temperature flucuation!?

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exactionfigure

Aquarium Advice Activist
Joined
Dec 20, 2005
Messages
127
Location
taunton MA
My tank has been about 65-70 since I started it, yesterday I thought that might be a bit too cold so I turned it up a bit and it went up to 80 and to turned it down and it went to 68 and I just turned it up and it's about 75
the heater sucks and it super sensitive I think I finally got it and my fish are fine but I was worried about the Bio spira I just added 2 days ago with they be ok in these temp flucuations?

thanks
-Matt
 
I would be more concerned about the fish...the fluctuations can stress them tremendously. Glad that they are not suffering any ill effects at this time. The bacteria should be fine.

What brand of heater is this?
 
The bacteria do fine in those temp ranges. Activity slows as temp goes down, but you have to be below 64 before it is dramatic (>50% reduction). Death occurs with freezing. Death also occurs with heating to about 120 degrees. AT 80 degrees they are fine, optimal range is 77 to 86.

Your fish, however, will be stressed with such wild temp changes.
 
Get a better heater... If it's that screwy then it's liable to malfunction at some point and do some real damage. When the old clamp on heaters were still common I had one screw up one night while I was at work, and got a call that my fish were all floating at the top of the tank, and the temp was just over 100. I had to put ice packs into the tank to bring the temp down a little at a time until the fish were swinmming again rather than floating. I was lucky I only had one loss, but I went out the next day, and got my first submersible heater... Cost me $40 back then for a 100 W, but it was worth it. Never had a temp issue again. Now that you can get a really good heater for about $20 or less there's no point to risking your fish.
 
jrp1588 said:
my very favorite heater...got them in both of my tanks and havn't had a problem yet.

Haven't looked at Marineland heaters for awhile... Glad they got rid of the dual temp models. The only reason I never bought one before was that I like to have more control than a high/low setting. Have to keep it in mind now in case I wind up needing one.
 
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