How temperature affects your aquarium

[ratchet]

I had a problem with 'ich' a few months back and lost a number of fish. I talked to another guy about it and he said that it's most likely caused by water temperature fluctuations. At the time, I had also introduced some new tankmates. It could have been that also...I dunno. My question is - has anyone else had any experience with this? My water temp is 78 when I wake up in the morning, then after the lights have been on for a few hours, the temp climbs to 80 degrees and stays there for the rest of the day. Can this be the culprit?!?

Thanks!

 

[Lance M.]

I've had this happen in my freshwater tanks before. Temperature changes can cause ich if it is a large change in temperature over a short period of time because it stresses the fish and makes them more likely to become infected. When it happened to me the temperature swayed from about 74 in the morning to about 82 in the afternoon (it was the summer and the tank was a 10 gal too close to the window). So I fixed it and the temp usually goes from 78 to about 82 in the summer everyday but the fish are use to it.

Remember in the wild the same thing happens where the water is cooler at night and in the morning than compared to midday and afternoon. A 2 degree change is fine and I don't think you can really do anything to stop it from happening.

 

[ratchet]

Thanks for the reply. It hadn't happened before and I've had my tank up for over a year so I think i can safely blame it on the stress of the new arrivals then. I was thinking of building a hood to get the lights off the top of the aquarium and adding a couple of computer fans to get the heat out but if a 2 degree fluctuation isn't too bad then I'll scrap that idea.

 

[Lance M.]

Yea it was the new arrivals. I've had my freshwater running for four years and all of my ich problems where within the first couple of months, well it happened one more time later but it didn't kill anything.

Yea that would be a lot of work and $ to fix something and doesn't need to be fixed.

 

[Hara]

One thing you can do is set your heater to the temp that the tank reaches at its most hottest point of the day. Then, when the lights go off, the heater will do its job and keep the temperature stable.

 

[ratchet]

I thought of that but now I'm wondering that if I do that, i'll start at 80 and then when the lights come on, won't it raise the temp up again? I feel like I'm overthinking it. LOL!! Also, I had a number of SPS corals in the tank which perished in the heat of the summer last year. I really don't want to pay a fortune for a chiller. Has anyone been able to keep the water temp down by other means? I'd love to replace my sps corals but it would be dumb unless I can keep my water temp steady. I have heard that putting a fan on the sump helps keep the water temp steady as well. Any thoughts on that?

 

[roka64]

You can use a fan over the sump or blowing over the top of your tank.

 

[SeeDemTails]

A fan will solve most all your porblems!

 

[melosu58]

I personally dont think a 2 degree swing will hurt your tank. What happens is your if your tank already has the parasite in it then you have big temp changes then the fish will be stressed out lowering its immune system and then the parasite attacks. I dont see where heat is the factor here. But yes a fan across the top will help lower temp a few degrees

 

[ratchet]

I had a pretty major temperature increase for a sustained period of time when the corals died. That was not at the same time that the fish died. The water temp increased and killed the corals due to a really hot house - no air conditioning - over the hottest period of the summer last year. Or, at least that's what I think killed them.

 

[ram0040]

Well, I would just like to add another question just to spur conversation of this topic a little more.

I guess first would be a little background. I am running a 30g FOWLR with 45lbs of rock, a prizm skimmer, a HOB filter, heater and power compact lighting. This was originally a nanoreef but when I moved in August I decided to go FOWLR just for simplicity. Also my lights run from 5pm to 3am on this tank, because that is when I am home.

When I came home yesterday afternoon after work my temperature in the tank was higher than 90 degrees. I only say higher because my thermometer wasn't giving a reading it was so high. Also I noticed that my heater was on even at this hot a temp. Needless to say both fish and the cleaner shrimp I was keeping in there were dead. Obviously such a temp change from a normal of 80-82 is tragic. My heater has a temperature guide on it which is always set to 78 but for some reason it was still on. Since all inhabitants had already fallen victim they were removed. I turned the heater down by 2 degrees, it clicked off and I went ahead and floated some icebags in the water to cool it quicker so that hopefully my bacteria and anything living in the LR would not perish as well. Well the temp went down and the I so far have left the suspect heater in the tank and it seems to be working normally again.

What suggestions, if any, does anyone have with regards to prevention measures for this type of catastrophe? Any ideas of why this might have happened...Really any thoughts would be great...

 

[ratchet]

A new heater

In my opinion, I'd just get a new heater. They're not that expensive compared to the cost of replacing your livestock again. I would also get an all plastic completely submersible heater as well. I had a glass heater in my sump that broke for no apparent reason and polluted my water. It smelled like some kind of nasty electrical meltdown. I ended up losing one ricordia mushroom and the remaing one lost most of it's color.

 

[melosu58]

I think they recommend titanium instead of glass. You are right that the glass can break where the titanium will stay in one piece.

 

[ram0040]

What specific brand/model heater would you recommend? And still any strategies or preventative measures to avoid the possiblility of this happening again?

Also, any stories of this happening to anyone?

 

[ratchet]

heater

I currently have a Visi-Therm Stealth Heater, 150W on my 40 gallon breeder tank. It's been there for over a year with no problems so far. It's in my sump so it's not visible in the tank. works well there!

I actually do have a friend that had the same problem as you - his heater got stuck in the 'on' position and basically cooked his tank while he was away for the weekend.

 

[Kurt_Nelson]

Re: heater

I actually do have a friend that had the same problem as you - his heater got stuck in the 'on' position and basically cooked his tank while he was away for the weekend.

Which is why I really like the idea of having two heaters that are sized at 1/2 your required heating load. If one sticks on, you have a lot longer time frame to notice and react.

The drawback that's been mentioned here in other threads is that it's hard to get two heaters to "share the load" equally. One always seems to be on more than the other. It's true, but you can get them pretty close with some tweaking over a few days.

 

[roka64]

The drawback that's been mentioned here in other threads is that it's hard to get two heaters to "share the load" equally. One always seems to be on more than the other. It's true, but you can get them pretty close with some tweaking over a few days.

I bought these and they seem to share the load pretty well, you have hear them trun on and off:
http://www.premiumaquatics.com/Merc...duct_Code=FI-HMD-150&Category_Code=Finnexheat