T5 Lights and water temperature

[andy-mu]

Hi Guys,

I had been spending some time getting things sorted out with my tank. All the usual things.
C02/Distribution/Flow/Feeding. Have been sorting this out on T8 tubes. Have now been able to
stabilise things and the algae battle is being won. It's dying off.

I have some T5 lights and decided to give these a go. Marked difference naturally in light output.
Fish colours are more pronounced and overall is a very pleasing look. I've upped the C02 a bit and
a bit extra feeding for the increased growth that'll take place.

One thing I noticed today. I have a hood on my tank, home made job, and pretty fitting to the look of the room.
Lights are quite close to the water. T8's were fine, but with T5's obviously a bit warmer than these, I have noticed
over the photo period there is a water temperature variation. Probably about 3-4 degrees.

Do you think such a swing will be detrimental and require correcting? Plants and fish all look good right now

 

[spill50]

Hi,

I noticed the same rise in temperature when I first started using my t5s a couple of years ago. It hasn't had any detrimental effect on my tank (not that I've noticed anyway). I also have a full enclosing hood on my tank. I've also found by moving my thermometer round that it only really effects the first couple of inches of water.

At the time when I was asking about it, a very good point was made. That it's just like the sun heating up the water during the day and then cooling off again at night.

You could also modify the hood to include some vents. I've recently created a new hood for my tank and considered adding some nice feature stainless steel grills to allow the hot air to escape.

Richard

 

[andy-mu]

Thanks for the reply Richard.

I had the same feeling about the during the day and night cycle. In nature this must be the way it works. Temperature must fluctuate. It's not an overly massive change in temperature. I'll see how it works through this week. If any negatives are experienced I'll address them. Certainly so far, plants are OK, fish don't seem to mind. I've seen some people report massive temperature changes. That's obviously not the case here.