Interested to see that my new tank doesn't need to use the heater much?

[Brav403]

As the title suggests. My new 33gallon tank seems to hold its temperature quite well which I am surprised at.

My ambient room temperature is around 19.4C at the moment throughout the day and I am running a skimmer, pump & wavemaker and my tank seems to sit around 25.4 - 26 with a slight dip down to 25.2 during the night. Doesn't seem to require the heater at all which I didn't expect to see?

I take it this is pretty common and the summer will absolutely be a challenge to keep it cooled.

 

[Rob Biederman]

As the title suggests. My new 33gallon tank seems to hold its temperature quite well which I am surprised at.

My ambient room temperature is around 19.4C at the moment throughout the day and I am running a skimmer, pump & wavemaker and my tank seems to sit around 25.4 - 26 with a slight dip down to 25.2 during the night. Doesn't seem to require the heater at all which I didn't expect to see?

I take it this is pretty common and the summer will absolutely be a challenge to keep it cooled.

So you are not running a heater and your tank is 6 degrees higher than the air temp? Am I reading that right?

 

[george9]

As the title suggests. My new 33gallon tank seems to hold its temperature quite well which I am surprised at.

My ambient room temperature is around 19.4C at the moment throughout the day and I am running a skimmer, pump & wavemaker and my tank seems to sit around 25.4 - 26 with a slight dip down to 25.2 during the night. Doesn't seem to require the heater at all which I didn't expect to see?

I take it this is pretty common and the summer will absolutely be a challenge to keep it cooled.

Pretty normal. Pumps and wavemakers add heat to the water, plus if you have a lid that will also hold heat in. Topless tanks run cooler than covered tanks. I have my heater plugged into an Inkbird controller and I almost never see the heater actually running.

My tank with a glass top was getting around 26-27C during the day, but just adding two small computer fans over the gap between the glass lid and the tank trim keeps the tank between 25.5-25.8C. If your tank does have a lid, even keeping the lid slightly cracked during the peak daytime heating will keep the water a bit cooler too as this allows more air flow

 

[The_Paradox]

If you’re running AC pumps and larger lights 6/11 c/f degrees is possible. How are you measuring temperature in the tank? If you are relying on the heaters probe just know they are notorious for reading off by a couple degrees.

 

[theMeat]

Pumps and lights add heat. Some more than others. Some much more. A heater with a controller is a no brainer. Along with gfci outlet paired with ground probe

 

[JC1977]

Just depends on set up as stated above. I run 4 pumps on my 360 gallon system between skimmers and returns and tank stays at 77 with no heaters.

 

[Brav403]

So you are not running a heater and your tank is 6 degrees higher than the air temp? Am I reading that right?

I have a 300w heater in the tank, controlled by a probe controller, I have the temperature set to 25C on the controller but it doesn't ever fall that low to activate the heater?

 

[PotatoPig]

I have a 300w heater in the tank, controlled by a probe controller, I have the temperature set to 25C on the controller but it doesn't ever fall that low to activate the heater?

How much power do your lights, pumps, power heads and any other equipment consume?

The vast majority of the energy from all that ends up as heat in your tank.

 

[Brav403]

If you’re running AC pumps and larger lights 6/11 c/f degrees is possible. How are you measuring temperature in the tank? If you are relying on the heaters probe just know they are notorious for reading off by a couple degrees.

Measuring heat using Inkbird temp controller with occasional checks with temp probe to make sure display tank is all good

 

[Brav403]

Pretty normal. Pumps and wavemakers add heat to the water, plus if you have a lid that will also hold heat in. Topless tanks run cooler than covered tanks. I have my heater plugged into an Inkbird controller and I almost never see the heater actually running.

My tank with a glass top was getting around 26-27C during the day, but just adding two small computer fans over the gap between the glass lid and the tank trim keeps the tank between 25.5-25.8C. If your tank does have a lid, even keeping the lid slightly cracked during the peak daytime heating will keep the water a bit cooler too as this allows more air flow

I have a jumpguard rather than a lid but thanks for the info!!

 

[ca1ore]

Hmmn, 6 C of heat added seems like a lot. What pumps are you using? Did you have the same issue on your previous tank? Might want to independently verify tank temp. Hobby grade heater controllers are notoriously inaccurate.

 

[Brav403]

Hmmn, 6 C of heat added seems like a lot. What pumps are you using? Did you have the same issue on your previous tank? Might want to independently verify tank temp. Hobby grade heater controllers are notoriously inaccurate.

This is my first marine tank. Its a Red Sea Max Nano XL. Red Sea Led50 light, red sea skimmer, red sea circulation pump (950plh) and a 300w heater with an inkbird temp controller. I've checked the temp with a probe to make sure the temp controller is ok as the tank is holding temp without activation of the heater at present

 

[ca1ore]

Just seems odd to me. 6 C (around 10-11 F) is a big difference. LED lights add very little heat. I am unfamiliar with the wattage on the RedSea skimmer and pump, but 6 degrees is a lot. Did RedSea provide/recommend the heater? 300 watts is serious overkill for a 30 gallon tank. It may be that the heater is running, but because it's so over-sized, it may just not run for very long at a time.