Tank Is Getting Too Hot?

Hello!
I noticed the other day that my fish tank is getting too hot (at least for what I'm used to). It's a Marineland 3 gallon Contour. It reached up to 84.7 yesterday and it's causing a bit of concern. I unplugged the heater the day before so it's not the heater. I've tried keeping the lights off and it sits around 81 degrees. The ambient temperature in the room is 78 degrees. I've tried doing little water changes with cooler water but it just goes right back to it...
I've wiped down the air pump for the filter as that had a bunch of gunk on it but I'm kind of at a loss right now.
I also have an air bubbler in there, and 4 live plants (I've read that warm water doesn't oxygenate as well, so I at least have that covered...I think.)
Water levels just in case that is asked for:
pH: 7.4
Ammonia: 0
Nitrite: 0
Nitrate: 20
Current temp: 82

Any advice on what to do?

 

Are you sure room temp is 78, and there's not a room heat duct blowing on the tank ? No directed sunlight? If your running that warm without the heater, it's got to be your filter.

 

When I take the thermometer out of the tank it immediately drops to 79 and continues to climb down. It's away from the window, the only other source of heat is a small lamp with a low watt lightbulb next to it. We have the air on (Florida, where winter doesn't exist. ) so there's no heat blowing on it. Any suggestions on what to do with the filter? Why would it be overheating? there was gunk on it but there wasn't anything blocking it or what not.

 

What kind of filter?

 

I'm not sure exactly what kind it is. The tank came with one that is hidden in the back compartment.
It doesn't specify anywhere about the exact type of filter. Just "Marineland 3-stage hidden filtration with a Rite-SizeTM Z Cartridge and Marineland Bio-Foam® (included in the kit), and include an adjustable flow filter pump. "

 

So it sounds like it has a motor with an impeller. Sometimes the impeller get gunked up and needs to be cleaned. I'm assuming you have had this tank running for a while, and all was working well?

 

I've had it since the beginning of December. Everything was perfect, yes. lol! It wasn't terribly gunked up. I cleaned it out after I posted this (Looked at the manual and saw that I could pull that apart to access it). There was a little gunk but not much. Now I'll wait and see if that fixes it. Have a whole bunch of gunk floating in the water though x.x

 

Your tank isn't that old to have any gunk floating around, try doing a third water change and feeding ALOT less.

 

It had something in the air tubing. I only feed once a day with a tiny little pinch and scoop up what isn't eaten. and then I've read about doing one day of fasting so they can scavenge. Water change will happen so I can get some cooler water in there as well...and hope that it stays cooler.

 

good luck!

 

Thank you! Here's another random question that is somewhat related because it has to do with the filter... But how do I tell if the filter flow is too strong for the fish?

Well, Apparently cleaning the filter didn't work... I got it down to 79.1 after cleaning everything out and changing some water and it's already up to 79.5.

 

Thank you! Here's another random question that is somewhat related because it has to do with the filter... But how do I tell if the filter flow is too strong for the fish?

If the fish are struggling to swim it will indicate that your flow is too high

Are you sure it's not your lights that are causing high temps?

 

I troubleshooted it. Unplugged things one at a time until I was just down to the filter running without lights or a bubbler. The filter was the only thing that I watched the temp rise with. I also haven't had the issue at all prior to the other day. I haven't made any changes and the lights haven't affected the water temperature before.

 

I troubleshooted it. Unplugged things one at a time until I was just down to the filter running without lights or a bubbler. The filter was the only thing that I watched the temp rise with. I also haven't had the issue at all prior to the other day. I haven't made any changes and the lights haven't affected the water temperature before.

Does anything in the filter feel hot? Could it be the motor is overheating?

 

When I take it out the motor feels slightly warm. I don't know. I turned everything off... Will I be safe for a little to leave the filter off?

 

Try blowing a fan directly on the tank. I have box fans on three of mine. 2 because they just seem to be on warm spots and one that has lower temp fish. You would be amazed how well that works.
Opening the lid for a bit and letting the fan blow on the surface to get it down quickly helps, but I just blow mine on the front glass of the tank.

 

Try blowing a fan directly on the tank. I have box fans on three of mine. 2 because they just seem to be on warm spots and one that has lower temp fish. You would be amazed how well that works.
Opening the lid for a bit and letting the fan blow on the surface to get it down quickly helps, but I just blow mine on the front glass of the tank.

I've gotten it down to 78.8 degrees by doing a water change and keepign the electronics off. I have the hood opened as well (it's been cracked for the past two days though, hasn't done much for me ). I'm keeping the bubbler on for surface agitation and will probably call the manufacturer tomorrow for the filter. It's only a month old I shouldn't be overheating, especially with it on the lowest setting :-\ Temperature is supposed to go down tonight and it'll get chilly in the house so I'm a little concerned about that for the fish... I'm at such a loss right now.

 

I've gotten it down to 78.8 degrees by doing a water change and keepign the electronics off. I have the hood opened as well (it's been cracked for the past two days though, hasn't done much for me ). I'm keeping the bubbler on for surface agitation and will probably call the manufacturer tomorrow for the filter. It's only a month old I shouldn't be overheating, especially with it on the lowest setting :-\ Temperature is supposed to go down tonight and it'll get chilly in the house so I'm a little concerned about that for the fish... I'm at such a loss right now.

Couldn't you run the heater without filter?

 

Couldn't you run the heater without filter?

That's just logical. I completely took the heater out of the equation and forgot it even existed while trying to solve the rest of the problem. x.x Duh. lol
I should be ok to leave the tank without a filter for a day or two, right? I feel uncomfortable about it, but would prefer not to have boiled fish if I leave it on.
Is there a chance that if I leave it off, the filter problem will resolve? I am 99.9% sure that that's wishful thinking.

 

I have the same temperature issues with my tank. What size is you tank for starters? Don't turn the filter off, you'll be doing more harm then good. Get a small fan to blow directly onto the surface of the water, and open the hood that way you get evaporative cooling. I'll be removing my glass hoods completely in spring and use egg crate in place with about 4 USB fans blowing on the water.

 

I have the same temperature issues with my tank. What size is you tank for starters? Don't turn the filter off, you'll be doing more harm then good. Get a small fan to blow directly onto the surface of the water, and open the hood that way you get evaporative cooling. I'll be removing my glass hoods completely in spring and use egg crate in place with about 4 USB fans blowing on the water.

It's a little one, 3 Gallon. The only thing I worry about leaving it open is having the fish try to make a great escape, which... He jumped into the back of the tank once and I haven't trusted him since. I'll keep the filter on and keep the back part open.

 

To prevent going too far the other way, put your heater back in set on a lower temperature.
I wouldn't leave the filter off for long periods. You don't want to lose or cause a minI cycle.
I think a fan is your best bet. My tanks stay warmer than the room temperature so it's probably normal for filters to produce some heat that is more impactful for smaller tanks.

 

I turned the heater on last night (It's not adjustable, which is annoying but... It is supposed to maintain temperature at 78 + or - one.), left the filter on, and didn't bother with heat during the night (we dropped to about 70 last night). Left the back cover off (where the filter is) and let the air at it. When I woke up the temperature was 78.9. We're at 79.4 now but that's acceptable. But after all this stress I think my fish is on its way out.

 

A small volume of water like that is hard to regulate, it will give up heat and take it in at a much faster rate then larger tanks.

 

I turned the heater on last night (It's not adjustable, which is annoying but... It is supposed to maintain temperature at 78 + or - one.), left the filter on, and didn't bother with heat during the night (we dropped to about 70 last night). Left the back cover off (where the filter is) and let the air at it. When I woke up the temperature was 78.9. We're at 79.4 now but that's acceptable. But after all this stress I think my fish is on its way out.

80 is not too high for a betta. I hope he is doing ok and you figure out a way to keep the temp more consistent.

 

It was more so the fact that it was climbing. 80 didn't concern me. It was when it got to 84 and all the fluctuations. Oddly enough, I think the cold snap actually helped, because it hasn't climbed past 81. (-knocks on wood-)

 

I have an established 10 gallon tank with 5 glowlight tetras and about 30 cherry shrimp in there (I know that I have some stocking issues and I will fix it soon but please focus on helping me to solve this issue of mine). I usually keep my tank at around 77 degrees but when I noticed the temperature rising up for no reason , I turned off my heater. It was fine for awhile until these last few weeks when I noticed the temperature rise again. This time the tank stayed at around 82 degrees, which I believe would be pushing my inhabitants' limits. I'm really worried about this because I'm going on a 3 week vacation really soon and I asked an old neighbor (The only one who agreed to look after my tank) who will only agree to do simple things so I need a simple solution to this problem.

 

Unless you see the tank going over 90 while your gone, it shouldn't be an issue. Just make sure you clean the gravel and filter real well before leaving as the raised temperature will increase bacteria growth. The fish's metabolic rate will increase at the higher temperatures but should be fine for a month or two, as it occurs in nature.

 

Agreed. You can combat this some with completely removing the heater and decreasing the temp a few degrees on each water change. I keep dojo loaches in one of my tanks and in the summer it rises to 77ish for several months. I knock it back down to 75ish for each water change but within a few days it's right back to 77 or so.

 

That's reassuring but what about my cherry shrimp, I'm not certain if they can withstand 82 degrees or higher

 

They will stop breeding but will be fine

 

Look for the reason the temperature is rising I assume the room is not that hot unless no summer AC. The hood light or sunlight may dictate a location change or adjustment heat comes from somewhere find the cause by trying different things.

 

Take out your heater and DO WATER CHANGES! You mention the tanks rising temp over a few weeks. That to me says you haven't done a water change in that time. A 10 gallon is easy to manage. Just take out 20-50% water every few days and add colder water. Tanks 82, you want 78, take out 50% and add 72. Other than a chiller or putting in an AC in the same room (or central air) there is no way to lower tank temps easily (some guys use frozen water bottles but I think cooler water changes are easier since I'm doing them anyway).

 

I just did a water change last week and it was a cooler water change but I guess the summer heat brings it back up

 

It definitely does, especially if you don't have AC. If your water is 78 and the temp in the house is 85, the water will warm to 85 over time. Smaller tanks go up and down quicker because there's less water too. My 10s are tougher to manager than my 55 or 30's.

 

Don't bother taking your heater out, it's a waste of time, unless you have it set too high it IS NOT ON. That's why they have thermostats! You know what you're doing by taking your heater out? Making sure that if the weather gets colder your tank will get too cold.

 

I always unplug my heaters during the summer. They consume power regardless. The internal thermostats are constantly running so it knows to stay off or turn on. Here in Maine, come mid June, we're not getting below 75 most days until September. Its one less thing that's plugged in I have to worry about.

 

Agreed. Not expecting any cold snaps here in the south in the middle of June-end of august

 

I always unplug my heaters during the summer. They consume power regardless. The internal thermostats are constantly running so it knows to stay off or turn on. Here in Maine, come mid June, we're not getting below 75 most days until September. Its one less thing that's plugged in I have to worry about.

The internal thermostat in most is a bent piece of metal. It will consume approximately 1 watt hour between now and the heat death of the universe. Some more expensive with electronic thermostats would be unlikely to consume a kilowatt hour per year.

 

Good to know. Ill still stick with unplugging it while its in the 90's.