the same temp as my room.

We live in a VERY hot house in the UK so warm in fact I never have heating on in my room even in winter it never falls below 21.

I tests the thermometer in Raphael’s current bowl and it said the same, 24C

... please help me!

Becky

 

[mikey11]

just leave the heater unplugged and stop worrying about it,

putting cold water in to lower the temp is worse for the fish

 

[Beckyx]

The betta is still in his old tank at present...

 

[Beckyx]

So just got in - tank is reading 23C - outside temp is 11C. Obviously no heating. But I read the optimum for a betta is 25-27... I’m confused- what should I do in winter? If it’s 21 is that ok with no heating? Do I leave the heater out until it drops to below 21C?

 

[Colin_T]

Set the heater to 22C and leave it at that. It will be warm enough for the fish during winter and in summer as the outside temperature rises, the tank temperature will rise too.

 

[Beckyx]

Will it automatically switch off when it gets to 22C? Sorry if I am being stupid- this is all brand new to me!

After a very chilly evening it is down to 21C.

 

[seangee]

Does the heater have a thermostat? Usually the heater only comes on when the temperature drops below the heat it is set for. So if its set at 25 and the water drops to 24 it will come on and turn itself off again when the temp reaches 25. Most people just leave the heater on all the time and it only comes on when it needs to.

 

[Colin_T]

Aquarium heaters that are functioning correctly and that are not faulty, will hold the temperature at whatever they are set on, and not raise the temperature above their current setting. If the heater is set on 22C it should hold the temperature there and not let it drop below 22C.

As the air temperature in the room increases, the aquarium water temperature will increase and when the water temperature goes above 22C, the heater should automatically turn itself off.

Some of the cheaper brands of aquarium heater don't always work as well as other brands and the heater might be faulty and allow the temperature to go up or down when it shouldn't. To check this, set the heater to a temperature (say 26C) and leave it to run for 24 hours. Use a floating glass thermometer to measure the water temperature in the tank. It will take a couple of hours for the heater to warm the water to 26C but once it is there, the temperature should remain stable and sit on whatever the heater is set to.

Monitor the water temperature over a 24 hour period and if the water temperature remains constant during that time, the heater would appear to be working correctly.
Obviously don't have fish in the tank when you test this because sudden temperature fluctuations are bad for fish.

When you get a thermometer for the aquarium, get a number of them and put them on a bench/ table at the pet shop. Check them all and make sure they all have the same temperature. Sometimes you get thermometers that have not been calibrated or are just faulty, and these will give a different temperature reading to the others. It's not uncommon to find 1 in 10 thermometers that give a different reading to the others, so check them first.

 

[Beckyx]

Thanks I will give it a go

 

[Essjay]

Most heaters are not well calibrated. Just because the setting on the dial reads 25 deg, it does not mean that it will heat the water to exactly 25 deg. Most are a couple of degrees out of alignment. Find which setting gives the water temperature you want, and leave it at that setting regardless of what it actually reads.

 

[Beckyx]

Ok thanks, I set to 25 the heater (Biorb) glowed orange for 30 seconds and shut off again but thermometer reading 21 still! Should I turn up the heater?

 

[Essjay]

What type of thermometer are you using? The type that stick on the outside of the tank and change colour at different temperatures are not terribly accurate as they are affected by the air temperature. Glass ones that attach with a sucker to the inside of the tank wall are better, or a digital thermometer, the kind with a probe that goes in the water and a display outside the tank.

If you are using a stick on the outside strip, wait till you have a thermometer that goes inside the tank. Then if it still reads low, turn the heater up a tiny bit and wait a few hours to see what the temp settles at. Keep turning the heater up a bit every few hours till the temp settles at what you want. Don't be in too much hurry in case you overshoot

 

[Beckyx]

Set to 28 did same thing, temperature still at 21... I give up! Faulty? Should I send it back?

 

[Beckyx]

Sorry am using the Biorb 50W

 

[Beckyx]

Again sorry I can’t seem to edit posts! The Biorb supplies thermometer that goes inside the tank