What's causing the heat?

[asianpuffer]

Hi.

my puffer tank is around 82 degrees and the snail tank thats right next to it is 75 degrees. both have a heater that is turned off. i tested both tanks when the lights were off for several hours. the snail tank has a hydrosponge and the puffs tank has the eheim.... and ideas?

[Dadof4]

With the hydro sponge you are blowing air in through a tube and losing heat, kind of like a car's radiator, plus you are getting heat release from the breaking bubbles on the top. The Eheinem is trapping the heat because it is a closed system with very little radiation area. If you're not running a brackish or marine tank you should be able to drop dome of your heat by adding an air stone or agitating the surface of the water a little with the output of the Eheinem.

[asianpuffer]

With the hydro sponge you are blowing air in through a tube and losing heat, kind of like a car's radiator, plus you are getting heat release from the breaking bubbles on the top. The Eheinem is trapping the heat because it is a closed system with very little radiation area. If you're not running a brackish or marine tank you should be able to drop dome of your heat by adding an air stone or agitating the surface of the water a little with the output of the Eheinem.

just that causes a 7 degrees difference? i actually had a bubble disc running in the puffs tank and the temp was around the same, i remove it because it caused too many micro bubbles floating around and made the tank look dirty

[Dadof4]

One way to look at it is that you have constant surface tension breaking that releases heat from the water. Stick your hand out of a car window and see how cool the convection from moving air can be. I'm assuming the Ehinem is a canister? If so you also have the heat from the motor in the filter wit little release of that heat. Give the output on the Ehinem a chance to break the surface a little or at least get it moving and see if that makes a difference. Another thing you could do is add a fan to the system if you cant cool it down.

[asianpuffer]

One way to look at it is that you have constant surface tension breaking that releases heat from the water. Stick your hand out of a car window and see how cool the convection from moving air can be. I'm assuming the Ehinem is a canister? If so you also have the heat from the motor in the filter wit little release of that heat. Give the output on the Ehinem a chance to break the surface a little or at least get it moving and see if that makes a difference. Another thing you could do is add a fan to the system if you cant cool it down.

im using a cpu fan and just put it on top of my tank (on top of the light diffuser). it seems to help a little. its 81 degrees right now.

[LilGreenPuffer]

82 degrees really isn't that bad. I wouldn't be too concerned. I keep some of my tanks at 82 all the time.

[asianpuffer]

82 degrees really isn't that bad. I wouldn't be too concerned. I keep some of my tanks at 82 all the time.

sounds good. i left the fan on and it actually lowered it to 76 degrees. I think what Ill do is turn it on during the day and leave it off at night and in the am

[Brandon8521]

Good to here the fan deal worked.

[Troender]

Light can also heat the water quite a lot. During summer I always cut down on the number of hours I keep the tank lights on. Besides keeping the heat down, it also helps on the electrisity bill and reduces the algae bloom I always get in the summer.

[Dadof4]

Another method I use to control the temp in the tank during summer time: Fill clean soda bottles with water and freeze them. You can float them in the tank for periods of time to drop the temp and then re-freeze them. Works wonders.

[jdak]

Another method I use to control the temp in the tank during summer time: Fill clean soda bottles with water and freeze them. You can float them in the tank for periods of time to drop the temp and then re-freeze them. Works wonders.

I sometimes keep a gallon of top off water in the refrigerator to add it directly to the tank.

[asianpuffer]

Another method I use to control the temp in the tank during summer time: Fill clean soda bottles with water and freeze them. You can float them in the tank for periods of time to drop the temp and then re-freeze them. Works wonders.

Wouldnt this lower the temp drastically for them?

[Rusty]

Another method I use to control the temp in the tank during summer time: Fill clean soda bottles with water and freeze them. You can float them in the tank for periods of time to drop the temp and then re-freeze them. Works wonders.

Wouldnt this lower the temp drastically for them?

Obviously the tank would have to be larger and watched closely. Its a good idea for a sump. I would probably only do this as a last resort. Fans are a favorite of mine. Surface agitation( good for oxygenation too)is a good way too.

[asianpuffer]

Another method I use to control the temp in the tank during summer time: Fill clean soda bottles with water and freeze them. You can float them in the tank for periods of time to drop the temp and then re-freeze them. Works wonders.

Wouldnt this lower the temp drastically for them?

Obviously the tank would have to be larger and watched closely. Its a good idea for a sump. I would probably only do this as a last resort. Fans are a favorite of mine. Surface agitation( good for oxygenation too)is a good way too.

how did you mount your fans?

[Rusty]

depends. Most of my lights are DIY so on some i can fit cpu type fans like yourself. Others are on shelves with lighting built into the shelving undersides, there i use those little clip on fans. other times ive setup those window fans over the tanks. It just depends o the situation. I dont have to do it to many of my tanks though as most of them are in the basement.