Any ideas to fight thermal layering?

[pokefan]

When I was messing with my tank today at lunch I noticed the top was much warmer than the bottom due to the new lights. I just don't think there's enough circulation from the filter itself due to it's angle. Does anyone have a suggestion on how to fight this?

I was looking at this power head, LINK (the 180)

I figured it would be a weak enough current to not mess with the fish to much any ideas? BTW, it's a 10 gallon...

[karazy]

if you got a sumbermersible heater and put it on the bottom half it might work

[Ricker]

well also heat does rise if I am correct I can't remember. So I really dont worry about it unless it is at least 1-2 degree warmer. Get a digital thermometer and see what it is

[Obsidian]

Yes heat rises. What kind of filter do you have that it is not enough to move the water through your tank?

As long as the powerhead does not move too fast it would be fine as well.

Also you can often find risers that move the lights up off of the tank some, that can help fight the top heat.

[pokefan]

After coming home from work today the issue is much better now that the AquaClear is running.

Karazy: That was the problem the heat rises leaving the bottom cooler and the lights just made it that much worse.

Ricker: It was definitely more than 1-2 degrees. I was able to tell a dramatic difference by hand I'm sure it had to be at least 5 degrees difference.

Obs: It was the stock whisper 5-15. I didn't think it would make that much of a difference with the AC but I was definitely wrong about that. I think I'll still look for some risers to lift the lights though. I just don't like that it makes that much difference even if the AC is doing a much better job.

Thanks for the response I appreciate the help!

[Obsidian]

Actually that does make sense then. With the whisper filters part of why they "whisper" is because the out put is under the water (ie below the water line). Thus instead of creating a "waterfall" that makes noise, it just pushes the water along the top. This makes it not as effective at circulating water in general. Watch your AC20, I bet you can see bubbles going at least 1/2 way down the depth of your tank.

[pokefan]

Originally Posted by Obsidian

I bet you can see bubbles going at least 1/2 way down the depth of your tank.

Actually it was almost to the bottom of the tank! It was rather amusing watching everyone play in the current and try to "eat" the bubbles!

Is this bad? I was worried it was a little much and didn't want to stress the fish out too much so I turned it down to where you can only see bubbles about 1.5-2" below the waterline.

[trashion]

One thing about the light-legs, they aren't compatible with covered tanks. I was going to get them, but I'm not comfortable leaving my tank uncovered in a shared college dorm.

[Obsidian]

Yes it is okay for the fish to play in the flow. My black neons love to go after the bubbles. Then the bigger ones will even "defend" the bubbles and chase off anyone else who tries to "eat" them. Its pretty funny. They can move away from the flow if they want to. All the way to the bottom is probably a little strong, but you can adjust this with the flow meter on the top. I would just back it off a little. It swings from side to side, one side has a + and the other side has a - Swing it towards the - a little until the flow is at least 1/2 way down, but not all the way down. That should be good for them.

Agreed about the light legs BUT you can cover the tank with an all glass top. I never remember the name of those darn things, but I have them on 3 of my 4 tanks. They are awesome. They have a hinge in the middle but because they are clear the lights would work.