Temp Problem

[ParisRose]

I'm going to start by saying I have a heater. That's not my problem. It's exactly the opposite. I think my tank may be getting too hot It was pushing 85 when I came home today. I need to cool it down before Napoleon suffers heat exahustion.
Thanks

[Adastra]

What kind of light does the tank have? If it is incandescent, the heat from the light bulb may be affecting your tank temperature. Is the heater adjustable? If it is one of those cheap non-adjustable pad things or one of those non-adjustable elites, it will not keep your temperature stable and cannot turn itself off when it gets too hot. If you have a non-adjustable heater, replace it with an adjustable one that has a thermostat, like the 25 watt hydor theo. The non-adjustable heaters are basically rip-offs, and are generally of poor quality.

If, on the other hand, you have an adjustable heater with a thermostat and a fluorescent light in your tank, try keeping a weak fan pointed at the tank. It's more effective than you would think.

[ParisRose]

It is but I keep it off for most the day. I'll only turn it on if I really want a good look at him. It is a cheap heater I was strapped for cash when i bought it but I stopped using it a while ago.

[Adastra]

I see, be really careful with those incandescent lights though. I had one on one of my very first tanks. I realized a bit too late that turning it off and on caused temperature fluctuations that weakened my fish to the point that he got a terrible ich infestation. He recovered, but he was never the same after that. If you only turn it on for very brief periods of time it should be ok, but if I were you, I would remove temptation and replace the bulb with a compact fluorescent bulb.

I wouldn't panic too much about your fish being at 85 if the temperature is constant, while it is at the upper end of their range, they are a tropical fish, so he wouldn't be too uncomfortable, and the fan should help with that a bit. The thing to worry about is whether that temperature changes throughout the day--that would be the problem.