Heat Off Internal Light

[Peter C]

Hi people

My light doesn't half kik out some heat

Iv to a thermometer on its way but until then I have no idea what temp the water is

When the light is on urely it must be heating the water up more than it should be as the bulb is only a few inches off the water and the heat has nowhere to escape to apart from towards the water

Would it matter or am I just thinking too in depth?

Cheers

 

[Liz1993]

I always worry about this! I always leave the lid on mine open now just so i know some oxygen is getting in there!

 

[fluttermoth]

It's nothing to worry about (for most tropical fish). If it does raise the temperature, it'll be gradual so won't bother the fish and your heater won't come on so often, that's all.

 

[CezzaXV]

What Fluttermoth said. My tank lid gets warm after a few hours and on rare occasion my water temp will go up a degree at most, but nowhere near enough to make a difference. In the wild fish will experience heat rising and falling with the day and night, so unless it's something incredibly rapid then there's nothing to worry about.

 

[OldMan47]

If you are using an incandescent light, leave it off until you have some way to measure tank water temperature. Back in the "olden days" we used to regulate our tanks using nothing but the lights. We adjusted the wattage and daily photoperiod to control our tank temperatures. You are right that incandescent lighting can definitely affect your water temperature. It was not easy, but I could get anything from 72F to 80F average temperature just by changing my lights around.

 

[Peter C]

If you are using an incandescent light, leave it off until you have some way to measure tank water temperature. Back in the "olden days" we used to regulate our tanks using nothing but the lights. We adjusted the wattage and daily photoperiod to control our tank temperatures. You are right that incandescent lighting can definitely affect your water temperature. It was not easy, but I could get anything from 72F to 80F average temperature just by changing my lights around.

What's an incandescent light? Lol

 

[fluttermoth]

One of the old, round, 'normal' lightbulbs, with a filament.

I have to say, I hadn't considered that anyone would still be using incandescent bulbs for lighting tanks!

 

[Alm0stAwesome]

I am pretty much repeating what everyone else has said but basically your heater will just not switch on as much when the light is "heating" the tank and will maybe come on more when the light is off - it's all good!

 

[Peter C]

One of the old, round, 'normal' lightbulbs, with a filament.

I have to say, I hadn't considered that anyone would still be using incandescent bulbs for lighting tanks!

Mines the long strip tube type bulb about a foot long

 

[OldMan47]

If you have a fluorescent tube instead of a light bulb, it will have a minimal effect on tank temperatures.

Hey the rest of you guys, back off a bit and give me some room, I actually regulated many a tank using nothing more than light period and wattage with one of those old fashioned bulbs. It is not necessary today, but in my early days it was the only way to control tank temperatures. There simply were no heaters back then but the fish still needed specific water temperatures. Since people around the world are at different stages of technical capability, I must still accommodate a lack of modern heaters even here on TFF. Until someone tells me that they have properly controlled heaters and fluorescent tubes, I need to give them the advice they would need if they did not have modern controls. Laugh all that you want but don't step into the middle of things and give them trouble for what they may have available to them.