[captr3d]

I am at wits end here I cant figure out why aquarium heats up to 80-85 degrees no matter what i set the temp on my heaters. I have tried 3 none seemed to work properly, 1 top fin 300 watt and 2 Aquieon 300 watt. I set to 72-78 on the dial still wants to heat the water to like 85+ degrees what gives.


it is a 55 gallon have 1 canister filter, 1 powerhead , 2 t5 bulbs over the top. Still heats higher even when the lights are off. I am not sure what my problem is. Any ideas maybe 3 bad heaters in a row?

 

[BarbH]

I am at wits end here I cant figure out why aquarium heats up to 80-85 degrees no matter what i set the temp on my heaters. I have tried 3 none seemed to work properly, 1 top fin 300 watt and 2 Aquieon 300 watt. I set to 72-78 on the dial still wants to heat the water to like 85+ degrees what gives.


it is a 55 gallon have 1 canister filter, 1 powerhead , 2 t5 bulbs over the top. Still heats higher even when the lights are off. I am not sure what my problem is. Any ideas maybe 3 bad heaters in a row?

What type of thermometer are you using? Have you tried using a different one, it may be the thermometer and not the heaters? It is possible that you got 3 bad heaters but I do doubt the likely hood of that. I would try a different thermometer or if you are using a digital one replace the battery and see if that makes any difference. :-D

 

[captr3d]

I have used 2 seperate digital cooking thermometers both read 80.4 and the heat i have set down to 74 from 76. But we will see if it kicks on again before it drops to like 78

 

[BarbH]

I have used 2 seperate digital icooking thermometers both read 80.4 and the heat i have set down to 74 from 76. But we will see if it kicks on again before it drops to like 78

i have had heaters in the past that I have had to dial down quite a bit to get the temperature right, the thermostats in heaters are not always accurate. I would also suggest getting a thermometer that is able to stay in the tank, if you don't have one already. One that can stick onto the glass will be fine. Also the temperature can vary depending on where you take it in the tank down near the substrate can run filter than near the top. Do you have any fish or plants in the tank at this time? Also if you have a hood on the tank this can keep the heat in. By the way welcome to the forums

 

[captr3d]

Yeah I have one on the glass Digital is easier to read. Yeah it is moderately planted some dwarf sag, Lloydiellahttp://www.ebay.com/itm/271148097893?ssPageName=STRK:MEWNX:IT&_trksid=p3984.m1497.l2648 swords and java moss doing well.... Yeah i have fish just a couple guppys and 7 black skirt tetrtas all seem healthy. But I had a 200 watt no name china ebay heater worked great for about the 4 weeks it took to cycle and add a couple fish. Before this whole problem......

 

[captr3d]

s


See What I am talking about?

 

[BarbH]

I have had the same issues with heaters before, actually had one that even with it returned all the way down still heated the water more than I liked. It seems that on a lot of the heaters the thermostats are not always correct, so setting the dial to the temp shown on the heater will not always give you your desired temperature. If at the current temperature of 80 if the heater is continuing to cycle on I would adjust it down some more. With there being fish and plants in there I would make sure that I adjusted it a little at a time. Also another thing to keep in mind with a larger aquarium it will take longer for the water to cool down.

 

[AbbeysDad]

The temperature set point on the rheostat is relative but not absolute...meant merely as a guide.

I'd suggest you turn the heater way down, then monitor the temperature. When the temperature comes down to 76-77F, very slowly increase the set point until the heater just comes on. Monitor and make only very slight adjustments only after allowing several hours to stabilize.

 

[captr3d]

So turned it down 74 to last night still sitting strong at 80.1. So it went down a bit.... So I guess all the way down to 68 and see what happens.