# Set up a new cichlid tank and temps fluctuations



## Brettwb (Jan 7, 2017)

I set up a new cichlid tank in same room as a wood burner and the temperature seems to fluctuate in the aquarium from around 76-80 degrees, maybe 81 is this going to be a concern


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## tanker3 (May 18, 2015)

IMO, a fluctuation of 2-3 during the day is OK. 4-5 is too much. Get a heater.


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## Brettwb (Jan 7, 2017)

I have a heater that keeps it from going below 76/77, it's just hard to keep the water temp from rising when the fire is on


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## wryan (Dec 6, 2015)

If the tank is presently being heated to between 76 and 81 degrees at various times, a concern could be what effect infra-red or radiant heat the woodstove gives off would have on the tank.

IOW, let's say you get a heater for the tank and keep it set so that barring any other heat sources, the tank stays at 78 degrees.

So what's going to happen when the heat from the woodstove which was capable of raising the tank to 81 degrees is now present ?

... 86 degrees in the tank ?

I think the location is less than ideal ... but having some way - mebbe which is thermostatically controlled - to circulate warm air out of the room might go a ways to alleviate that.

Then again, if there is a direct line-of-sight between the stove and the tank, it could still be an issue.


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## Brettwb (Jan 7, 2017)

The thermometer in the tank raise to 80-81 when the fire is going and the thermometer says 77 when no fire is burning. Does this make better sense to you.


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## wryan (Dec 6, 2015)

Brettwb said:


> I have a heater that keeps it from going below 76/77, it's just hard to keep the water temp from rising when the fire is on


Well there ya go ...

What happens to the room air temp when the fire is burning and isn't burning ?

IOW: How much does it vary ?

Is there a direct line-of-sight between the stove and the tank ?

How big of a tank ?


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## Brettwb (Jan 7, 2017)

Room temp varies from 62-80 
The tank is in the same room, but on the other side
It is a 55 gallon tank


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## wryan (Dec 6, 2015)

Brettwb said:


> Room temp varies from 62-80


That's a pretty substantial temperature swing.

How long does the room stay at 80 ?

Have you used another device to measure the water temp directly?



Brettwb said:


> The tank is in the same room, but on the other side. It is a 55 gallon tank


But is there a direct, unobstructed line-of-sight from the stove to the tank ?


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## Brettwb (Jan 7, 2017)

The room stays at 80 for only for an hour or 2, then it goes down around mid 70's. There is a couch between the stove and the tank. And this morning I went to look at the thermometer as I saw the light on the tank heater, which on I have the dial set between 76-80 was on which indicates to me that the heater was running. The water still measured 80 degrees. Maybe my heater is acting screwy. Last week when I had no fire at all and the tank was balanced out at 77 degrees for the entire week. Now that I've been burning for a couple of days steadily I am having problems.


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## wryan (Dec 6, 2015)

Brettwb said:


> The room stays at 80 for only for an hour or 2, then it goes down around mid 70's.


IC.



Brettwb said:


> There is a couch between the stove and the tank.


So the couch is high enough that you couldn't run a string in a straight line from any part of the stove to the tank without hitting the couch ?

(Radiant/infra-red heating doesn't heat the air - but will heat up objects where there is an unobstructed path from the source to the object in question)

Have you verified that your thermometer - one of those stick-on ones on the outside of the tank IIRC - is reading accurately ?

I have an Accu-Rite digital meat thermometer with a 6" long stainless steel probe I use to side-check tank temps ... you can pick them up at Wally World for around $5.

FWIW, the stick-on LCD thermometer I have on my 55 is a 30+ year-old ATI unit that has been taken off one tank and moved to the present tank ... it doesn't stick that well to the glass and consistently reads about 2+ degrees low.



Brettwb said:


> And this morning I went to look at the thermometer as I saw the light on the tank heater, which on I have the dial set between 76-80 was on which indicates to me that the heater was running. The water still measured 80 degrees. Maybe my heater is acting screwy.


Entirely possible.



Brettwb said:


> Last week when I had no fire at all and the tank was balanced out at 77 degrees for the entire week.


That would seem to indicate that the heater wasn't acting screwy.

What happens now when you don't run the stove ?



Brettwb said:


> Now that I've been burning for a couple of days steadily I am having problems.


That would seemingly be the change in the immediate environment.


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## DJRansome (Oct 29, 2005)

I'd put the fish tank in another room, or regulate the stove room. You could always open a window when the temp goes above 78 degrees. Uncomfortable for humans as well.


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## Brettwb (Jan 7, 2017)

In that theory the tank is definitely unobstructed. 
I did use my stainless meat thermometer this morning to confirm temp was correct.
Think I forgot to mention, this morning the room temp was 74 degrees from the night, but the water temp was still 80 and the heater light was on.
I unplugged the heater to see what happens


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## Biciclid (Jan 27, 2016)

If the heater is set at 76 but with 80 f water temperature it is still on I think you have found the main suspect. What heater is it? Get a new (good) heater and/or an inkbird 308/stc-1000


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## Brettwb (Jan 7, 2017)

Aqueon submersible 200 watt, I just purchased.


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## FarmerDan (Aug 7, 2016)

I have, from the sounds of it, an almost identical situation.

Wood burner on one side of the room. A couch like chair in between the 75 gallon tank and the wood burner. I have my heater set at 78 degrees. My thermometer always says 78.something. It only varies a couple tenths of a degree. On that same thermometer the room temperature changes from 68 to 78. I use my ceiling fan in reverse mode to create a convection effect and move the heat up and bounce it off the ceiling to spread it out.

So, I have been reading trying to figure out whats different in your situation. The only things are my ceiling fan and that your heater is still running when reading 80 degrees? So I think it's the heater. Temperature in tanks doesn't fluctuate nearly as much as air temperature can so it's hard to believe its your fireplace...

The Eheim heaters I've always used keep temperature pretty stable, the range is usually less than half a degree not multiple degrees...


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## wryan (Dec 6, 2015)

Biciclid said:


> If the heater is set at 76 but with 80 f water temperature it is still on I think you have found the main suspect. ...


Seems likely ... assuming it was staying on steady, isn't in the path of an additional source of heat (HVAC duct), etc.

Dunno about that particular brand, but Eheim Jager heaters can be calibrated/adjusted so that the setting dial reflects a fairly accurate temp.


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## Brettwb (Jan 7, 2017)

I returned my heater and am trying a new one, the temp is down to 77 degrees now waiting to see when the light comes back on to see what the exact temp is set to


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## wryan (Dec 6, 2015)

Keep us posted on the outcome.


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## nodima (Oct 3, 2002)

Brettwb said:


> Room temp varies from 62-80
> The tank is in the same room, but on the other side
> It is a 55 gallon tank


My experience has been that it takes a tremendous amount of change to impact the aquarium temperature. While you do have some pretty extreme changes, it also sounds like they occur relatively quickly, and for short periods of time. A 55 is a bit smaller than what I've seen change with, but I recall losing power for a few days, and tanks not losing much temperature even though the room dropped to the low 60's. Granted, a 180 has significantly more thermal mass than a 55, but I'd still not expect much change due to the ambient temperature swings you are seeing.

As others mention, get a separate thermometer and use that to test the tank temps - don't rely on a stick on, or the heater's thermometer.

I've always used jager heaters, and had stable temps with them - wondering if the circuitry in other brands has a larger temperature differential before kicking on or off which might explain measuring tank temp at 80 while heater is still on at 80.

All of this said, I don't worry a lot about temperature swings of 3-5 degrees, but I'm not keeping particularly delicate fish either.


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## Cyphound (Oct 20, 2014)

Lower the temp setting on the heater to say 74 and see what happens. Heaters in my experience never run at what you set them to. 
Mike


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## Pdxmonkeyboy (Oct 17, 2016)

aqueon heaters are kind of garbage IMO. Most aquarium heaters are notorious for poor temperature sensing. The solution? Buy an ink bird temp controller for $35 dollars or buy an stc 1000F for $12, cut a small extention cord in half, wire it in and boom... digital readout and control for what? $15 and 10 minutes.


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## DJRansome (Oct 29, 2005)

I like the aqueon heaters...no problems with them here.


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## newcichlidiot (Jul 7, 2010)

200 watts for a 55.


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## FarmerDan (Aug 7, 2016)

Pdxmonkeyboy said:


> aqueon heaters are kind of garbage IMO. Most aquarium heaters are notorious for poor temperature sensing. The solution? Buy an ink bird temp controller for $35 dollars or buy an stc 1000F for $12, cut a small extention cord in half, wire it in and boom... digital readout and control for what? $15 and 10 minutes.


Do you have experience with the Ink Bird or the STC 1000? Quality devices?

Sounds like a great solution.


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## wryan (Dec 6, 2015)

newcichlidiot said:


> 200 watts for a 55.


I'm using a 150w Eheim Jager in my 55 and it's plenty.


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## Brettwb (Jan 7, 2017)

Well here we go again, water temps are raising due to heater coming on when wood stove is running. I got a new heater because I thought it was the problem, but the new one is now doing it to. Tank temp has been balanced at 77 degrees for a week, I fired up the wood stove and for some reason the heater is coming on in my tank and the temperature is rising above 77 degrees. The heater is almost coming on non stop in tank only since the fire is burning


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## daviddj (Sep 30, 2016)

You may have mentioned it but what are you using to measure the temp? Is it possible it's being affected by the room temp? I have a 150 gallon about 6 Ft from a large wood burning stove, room temp can vary from 17-23C but it never changes the tank temp, larger body of water I know.

Edit: OK read back your thread and you've dealt with this, sorry.


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## Brettwb (Jan 7, 2017)

I'm checking the water temp with a stainless probe thermometer.


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## Brettwb (Jan 7, 2017)

I even moved the location of the heater in the tank and it still is turning itself on when the water temp has now risen to 79 degrees.


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## Brettwb (Jan 7, 2017)

What are everyone's thoughts on these inkbird devices, are they a good idea or what?


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## Brettwb (Jan 7, 2017)

Can someone help me figure out how to post a new post on this forum, I'm lost


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## Brettwb (Jan 7, 2017)

What are people's thoughts on inkbirds


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## DJRansome (Oct 29, 2005)

Brettwb said:


> Can someone help me figure out how to post a new post on this forum, I'm lost


Go to Forum and click on the forum title you want. Then click on <New Topic> in the upper left.


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## Brettwb (Jan 7, 2017)

Thank you


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