Problems Keeping Consistant Temperature

[Katana2486]

Hi~ I'm a noobie here~ I have a little experience with fish, but I still consider myself a beginner in the world of raising fish. ^-^

I have a problem keeping the temperature constant in my tank. It's a 5 gallon tank with a 10 watt flourescent bulb. I don't have any fish in it now (but I had some earlier that ended up dying... >.<), but I want to make sure that the temperature is constant before I add any fish. Without turning the light on, usually the temperature changes from about 80 degrees F to 84 degrees F. And I know 80 degrees F is already pushing it for tropical fish...

I just bought a "Neptune" heater for a 5 gallon tank with the hopes of keeping the temperature from dropping too much (before, sometimes it would drop to maybe 76 degrees at night when all the lights were out). The thing is, I am a college student living in the dormitory, and the tank is fairly close to the window (but we only leave our shades half open). I'd leave it in the common room, but one of the other girls is afraid of fish...

So here come the questions:

Would moving the tank further from the window reduce the temperature change? Or do they make tank heaters that also cool the water too? And how much would it cost? Would it be okay for my future fish to live in a really warm tank (maybe 84 degrees F, since that's the highest it gets) if the temp is constant? Because ideally, I'd like to get a betta... They're so pretty~

Any other tips/advice?

 

[riverman444]

Well, in my experience, most bodies of water experience water temperature fluctuations during a daylight/moonlight cycle.

Keeping a fish tank close to a window is never a good idea. For one, you get too much sun and could run in to algae issues.....AND......you may experience drastic temperature rises and drops.

If you are fluctuating between 76 degrees and 80 degrees, I don't think that you will have too big of a problem. Anything above 80 and less than 76, and I would move the tank or turn down the heater.

From what you say, I don't think cooling is the issue, I think you need to turn down your heater a notch or move the tank away from the sunlight.

--riverman

 

[saboy]

I think i could be having a similier prob, on one of my tanks the temp changes up and down from about 26.2 c to 26.4 to max at 26.8, and this is up and down everyday , but the wierd thing is that its in the morning its the highest, i think it might have something to do with my homes heating as it changes alot, but i still seem to put it down to a faulty heater , should a tank heater keep the tank the same all, the time ?? , on another tank of mine the temp only rises by .5 c when i have the light on all day,

 

[riverman444]

I"m not a heating "expert", but some common things could play a part in this. One, heat rises. Two, glass is an insulator. Having a tank without a cover will cool the water more quickly.

The cover on your tank can play a HUGE part in temperature, as can the temperature of the air outside of your tank. It would be common sense to know that if your tank is at 80 degrees and your room temperature is 65 degrees, you are probably going to see a fluctuation now and then, ecspecially without the presence of light. The good thing is that your tank water will never get cooler than the room temperature in which it sits......but it CAN get warmer. (sunlight, heater vent)

You might want to try and place your aquarium heater where there is a lot of water flow.....say....under the water outlet of your filter or near a bubble wand. You need water moving around the heater to effectively disperse heat.

I use glass covers on my tanks. I don't like the plastic ones, but that's just a personal choice. I don't know if it helps or hampers temperature

Also, is your tank in the airflow of a heater or AC vent? Crap, I could go on for days.........

 

[Katana2486]

Oh~ Thanks so much for the help. I'll talk to my roommate about moving things around, and I'll definately turn down the heater. Thanks again!!