Issues with heat in 4g

[TheresaM]

Tank is an Oceanic Evolve 4g. I'm using a 2w led light. House temp this time of year is ~72. It's on a kitchen counter, not near anything that puts out heat; gets no other direct lighting besides the led.

When started I had a heater going, water temp was around 79 and I decided I wanted to lower that a bit (RCS). Turned the heater down as low as it could go, no change. Removed the heater and the temp went up to 81!

For two days I did pwc trying to get the temp down...last night it was at 76.5, check a bit ago and it's at 79 again.

Any thoughts at all about this? I've used two different thermometers....

 

[Mebbid]

Removing a lid is a great way I've found to reduce heat in the aquarium. What is the ambient temperature around the tank?

 

[TheresaM]

Removing a lid is a great way I've found to reduce heat in the aquarium. What is the ambient temperature around the tank?

72-73...the only problem with that would be location, I'm afraid something might be accidentally dropped into the tank.

 

[TheresaM]

Here's a link to the tank. It has an internal filter. Would that put out heat to affect water temp?

 

[Chesmok]

What kinds of fish do you have? I have a little 2.5 gallon on my kitchen counter. Ambient temp steady at 71. I keep chili rasboras and RCS without a heater and they are thriving. The key is a steady temp doesn't matter if it's low or high but it has to remain steady. So if your heater is all wonky I'd suggest just taking it out completely and checking your temp. Rcs don't need heated tanks in my experience. Plus mini heaters are notoriously expensive and prone to the odd session of overheating for no reason. I had one in my 1 gal and it overheated my tank to 89 one day. Nightmare....


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[Mebbid]

72-73...the only problem with that would be location, I'm afraid something might be accidentally dropped into the tank.

Here's a link to the tank. It has an internal filter. Would that put out heat to affect water temp?

Yeah, dropping things into the tank could be troublesome. Also, yes the filter will add some heat to the tank. Imho, I would just stop worrying about the temperature being at that range. I kept a colony of neocardinia heteropoda (wild type RCS) in my 55g that I kept at 80 degrees. I started with 8 and ended up with well over 100 of them in there before some medication killed them.

 

[TheresaM]

Thanks. My concern was that I've been told-and read-that they don't breed as easily at higher temps.

 

[mikem691]

My fluval spec stayed around 81 with no heater due to the filter pump.

 

[Mebbid]

Thanks. My concern was that I've been told-and read-that they don't breed as easily at higher temps.

*shrug* That hasn't been my experience As long as you go with the neocaradina shrimp like the RCS and stay away from the caridina which are harder to breed then you should be fine.

 

[TheresaM]

My fluval spec stayed around 81 with no heater due to the filter pump.

Yup, took the filter out and now it's going down. Currently just running an air stone.

 

[Oto]

If it gets too cold, I've heard of people using the under tank heaters on a timer: every so oftern, like every half and hour, the heater goes on for half an hour.

 

[Mebbid]

If it gets too cold, I've heard of people using the under tank heaters on a timer: every so oftern, like every half and hour, the heater goes on for half an hour.

If you use higher quality heaters they shut themselves off when the water gets to a certain temperature.

 

[TheresaM]

At this point I'm certain it's the filter. The heater has been out for days. I ran the airstone directly into the tank since this is one of those with a filter compartment built in. That didn't look good but at least the temperature was more reasonable.

I currently have the filter running again but I'm not sure what to do next. I have no problem buying a better, adjustable heater. But the filter? This is a photo of the back of the tank: on the left is the input and filter media that came with the tank (I had to add sponge so the RCS wouldn't keep getting sucked in); on the right is the 'Aqueon Submersible Pump'.

I'd appreciate any help with this!

 

[RadMax8]

Would a sponge filter be a feasible option? This would eliminate any heat from your tank, but an air pump might be in the way...


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[TheresaM]

Would a sponge filter be a feasible option? This would eliminate any heat from your tank, but an air pump might be in the way...

Possibly. I'm working 2 small low tech desktop tanks, after those are a bit more settled I'll check into it.

 

[Gillie]

Even the smallest sponge filters are quite large in a small tank. The best I've found is a rectangular one by Lees that attaches to the side of the tank with suction cups. They don't create near as much circulation as other sponges but for a planted shrimp tank they work just fine.

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[TheresaM]

Even the smallest sponge filters are quite large in a small tank. The best I've found is a rectangular one by Lees that attaches to the side of the tank with suction cups. They don't create near as much circulation as other sponges but for a planted shrimp tank they work just fine.

I was just reading about that filter on Amazon!