8 gallon having trouble with temp

[Nelson90g]

Hi i have a 12 x 12 deep blue cube with a biomax 10 filter and 50 watt heater during the day the tank is 80 all day at night goes down to 76.9 what can i do to help it be more stable

 

[Zack K]

What Temp is your heater set at? It sounds like the warmth of the day/night control your tank. It may be your heater is set to low OR it is no longer working.

 

[wkscott]

Your heater may be properly set but your lighting may be heating the water during the day and your home is also probably warmer during the day.

 

[Nelson90g]

Home is set to 74 during the day 69 at night im cycle the tank so ive tried leaving the light off and has no effect heater is new set to 79

 

[ubasu]

If the light doesn't make a difference it may be to weak to heat the tank at night when the house is 69 degrees. Whats the model of the heater? Is the heater new? Is it on all the time?

If the heater is new id probably take it back and return for another one. I think it may be defective.

 

[Nelson90g]

Yes ita a 50 watt marineland heater the heater is on and off most of the time

 

[Nelson90g]

 

[reef-rc]

based on the info you shared, the following came to mind:

• Does your tank have a light hood which could keep the heat in (especially when the lights are on)? If you do, consider opening it up a bit to let air flow through and heat escape.
  
• you may want to set your heater to 78. Seems the house temperature is pretty cool during both day and night. Second - most heater flutate 1-2 degrees off.
• upgrade your heater. there are a few better heaters which will maintain a very accurate temperature settings. Cobalt aquatics neo-therm heater are great and come at a higher price tag though. I going with the thought your heater is new. It has been suggested most people should replace their heater every year...less if you have it on a aquarium controller where the heater is on/off less

hth

 

[JoshH]

A lot of heaters have a tolerance of +/- 2 degrees as stated above.Which if set at 78 could swing from 77 to 79. Have a watch of this lovely BRS video which can be helpful in understanding how some of thsee fluctuations work. This could have a great deal to do with the difference in temperature you are noticing especially at night when your thermastat is set lower.

http://www.bulkreefsupply.com/video...curate-are-heaters-and-which-one-is-the-best/

 

[Nelson90g]

Thank you will try my other used heater ig not buying thr cobalt for sure

 

[McPikie]

Have you considered something like an STC1000? They allow temp fluctuations of 0.3 deg before turning on the heater or fans

 

[Nelson90g]

Update tank is topless have not read into the stc1000 but the cobalt has a .05 deg fluctuation leanong into buying one

 

[McPikie]

STC are around $10 on amazon. Make sure you get one with heating and cooling capability.

http://www.ultimatereef.net/forums/showthread.php?479021-STC1000-Temperature-controller-build easy enough to wire yourself into a 6 way plug socket, leaving another 4 for normal use

 

[Nelson90g]

Will look into it thanks

 

[reef-rc]

Hope it works out for you. Would be curious what the end results are. Wished I had temperature like that in TX and only have to worry about heating instead of cooling

I myself had to recently throw away a relatively good looking heater just because it couldn't a keep constant temperature. Granted it looked new but was years old from sitting around after some use from years passed. I had used it for mixing water and thought it was good enough but it was always warmer than what was set to. The idea of having an extra thermometer also comes in handy to help validate just in case.

 

[Nelson90g]

Yes i tried with two and same results also will try a different heater i have home and see what happens if not i will try a cobalt or go for a controller its stable all day and night just two much of a swing for what i want the tank for

 

[Andrewalex11]

I switched to a controllable heater for a while in my reef nano and to be honest I found that pre-set heaters are not only cheaper but a bit better for the smaller systems. You want complete stability when it comes to a nano and preset heaters are specifically programmed to focus on a single temp (usually 78degrees) so I switched back and I'm always ALWAYS within .2 degrees of 78 never skip a beat. Just be sure you acclimate the heater before you plug it in