Do you worry about your aquarium temperature?
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GreggZ
Moderator
The thing most people get wrong is that they want to keep their tank warm. Actually everything is easier at cooler temperatures, and most tanks don't need a heater at all.
I haven't run one in many years now. My tank stays pretty stable at about 73 to 74 degrees most times of the year. In the middle of summer it can creep up a bit but I use cooling fans to keep the temp down.
This notion that "tropical" tanks need to be run warm is simply not true. Run it cooler and your planted tank life will be easier.
I haven't run one in many years now. My tank stays pretty stable at about 73 to 74 degrees most times of the year. In the middle of summer it can creep up a bit but I use cooling fans to keep the temp down.
This notion that "tropical" tanks need to be run warm is simply not true. Run it cooler and your planted tank life will be easier.
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- #3
I don't run heaters either but I live in South Florida. Heaters are probably the number one point of failure in most tanks. I know of several that have fried tanks.
Those of you that run heaters, do you have any favorites? Any back up plan in case of malfunction?
Is it the Walmart special or do you have an aquarium fan set up?
SingAlongWithTsing
Active Member
83+ F most of the past 2 months.
This is with 4 AC infinity fans.
As much I want to keep my tank under 78F I dont think I can unless I run the AC all day and that would probably hit the electric bill hard lol.
I might try to rig up something with some Artic or Noctua PC fans.
Unexpected
Well-known Member
I have to run heaters in the winter. During the summer, they don’t have to work as hard. I’ve given up on higher priced heaters and use 2 Top Fin 200 watt preset heaters. They are less than 20 bucks and just replace them every year. I will sell the old ones on Facebook locally.
I keep the heaters on a Wi-Fi Ink Bird and have the Ink Bird on my Hydros.
I keep the house at 77 during the day and 76 at night.
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- #6
Wow, ever thought about a chiller?
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- #7
Best practice, right there.
fablau
Community Member
Another very good question, and I agree with Greg above: the lower the better, in general… Many people, including myself, often forget about temperature and how much plays a role in plants growth (besides fish health, of course). The higher the temperature, the faster your plants grow. Personally, I keep a minimum temperature of 75.2 F (24 C) and I am really careful in hot Summer days not to go over 86 F (30 C) which may be dangerous, mostly to fish. In that case, I use a fan like this over my tank water surface:
It works like magic to lower the temperature back to normal range. It works fast and really well!
It works like magic to lower the temperature back to normal range. It works fast and really well!
BryceM
Active Member
It was -8 degrees F here this AM! Not very tropical. 
We have forced-air home heat and AC so inside it stays around 68-72 degrees. I don't have a heater on my 46 low-tech. With the lights, it generally stays in the 74 degree range.
The 180g tank has two 300W in-line Hydors which have been going non-stop for over a decade now. Just recently one of them started getting stuck in the on position once in a while so they're on an Apex controller now too.
The open-top rimless 150g tank really tends to cool down quickly. I have two 300W heaters on it, keeping it around 82 degrees, mostly for the discus. One of them runs about half of the time. The other only comes on after water changes.
A couple weeks ago I was wondering why on earth people would ever need a chiller........ and then I remembered visiting Phoenix in the summertime. Most folks there have AC, but not everyone. I imagine LEDs and the trend to more open tops has fixed much of the problem.
We have forced-air home heat and AC so inside it stays around 68-72 degrees. I don't have a heater on my 46 low-tech. With the lights, it generally stays in the 74 degree range.
The 180g tank has two 300W in-line Hydors which have been going non-stop for over a decade now. Just recently one of them started getting stuck in the on position once in a while so they're on an Apex controller now too.
The open-top rimless 150g tank really tends to cool down quickly. I have two 300W heaters on it, keeping it around 82 degrees, mostly for the discus. One of them runs about half of the time. The other only comes on after water changes.
A couple weeks ago I was wondering why on earth people would ever need a chiller........ and then I remembered visiting Phoenix in the summertime. Most folks there have AC, but not everyone. I imagine LEDs and the trend to more open tops has fixed much of the problem.
My tank is at 84-85 F (29-30 deg C) for about 9 months, and I get away with it when injecting CO2 and maintaining the tank and filters well.
I tried if I could lower and then do without CO2 injection, as I was inspired by @sudiorca 's amazing non CO2 supplemented tanks. Not sure if it is fair to blame the temperature alone for my low tech failure, or there was more to it.
I tried if I could lower and then do without CO2 injection, as I was inspired by @sudiorca 's amazing non CO2 supplemented tanks. Not sure if it is fair to blame the temperature alone for my low tech failure, or there was more to it.
BigWave
Active Member
Oh you guys and your warm waters..... Bet you'd freeze to death up here in the PNW. (Pacific North West). My tank lives in the garage and it takes considerable power and effort to keep it warm so I gave up. Once apon a time I insulated the tank with styrofoam sheets then wrapped in plastic. This makes it extremely hard to see inside and well even do anything. Heating 125 gallons of water to a constant 70+ degrees when its 33 out gets expensive real quick. On average it goes with the seasons. During summer its about 60-65 degrees. Winter it hovers about 45-50
A few things I've learnt growing plants in cool waters:
1. Overall growth is slower with internodes being shorter.
2. Mosses, ferns, buce, anubias and the like absolutely love the cooler temps and grow insanely fast.
3. It is far easier to inject CO2 into cooler waters
4. Fish, Shrimp and Snails do fine up to about 45 degrees. Yes I admit its not great for them but so be it.
These pics taken just a few minutes ago at 7am ish.
A few things I've learnt growing plants in cool waters:
1. Overall growth is slower with internodes being shorter.
2. Mosses, ferns, buce, anubias and the like absolutely love the cooler temps and grow insanely fast.
3. It is far easier to inject CO2 into cooler waters
4. Fish, Shrimp and Snails do fine up to about 45 degrees. Yes I admit its not great for them but so be it.
These pics taken just a few minutes ago at 7am ish.
Count Krunk
Active Member
I keep my tanks at 75, which is quite easy in a Georgia basement. I use inkbirds to control the heaters
*Ci*
Active Member
Wow! So, no real drawbacks, in your experience?
What kind of fish are you keeping?
BryceM
Active Member
So….. if the house is heated by electricity (not so uncommon in the Pacific NW and Rockies from hydro power), and you’re heating the house during the winter anyhow, whatever heat you put into the aquarium is less heat that your furnace needs to come up with, so it really doesn’t hurt you.
If you are using electricity to cool your house and using electricity to heat the aquarium…… well, that’s another story, but as long as it’s only a few degrees different, it isn’t that expensive. Trying to keep an aquarium 50 or 60 degrees higher than the ambient temperature is VERY expensive. Plants and fish at 50 degrees is pretty amazing, but even in tropical locations occasional cold snaps aren‘t that uncommon. In reality, systems are more resilient than we think sometimes.
Electric heaters are almost 100% efficient. Chillers, on the other hand, are terribly inefficient. The initial purchase price and anticipated lifetime are problems too.
If you are using electricity to cool your house and using electricity to heat the aquarium…… well, that’s another story, but as long as it’s only a few degrees different, it isn’t that expensive. Trying to keep an aquarium 50 or 60 degrees higher than the ambient temperature is VERY expensive. Plants and fish at 50 degrees is pretty amazing, but even in tropical locations occasional cold snaps aren‘t that uncommon. In reality, systems are more resilient than we think sometimes.
Electric heaters are almost 100% efficient. Chillers, on the other hand, are terribly inefficient. The initial purchase price and anticipated lifetime are problems too.
BigWave
Active Member
BigWave
Active Member
Tetras, Black Neons, Royal Emperiors and a few Rasboras. Then the Ottos, Sae, snails and Amano shrimp.
Edit: At one point I had all sorts of fish but often times in this hobby you choose either fish or plants and well I chose plants.
One day Id like to get back to my roots and keep ciclids and piranha again. Maybe even some discus.
BryceM
Active Member
Sometimes you gotta work around stuff. I’m impressed. The tank looks fabulous.
fablau
Community Member
Wow, I really couldn't think Tetras could live in such cold water. That's awesome. It is true that plants grow slower in cold water, and that's a good thing from a maintenance standpoint! Sometimes I wish my plants were growing slower... it's a lot fo work to trim them all every two weeks. I'll think about such a way of keeping the tank. thank you!