It`s So Hot I`ve Tuned My Heater Off.

[Athena]

As a couple of others have already pointed out, it's recommended to leave your heaters switched on.

Turning your thermostat control down to a lower setting will not reduce the water temp if the water is warmer due to the outside weather conditions. So if your thermometer is reading e.g. 29C, lowering your heater controls to 25 will not make the temp drop to 25C. So if the temp stays high it does not mean that your heater thermostat is faulty.

The temp setting of your heater thermostat is the point at which you want the heater to switch on if the water temp drops BELOW whatever setting you have chosen. So, for example, mine are set to 27C - if overnight the water temp drops below 27C then the heater will switch on and bring it back up to 27C then switch off.

You can tell if your heater is faulty if it is switching on constantly despite the water temp reading higher than the setting on the heater thermostat.

Most fish can tolerate gradual fluctuations in water temp, anyway, with no problems (think in their natural habitat where temps also go up and down especially with freak weather conditons). It's the sudden, dramatic changes that shock them.

It's never a good idea to switch off your heaters because overnight the temps can drop back down quite a bit before they go back up again in the morning. I noticed this for myself last night - before going to bed the thermometer was reading 29C - I came down in the night to get some water and noticed the heater light on. Strange, I thought. Checked on the thermometer and surprisingly the water temp had gone down to 26, which is why my heater had come on. Before I left my house this morning at 6.30am, the temp was stable again, but no doubt it will increase a little by the end of the day LOL

Just thought I'd mention all of this because it appears there may be some confusion over the function of the heaters.

Regards - Athena

 

[fluttermoth]

Great post, Athena.

All these people switching their heaters off is a bit worrying!

 

[Athena]

Thanks! Yes, that's what I thought. Wasn't sure if I had explained it properly though LOL. Sometimes I know what I mean, but others might not get it.

Another thing I forgot to mention was that it isn't saving them any money on electric by turning them off because the heater wouldn't switch on automatically if the water is warmer than the heater thermostat setting, anyway. It's not like the heaters would be in a "switched on" position if the tank temp is, say 30C. That would only happen if heaters worked on a timer setting, to switch on regardless of the water temp, which they don't do.

Anyway, people will do what they want to do...we can only give our points of view and hope it's useful to someone.

Regards, Athena

 

[Brett_dale]

sorry to jump in on another thread but is this kinda heat usual in a aquarium, we just got our first one on monday and have it set up (nothing but plants in there as its cycling) our heater is set to 26/27 (never on) but the thermometer shows from 29-31 C, turning the thermometer off made no difference. I was kind of under the impression my (temporary)thermometer was shot as it isnt a new item. My crested gecko terrarium in the same room (no heating) is showing 24.8 C.

 

[StandbySetting]

What's the ambient temperature of the room? Remember that water retains heat a lot better than air does.

 

[colleen0309]

I wouldn't dare turn off my heaters. I would never remember to turn them back on!

 

[Athena]

sorry to jump in on another thread but is this kinda heat usual in a aquarium, we just got our first one on monday and have it set up (nothing but plants in there as its cycling) our heater is set to 26/27 (never on) but the thermometer shows from 29-31 C, turning the thermometer off made no difference. I was kind of under the impression my (temporary)thermometer was shot as it isnt a new item. My crested gecko terrarium in the same room (no heating) is showing 24.8 C.

If your heater is set to 26/27 but isn't switching on it is probably because your tank water temp is already higher than that setting. When your tank water temp drops to below 26C the heater should automatically switch on. As I noted above already, turning the heater off does not make the water temp drop as that is governed by the room temp and current hot weather.

If in doubt about your tank thermometer I'd recommend getting a new one so your readings can be accurate. In the meantime you could do a little test with it in a tub of cooler water and see if the reading drops to check it is actually still functioning.

Whilst we have this hot spell, it's a good idea to increase aeration (surface turbulance) in the aquarium.

Yes, these water temps are quite normal in this hot weather spell. Mine has been at 30C recently.

 

[KkAaNnEe]

Could just stick it on a timer if your having real trouble, its more likely to get cooler at night so just set the timer for then. If people are being strict enough to make sure they check their temp, then im sure they will remember to switch a heater back on, its not gonna suddenly start snowing.

Just use your common sense and do as you think is appropriate, most of us live in england, the weathers gonna change soon enough!