Lights are Heating tank too much

[carpguy]

If you had the adjustable legs (which seem ideal for maintenance to me) or, fr'instance, 2 twelve inch long 1 x 2s (pieces of wood) that were keeping your lamp suspended at least 3/4s of an inch above the glass.

Picture the amount of open space all around the bottom of the lamp.

Now picture the holes you're thinking of drilling in th ends.

Heat rises unless its trapped. I have 96 watts over a 30g and my daytime temps are generally in the high 70s, heater does most of its work at night. The ventilation makes a difference.

 

[justintoxicated]

I set heater to 75 and tank temp dropped to 76 last night, it is back up to 80 already today. and I notice the heater turns on even when the water temp is higher than it is set for! Is this normal?

 

[justintoxicated]

Ok Heater is keeping the tank at 76.5 deg overnight (read with IR Thermometer) and verified with in tank thermometer.

I proped the hotter light up a bit with some CD cases (2 per side) The other light I left alone as it does not seem to get as hot.

Ambient temp is about 76 deg.

As of now the tank is at 78 deg, I think it will go up to 80 though in another 4 hours. It does seem to help a bit, but would 80 still be too hot?

I have

Ghost Shrimp 2
ADF 2
Guppies maybe 15 or so but mostly fry
Apple Snails maybe 30 or 40 young young and 2 adults

Also the 50 watt heater seems to be plenty, it is a Hydor Theo 50 watt, I have a 100 watt black stealth heater on the way, since the 50 "could" be inefficient if the temp drops enough at night (like it will this weekend). SHould I keep the 50 in or replace with the 100 watt?

Thanks.