Light heating up my tank

[fishycat]

Wasn't sure where to ask this! It's not really a "planted tank" question so much as a hardware question?

I have a 10-gallon that is still cycling. Without the light on, the tank temp stayed steady @ 75 degrees for nearly a week. Now that I'm turning on the lights (plants added), the water is hovering around 80. The bulb is a 15 watt, not the Eclipse one that came with the hood, but the cheapest we found at the store...

Is this temperature rise normal for a small tank? Is it the cheap bulb? I'm wanting to go low-light planted with plants like anubias nana.. but I 80 degrees is higher than I wanted the tank to be.

[jpappy789]

Sounds like you have an incandescent bulb.

What fish do you have? 80 degrees isn't too high.

[fishycat]

No fish yet (a few MTS in my TMS substrate)... I was hoping for a cory species tank (4-6) with maybe a betta for the upper level - but cories for sure.

I'll have to check my bulb when I get home... Any better/cooler light options?

[jpappy789]

If you have one of the cheap incandescent hoods you can replace those bulbs with the spiral CFLs. More efficient light and should not heat the tank as much.

[fishycat]

Aren't those a screw-in type bulb? Mine is the dual prong 18-inch fluorescent, I believe...?

[jpappy789]

If so you have a different hood than I thought you did.

[platytudes]

Yeah, fluorescent hoods usually don't heat up the tank much at all. Strange!

Do you have jumpers in there? You could try cutting out more space out of the back...which will allow more air circulation and vent some of the heat

[fishycat]

The "hood" is a black cover with feeding lid and gap in back for HOB acement (which I have?. A clear acrylic strip sits behind the feeding lid. The light fixture rests on top of this strip and is removable...

[fishycat]

If it's not overstocking, I was thinking of a betta or simar top swimmer (dwarf gourami) with cories.

[fishycat]

I've checked my lighting setup (this was adopted from a friend). It's got a little "plug" that says something like "starter" on it. When I removed it, I could not turn on the light. The "plug" installs and is removed by inserting & twisting. It looks almost like a battery? I believe the whole setup was bought as a package from Eclipse. Perhaps I need to get a new light rig?

[Willard2.0]

The starter is required to run the lights, hence the name.

I would stay with the light setup that you have. It is a good one. Try and get some more air movement through the hood.
Are you leaving the lights on 24/7, or turning them on in the morning and off at night?
Do you have a heater that may have coincidentally malfunctioned?

[Luc]

Try with an acrylic or glass cover between the hood (and light) and the water. As long as you keep some space between the top water level and the extra cover, there's no problem with heat transferring so much/fast.

Acrylic is probably your best choice, easy to cut out the necessary openings for filter and maybe a small square with a hinge to open for feeding only.

[fishycat]

The starter is required to run the lights, hence the name.

I would stay with the light setup that you have. It is a good one. Try and get some more air movement through the hood.
Are you leaving the lights on 24/7, or turning them on in the morning and off at night?
Do you have a heater that may have coincidentally malfunctioned?
Ah, so this "starter" is something commonly known... I wasn't sure *shrug*

I am leaving the lights on for awhile, guess I feel I need to make up for the low wattage. I turn them on around 5:30 in the morning and leave them on all day... turn off around ten at night. Would the high temp be what's making my Moneywort unhappy?

I don't have a heater... I live in Hawaii, plenty warm enough! :) I did check the water temp from early morning (a bit cold/cool, for us at least) thru mid-day, and the temp didn't waver much from 75. This was, of course, before any lights were turned on.

I'll lessen the light schedule... see what happens.

[fishycat]

Try with an acrylic or glass cover between the hood (and light) and the water. As long as you keep some space between the top water level and the extra cover, there's no problem with heat transferring so much/fast.

Acrylic is probably your best choice, easy to cut out the necessary openings for filter and maybe a small square with a hinge to open for feeding only.
So you're saying I should raise my hood a bit from the tank? Could I use something else? I have access to foam core board, as well as sintra (thin, rigid board made with fiberglass), which can be laminated to waterproof it... could I cut strips, stack & seal to make a sort of lift for the hood?

I wouldn't know where to begin looking for acrylic, let alone building the hinged portion you're talking about. Hardware store?

[jbradt]

So you're saying I should raise my hood a bit from the tank? Could I use something else? I have access to foam core board, as well as sintra (thin, rigid board made with fiberglass), which can be laminated to waterproof it... could I cut strips, stack & seal to make a sort of lift for the hood?

I wouldn't know where to begin looking for acrylic, let alone building the hinged portion you're talking about. Hardware store?

I think Luc is suggesting a thin, clear layer between the light and the water. Not necessarily raising the hood. Although that might work too.

[jpappy789]

I see you have live plants?

Either way your lights are on for far too long. I would restrict the time to only when you are around the tank...for about 6-8 hours w/o plants and 8-10 w/ plants. Just a rough estimate.

Buying a timer would help immensely.

[DoctaQ]

that light shouldnt heat your tank up at all, but if you have no jumpers open the front lid it will help a lot

[Jules]

I have a 12 gallon eclipse and it too heats the water during the summer months if the cover is left all closed. My solution is to leave the feeding lid open and to have a fan in the room that aims towards the tank. Then I can maintain 76 to 78 degrees. It doesn't get that hot here - rarely above 85, but enough that with that ambient temperature and the flouescent lamp so close to the water that it can shoot the tank up over 80.

Your cover seems a bit different and it looks like it is possible to raise the light and inch or so. That would seem to be the solution.

[fishycat]

Thanks everyone for your helpful suggestions!

My tank is still cycling (sigh) but the temperature issue has resolved itself. I was actually using a side lamp to provide more lighting in the (incorrect) assumption that more light would be beneficial. Once I got rid of that light, my tank actually stabilizes between 75 and 80 degrees - even with the normal light left on for 12 hours! My light timer has arrived and I am now allowing 8 hours of light use per day.

Tons of ammonia, but I think all the plants I've been adding are competing with the beneficial bacteria. Oh well, it's a lesson in patience!