my tank is too hot! what do i do?

[beeguiles]

I just got the light for my 10g today. Before the light the temp was at 79. Now with the light, the temp is at 84! I unplugged the heater altogether even tho I had it turned all the way down. If the heat doesn't decrease to a normal temp then what do i do? Am I forced to get a chiller? That would really suck bc I would have to have it on my kitchen counter....do they make really small ones? Or is there something else I can do?

 

[jcegt87]

get computer fans, atleast thats what ive heard, i had my temp at 83 in my 10G, im actually suprised i finnally got it to stop swinging in my 30gallon

what kind of light did you set up and how close to the water is it?

 

[beeguiles]

I got the odyssea four bulb t5. Same as the one you used to have I think. I have it just sitting on top of the tank. It covers pretty much the whole top so the fan thing really wouldn't work.

 

[jcegt87]

yep same lights ,the way i got mine to go down a wee bit (enough) was to have them on some kind of bracket , i myself used two bookshelf brackets to get my light up about 3-4 inches , but you have your on a kitchen counter , damn, hopefully someone else can chime in later :D best of luck

 

[ErinCahir]

You could always mount your light to the underside of the kitchen cabinet.

 

[beeguiles]

Hmmm...yea the light on the top is kinda hot. Idk if that would be bad for the bottom of the cabinet? I have aboout and inch or two of space between the light and the cabinets..I just read on a few diff sites that people keep their tanks at 83-84. As long as its a steady temp?

 

[jcegt87]

yep as long as its steady and no big swings

 

[ErinCahir]

I didn't mean flush with the cabinet. And that temp should be fine.

 

[beeguiles]

Ohh Sry erin. I misunderstood. Ill just moniter the temp for a few days and make sure it stays steady. Tusks for the help guys! Good thing there is a couple ppl still awake at this hour!

 

[jcegt87]

Good thing there is a couple ppl still awake at this hour!

Insomniac FTW

 

[Smitty]

Do you have a glass lid on the tank, with the light sitting on top? That could be trapping heat also.

 

[bjohanson1234]

Also the heat from the fixture wouldn't do anything to your cabinet. Those undercabinet lights get really hot since most of them are halogen bulbs.

 

[beeguiles]

Nope the top is open bc I figured it would trap in heat.

 

[beeguiles]

Okay I think I've solved the problem....I unplugged the heater and just kept the leds on last night and woke up to the tank being about 79. I'm going to put the t5s on a timer so they turn off before they heat the water up too much and then the leds will be on the rest of the evening and night. I'll just have to make sure the temo doesn't fluctuate too much.