LAlonso

At first my tank was hovering within the normal range (74-78 degrees). However, over the last week (and several lost fish), I noticed the temp had increased to about 84 degrees.

I immediately changed the water and the temp went down to the normal range. After about two days, the temp is now slowly creepinging up again. The A/C in my home is kept at no higher than 78 and 76 at night.

Is it possible that my lighting unit on top is heating up the tank too much? I only keep the light on during the day and in the evening before bed, we shut it off.

Any help would be appreciated as I do not want to lose any more fishies.

Matt

Yes that is what is causing it.

I had a FW Tank and my water was always warmer then needed so i put my heater down and i even shut the lights off for 1 or 2 hours everyday and that keeps the tank temp steady also your A/C should help keep the water cool nd if u have a lid on the tank then take it off and put your a/c on so it cools the surface water down.

From Matt

Plz Add To My Reputation

Shawnie

welcome to fishlore!!

add some frozen water bottles to float in durning the day..I would assume you dont have a heater and you just live in a hot climate otherwise you would turn your heater down

LAlonso

That's correct...no heater...I live in Florida.

Any help is appreciated...seems unusual that the temp reaches over 80 considering my home is much less than that. The lighting is the only thing I can think of that raises the temp.

Shawnie

how many watts is the light? I leave my lights on for about 10 hours a day and it doesnt effect my temps...

Matt

Welcome To FishLore

As i said before. Te lighting is the "MAIN" problem. It is simple to stop this you just leave your lights off for 1 extra hour in the morning and you put them off for an hour at midday/1-3 o'clock. Plz Take My ADvice I Know what im talking about.

From Matt

Shawnie

matt....I respectfully disagree...I Have low wattage and mines on for 10hours a day....so it depends on what his wattage is ...

outlaw

To go with the light, what size is the tank? If it's the 10G in your info, it may just be there is a small amount of water making it easier to heat. You said you lost fish, are there still any in there? If not what if you leave it alone for a few days and see if the water stays cooler (with lights off) or gradually heats up to 84 and stays there or gets warmer (with lights on). Is the tank in sunlight at all? When you say A/C, is it a window/wall unit or a central A/C unit with venting? When you say the day and evening, about how many hours would you say its on?

Red1313

Depends on the type of lights also. Florescents don't heat a tank by much. However incandescent bulbs will and can cause drastic changes in water temp.
Haveing said that I got to talk to a guy the other day about the huge tank that a local hotel here has. It's over 200 US gal and is in the lobby. They don't have a heater b/c they have 14+ florecent bulbs over the tank and that keeps the temp stable and aceptable for the fish. The big reason for that is that the tank has enough water to "hold" the heat from the lights.

Shawnie

I never looked at the info...I forget about that sometimes and most of the time its not updated...but if it is, the tank isnt cycled either after 1 day ...unless you used tetra safestart ...do you know if its cycled or not?

Shawnie

see thats why I dont look LOL

LAlonso

The tank is now over a month old. There are still 5 surviving fish that seem to be fine.

The wattage on the two bulbs are 25W each. The lights in the tank are on approximately 14 hours during the day...8 a.m. till about 10 p.m.

My A/C unit is a central air unit and tank is away from any other direct light...that was the reason for having the lights on during the day...otherwise it is quite dark in the tank.

Thanks everyone for your help!! I look forward to hearing back from you all...

Red1313

What type of bulbs?

LAlonso

They are definitely incandenscent. I have had the lights off now for a few hours and the temp has decreased about 2 degrees to about 80 degrees now.

Lucy

I use 2 15w's one of my 10g'. Maybe decrease the wattage and add a heater for stability. Unless you have live plants that need more.

Shawnie

yes 50w of light on a 10 gal is HUGE....is it planted?

Red1313

Incandescent is you're problem, they give off lots of heat. I had one that came with a 2.5 gal tank of mine and it played havek with trying to keep a stable temperature. Also if you want a planted type incandescent bulbs don't give the complete spectrum of light needed for good plant growth.
I don't know exactly what style of lights you have (strip vs bulb) so I can't say what that amount of wattage would do to the water, but it could be compounding you're heat problem from the bulbs.

Matt

Yes sorry shawnie although if he has a high wattage then the lighting is the problem and he will need to get less powerful lights.

LAlonso

Thanks guys for your help. I will definitely invest in lower wattage bulbs. The temp outside has been cooler so the tank temp has been good and has stabilized...but still keeping an eye on the lights for now.

Lisa