heater problems.

[reeferkeeper420]

Ive went through 3 heaters and cants seem to figure out the problem..i have the heater set lower then what its suppose to be at and it still starts to make the temperature rise to a uncomfortable level for me.i dont get it it was fine afyer i went to a ehein jager..i still ahd to have the heater at 75 to keep the tank at 80, and then i lowered to 73 and the temp went down to 78 in the day and 77.4 at night theb all of a sudden tonite i come home and the temps at 81..i have a/c so house temp isnt a issue.

 

[spyd]

I don't think the heater is the issue. Te additional heat can be caused by pumps and lighting. Best way to check is see what your temp is at before the lights turn on and then see what the temp is like after a good 4 hrs or so of lights on. My guess is you will see a pretty big jump in temp.

 

[pulpfiction1]

its amazing how much heat comes from pumps and lights

 

[Reef Hero]

If you unplug the heater completely, do you still experience the high temp swings? Are you currently running an eheim jäger, because they should have an indicator light on whenever heater is actually running.
Spyd is right when he says even pumps can make large amounts of additional heat. I still remember a marineland utility pump I have that allows you to dial back the flow within the pump itself.....problem is that when you do that, it creates large amounts of heat.
Oh, and I run all t5s so heat becomes an issue for me because of that too and therefore I have to run a chiller as well. I keep my tank in the basement and when a/c is pumping on a hot day the basement is quite cool and lights don't seem to raise temp too much. But on a day like today where no a/c is required, just open some windows, my lights will push the tank temp higher than normal. Hopefully some of this info helps and keep us updated.

 

[TORX]

I do not think my heaters have turned on all summer. You will be amazed what can heat your tank. We have A/C and the house is typically set at 74-76. I have to run a fan on my sump to keep my tank below 81. I run LED's for lighting, so next to no heat transfer there. I have a MAG12 return, insump skimmer for pumps that would affect heat.

 

[DerekL]

My bio cube is the worst with the pc lighting. I don't even have a heater in there and still from lights off to lights on for several hours it heats the water up 10 degrees on a good day. Thank fully there is nothing in there but a clarkii clown and a dottyback. Two fish that can't behave to make the switch. But I could only keep softies and leathers and anemones in that tank cuz of the heat swings. I may but the led retro from Steve's LEDs as my son wants it in his room and he will bug me for frags