Is it OK for my tank to be 80F?

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JackBinimbul

Aquarium Advice Freak
Joined
Jul 29, 2018
Messages
315
Location
Texas
I've had my 20G long tank set up completely dry and empty for days and have been monitoring the temp with this thermometer. It's been holding between 75 and 78 which seemed perfect for the fish I'm considering (endlers, pepper cories and RCS).

I filled the tank today to test all of my gear. Now, I live in Texas and it was over 100 today so the water from the "cold" tap is pretty warm. When I first filled it, the temp was reading about 82. It's been about 8 hours since then and it's sitting at 80. I do have a glass lid that I cannot change. Not only can endlers be jumpers, but I have cats. I know that the lid can trap heat and that most solutions require an open top, but that's not an option. This is the absolute hottest my house will get at any point of the year.

I do have two air pump filters in opposite ends of the tank, run by a Tetra 40. The tank will also be planted. I'm also using a low-heat LED. Would this provide enough oxygenation and ammonia filtration for the fish at this temperature?
 
Jack...

You're wise to have an airstone working in the tank. This should provide enough added O2 for your fish and shrimp. To me, 80 degrees is a little on the high end for the water temperature, but still manageable. If the temperature gets much higher, set up a fan and point it at the tank. This should keep the water temp in the safe zone until the weather cools off.

B
 
I'm keeping endlers, pepper cories and RCS, as I mentioned ;)

Thanks, Bradbury! I had thought about pointing a fan at it, but wasn't sure if that would make any difference. I think I'll grab one and test it out before there are fish in it.

It did drop another degree or so overnight. I turned the light back on and will watch it through today.
 
80 would be starting to stress the pepper cories and RCS. Hopefully that fan drops the temp a couple degrees. Is your tank still sitting in sunlight or did you cover that window?
 
It's about 8 feet diagonally from the glass door in question and it leads to a covered patio so the light is quite diffused by the time it gets to the tank. I've also put the thermometer on both ends of the tank for 24 hours to check for hot spots and the temp is consistent over the length of the tank. That said, I will be covering the glass door long term. It'll save me some electricity, if nothing else.

The good news is that it dropped back down to 78 and seems to be holding there. If it gets any higher than that, I think I'll mount a fan on the wall behind it. I found a dual fan setup for car dashboards with directional fans that seem like a good, affordable option.

I know I'll need something over the winter as well. If anyone has recommendations for compact, sponge filter compatible heating solutions, please let me know. I've done some research into the in-tank ones and it seems that they're prone to bursting and killing all the fish. Yikes!
 
ive used in tank heaters for probably 15 years now and never had any that busted. they always failed by not working at all or skyrocketing the temp because it couldnt regulate it correctly. i have 8 aquariums and 5 of them have in tank heaters in them. only 1 has failed in the last 5 years and it just wouldnt turn on no matter what temp i turned it up to. they do have heaters that go under the tank if you want to go that route but i have not personally used them before.
 
What brand/type do you swear by, Goat?


i use 2 cheapo no name heaters i got off ebay for like $7 and they are one of the ones that failed on me. the other is still working fine. the rest of the heaters i use are eheim jager heaters. not cheap but not stupidly expensive heaters.
 
I use no name heaters but never totally submerge them (I leave the top out of the water). Never had the need too totally submerge. I've had several good years without failure. I also keep spares.
 
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