# What is the temp in your planted tank?



## FISHnLAB (20 Oct 2022)

Hi guys, just wondering what temperature everyone is keeping their planted tanks at? I know this can sonewhat be dictated by the wildlife you may keep but, most can be kept within a range. Considering the lower risk of algae and higher gas concentrations at lower temperatures, it seams preferential to stay closer to the low end of the spectrum as long as ones wildlife still thrives.

So, what are your thoughts on this and what do you prefer to run at? Thanks👍.


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## Ghettofarmulous (20 Oct 2022)

21 - 22


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## Hufsa (20 Oct 2022)

23-24


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## AlecF (20 Oct 2022)

25-26


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## FISHnLAB (20 Oct 2022)

Lol, my responses appear to be warming up😂. Thanks guys👍.

Edit: I'm at 25-26C in my main tank currently and I lowered it from 26-27C two to three weeks ago.


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## mort (20 Oct 2022)

Mine varies throughout the year with the heater set to 22c but in summer it can go anywhere up to 28-29c (in exceptional weather like we had this year). I like a little variation across the year so 22-27c I'm happy with. Most plants seem to do great at just room temperature (normal not cold houses) even if they are happier a little warmer.


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## erwin123 (20 Oct 2022)

24.5-25.5


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## Nick potts (20 Oct 2022)

Room temp, i don't heat any of my tanks except shrimp breeding tanks.


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## John q (20 Oct 2022)

25 - 25.5 over the summer this year 27 - 28.


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## jaypeecee (20 Oct 2022)

Hi @FISHnLAB 

Aquarium thermometers can be notoriously inaccurate. It's worth bearing this in mind.

JPC


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## tam (20 Oct 2022)

Mines set to 23/24 oC.


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## plantnoobdude (20 Oct 2022)

23~24 here.


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## Laoshan (20 Oct 2022)

23,0 degrees C. 

And exactly 😉


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## tigertim (20 Oct 2022)

24  main fish tank.  25 terraruim full of cryptocoryne,  then today set up a small emeresed spill over type tank i'am planning on leaving unheated as a experiment, currently it's 18.


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## KirstyF (20 Oct 2022)

23-24. Sometimes sneaks up to 25 in the summer.


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## FISHnLAB (20 Oct 2022)

jaypeecee said:


> Hi @FISHnLAB
> 
> Aquarium thermometers can be notoriously inaccurate. It's worth bearing this in mind.
> 
> JPC


Roger that. I'll assume everyone has checked the accuracy of their measuring device. I have a few different user calibrated fast read thermometers, IR thermometers, temperature probes, medical thermometers, and old school mercury filled ones so I'm pretty sure my readings are accurate😁. 

Really, I am just looking for an average ballpark successful growers use anyway. I'm thinking 24C is a good middle ground and is what Dennis Wong uses in all of his tanks. I'm at 25-26C now in my main tank but, around 23-24C in all my others. I may slowly lower my main tank to fall in line but, no rush as I don't want to change too much at once. I really need to let my tank settle in but, it's hard to not change things when you realize through research that something is not quite ideal. I know all of you guys went through this same struggle lol.


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## FISHnLAB (20 Oct 2022)

Thanks for all of the reply guys. Maybe I should have done a poll. Can you do that in here?


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## Yugang (20 Oct 2022)

30 C for the summer months, a few degrees lower the rest of the year.


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## PARAGUAY (21 Oct 2022)

Around 21 to 23 but in summer they did exceed 30 a time or two.


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## jamiepearson (21 Oct 2022)

21.7 - 22.0 with an Inkbird. Of course different people have different livestock (or arent in UK), but I was't expecting a good proportion are >=25


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## Conort2 (21 Oct 2022)

Set at 25 but obviously gets hotter in the summer, up to around 29/30 this year.


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## The Miniaturist (21 Oct 2022)

21 - 23 normally, though much higher during the summer heatwave as they are nano tanks.


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## Wookii (21 Oct 2022)

Entirely livestock dependent for me. Farm tank with just Neocaridina shrimp is heater free, so around 20-21 with a bit of heat being added by the pump I suspect.

Tanks with fish set at 23.


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## mort (21 Oct 2022)

It is interesting but if you asked the same question on a mainly fish, rather than plants, forum you would likely get 24-25c as the average.


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## Wookii (21 Oct 2022)

mort said:


> It is interesting but if you asked the same question on a mainly fish, rather than plants, forum you would likely get 24-25c as the average.



Yes, I suspect many of us go on Seriously Fish and pick the minimum temperature in the quoted range for the fish species we are keeping, so that we can keep temps as low as possible for the plant based considerations.


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## mort (21 Oct 2022)

It's always a bit of a balancing act as most don't run biotope tanks and therefore we shoehorn plants and animals from all around the world into the same environment.


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## castle (21 Oct 2022)

22c, I don’t think I keep any fish which have natural waters above that 👍


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## FISHnLAB (21 Oct 2022)

jamiepearson said:


> 21.7 - 22.0 with an Inkbird. Of course different people have different livestock (or arent in UK), but I was't expecting a good proportion are >=25


Yeah, it seams more stay sub 25C, the ones with temp control at least, as most pre-set heaters for tropical fish are factory set to 25.5C(78F).


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## tam (21 Oct 2022)

I did accidentally forget to switch the heater on after a water change, so one of my tanks was at 19/20oC for a week or so - they weren't acting any different (ember tetras) but I wouldn't leave it that chilly usually.


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## dw1305 (21 Oct 2022)

Hi all,


FISHnLAB said:


> I'll assume everyone has checked the accuracy of their measuring device.


I use a <"fool-proof method">.


dw1305 said:


> I press the back of my hand onto the tank glass every morning, it tells you whether you have a stuck-on or failed heater, and it is more sensitive than you might imagine to smaller changes in water temperature.



cheers Darrel


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## FISHnLAB (21 Oct 2022)

dw1305 said:


> Hi all,
> 
> I use a <"fool-proof method">.
> 
> ...


Yep, can't go wrong with the old hand or mercury filled glass.


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## john6 (21 Oct 2022)

28 in my Discus tank but will be 23 in my new build (when it finally gets started)


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## jaypeecee (27 Oct 2022)

Hi Folks,

In her book, _Aquarium Plants,_ Christel Kasselmann includes an extensive list of native habitats and their corresponding water temperature. So, if the native habitat of a plant is known, then its native water temperature can be determined. Would anyone care to suggest a plant (including native habitat) to put this to the test? It's worth a try but comes with no guarantees! If this doesn't work, I'll gladly declare it a resounding flop!

JPC


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## LMuhlen (27 Oct 2022)

Usually around 26~27ºC. During some warmer days it climbs to 29ºC. On the rare cold days, it may drop to 24ºC.

I would like to average it at a lower temperature, but my cooling device is a simple computer cooler, with limited efficacy. I set my heater at 25ºC because even when our nights get cold around here, we still get warm days, so to prevent >5ºC daily swings, given how hard it is to keep the tank cold during the day, I rather keep the minimum temperature higher.


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## MichaelJ (27 Oct 2022)

Both my tanks 23-24 C (73.5 - 75 F) all year around.  

Cheers,
Michael


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## Tim Harrison (27 Oct 2022)

I keep mine at around 23 degrees, as do a lot of scapers especially in open topped tanks. It keeps most tropicals happy, fish plants and critters,  whilst reducing evaporation. Some cite other reasons as well, like it helps reduce algal growth, helps to maintain O2 levels etc.  

But either way, like Darrel @dw1305 mentions, it's a good idea to get into the habit of touching the glass with the back of your hand on a regular basis to detect freak temperature changes.


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## LondonDragon (27 Oct 2022)

23-24, like everyone this summer it got pretty hot!! 30C+


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## Aqua360 (27 Oct 2022)

20-21°


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## John q (28 Oct 2022)

jaypeecee said:


> Would anyone care to suggest a plant (including native habitat) to put this to the test? It's worth a try but comes with no guarantees! If this doesn't work, I'll gladly declare it a resounding flop!


Vallisneria spiralis, lake Malawi. (East Africa)
26 to 28 ⁰c....
Are you doing the test?


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## tam (28 Oct 2022)

LMuhlen said:


> Usually around 26~27ºC. During some warmer days it climbs to 29ºC. On the rare cold days, it may drop to 24ºC.
> 
> I would like to average it at a lower temperature, but my cooling device is a simple computer cooler, with limited efficacy. I set my heater at 25ºC because even when our nights get cold around here, we still get warm days, so to prevent >5ºC daily swings, given how hard it is to keep the tank cold during the day, I rather keep the minimum temperature higher.


That's interesting, I'd have been inclined to let it drop lower at night on the grounds that it would take longer to warm up so stay lower for longer in the day time.

I sometimes wonder about how much fluctuation there is between night/day in the wild, and would the fish actually prefer a temperature drop at night?


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## MichaelJ (28 Oct 2022)

tam said:


> I sometimes wonder about how much fluctuation there is between night/day in the wild, and would the fish actually prefer a temperature drop at night?


In  undisturbed rainforest the water temp holds remarkably steady throughout the day.  There are seasonal changes (rain season vs. dry season) that can be quite wide actually (several degrees).  Sadly, in massively deforested areas even the daytime/nighttime variations can be quite wide as well regardsless of season 😟

Cheers,
Michael


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## Hanuman (29 Oct 2022)

27-32 🥵


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## Yugang (29 Oct 2022)

Hanuman said:


> 27-32 🥵


We share the same pain in the (sub)tropics, my tank has been above 30 degrees for half of the time this year. But I am not sure if I have any observations where I could clearly blame the temperature. 
Are you convinced 30-32 degrees is bad for the tank, or is it mostly a theory that may or may not be true? Could it be that our tanks (hobbyists in subtropics) have adapted themselves, and suffer less than tanks in Europe/US during a for them  unusual heatwave in summer?


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## Hanuman (29 Oct 2022)

Yugang said:


> We share the same pain in the (sub)tropics, my tank has been above 30 degrees for half of the time this year. But I am not sure if I have any observations where I could clearly blame the temperature.
> Are you convinced 30-32 degrees is bad for the tank, or is it mostly a theory that may or may not be true? Could it be that our tanks (hobbyists in subtropics) have adapted themselves, and suffer less than tanks in Europe/US during a for them  unusual heatwave in summer?


Issue with higher temperature is CO2 and O2 dissolution. It just requires one pumping more of those gases in the water column through injection and agitation. Obviously the higher the temperature the less choice you have in terms of plants and the more they start to suffer. I would say 24-26 is the sweet spot and you can grow just about anything. In our tanks we can't grow most mosses for example.


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## MichaelJ (29 Oct 2022)

Hanuman said:


> 27-32 🥵


Thats brutal!


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## Hanuman (29 Oct 2022)

MichaelJ said:


> Thats brutal!


That's life 🤣


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## Yugang (29 Oct 2022)

Hanuman said:


> 24-26 is the sweet spot


I can only speak for myself, but frankly have not found much practical evidence that my tank suffers from temperature. Hence my question, to better understand if the theory really translates into practice, or that it is mostly a theoretical consideration and maintained as a 'rule' for the hobby without much practical evidence.
The streams and freshwater reservoirs in Hong Kong are pretty much at the ambient 30 degrees in the summer months, I am sure elsewhere in the subtropics as well, so is it really disadvantageous to keep our tanks at same?


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## Hanuman (29 Oct 2022)

Yugang said:


> I can only speak for myself, but frankly have not found much practical evidence that my tank suffers from temperature. Hence my question, to better understand if the theory really translates into practice, or that it is mostly a theoretical consideration and maintained as a 'rule' for the hobby without much practical evidence.
> The streams and freshwater reservoirs in Hong Kong are pretty much at the ambient 30 degrees in the summer months, I am sure elsewhere in the subtropics as well, so is it really disadvantageous to keep our tanks at same?


Can you keep sensitive mosses at 30C ? I doubt it. Yes you can keep most plants at 30C but the point being that your tank will be more metabolically active and the higher the temperature also means the more things can turn quick. So it's not a question of 30C being bad, it's just that at higher temperatures you have less leeway, but obviously you can still grow plants. Although we are in a tropical country here in Thailand, there is a reason why most aquascape shops have air-con 24/7.


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## jaypeecee (29 Oct 2022)

John q said:


> Vallisneria spiralis, lake Malawi. (East Africa)
> 26 to 28 ⁰c....
> Are you doing the test?


Hi @John q 

I can find no entries in the book for Lake Malawi. So, perhaps my idea is best consigned to the waste bin! BTW, I'm confused by your question, "Are you doing the test?".  As I said, let's abandon this. I don't want to waste people's time.

JPC


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## John q (29 Oct 2022)

jaypeecee said:


> I can find no entries in the book for Lake Malawi


If you look up vallisneria spiralis in her book it gives habitat, location and conditions they were found. 

Yes I've been running the test for the last 12 months, ish, so far so good 👍


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## Yugang (29 Oct 2022)

Not challenging @Hanuman here, we happen to be both lucky to be sweating for 9 months per year, and have no gas burning for that. 

The average temperature of the Amazon river is about 28 degrees. For sure some of the swampy areas hotter than that during several months in the year. Mosses that @Hufsa collected in Norway are probably not happy at high temperatures, sure. Besides that I have not seen evidence that my tank during half of the years warm (typically 30-32 degrees) is less happy than the other 6 months with more like 25 degrees. It seems that other parameters that I have to get myself in trouble are far more promising from that perspective. If I have one doubt, to be confirmed, I suspect that green dust algae are more prevalent in summer in HK.

I may be wrong, but it is worth challenging if the temperature discussion is  like 'we know how nature should work in theory and following the books', rather than based on real practical evidence.


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## Hanuman (29 Oct 2022)

Yugang said:


> and have no gas burning for that.


We need to burn gas or coal to cool us down equally  - Thailand is highly depended on natural gas coming from Burma for its power production. China uses loads of coal. France uses nuclear and Germany is now blaming France for it having to re-open it's nuclear plant. Energy is not cheap were I am, far from it but I still chose Thailand over a cold country. My genes refuse the cold weathers.


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## jaypeecee (29 Oct 2022)

John q said:


> If you look up vallisneria spiralis in her book it gives habitat, location and conditions they were found.
> 
> Yes I've been running the test for the last 12 months, ish, so far so good 👍


Hi @John q 

Thanks for correcting me. Indeed, the pertinent information is exactly as you have described above. Clearly, I need to spend more time using Ms Kasselmann's book. 

JPC


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## Hanuman (30 Oct 2022)

Here is some real life example about temperature. Today I came out to feed the guppies in the outdoor pond. It's 2pm here. Didn't see any fish at the surface. Surprise. I touched the water. SHOCKED. Water was very hot. I estimated it to be 35C. I diped my hand to the bottom expecting to scoop dead fish. Nah. all Guppies came up like nothing had happened. I used my TDS meter to check temp. See for yourself:


Added some ice as a temporary relief. I'll have to move that pond inside the porch since these are "winter temperatures":


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## PARAGUAY (30 Oct 2022)

A few years back we visited the Welsh Mountain Zoo at Colwyn Bay,the temperature in the Crocodile house was ridicouly hot the Crocs were dormant and no one stayed in there long. Bizzarly the  water had live-bearers in , they just were just swimming about happily. No idea why they were in there can't have been accident


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## mort (30 Oct 2022)

We had a friend who lived in Malta and most of the locals had large brick water stores in their gardens to provide water in the summer for crops. I remember that they nearly always had livebearers in them or the biggest oranda's you could imagine (I was little at the time but they looked the size of cats). The water in these ponds was in the mid to high 30's c during summer.

I also had a heater fail on once in a golden nugget breeding tank. The temperature was 36c when I found it and they seem quite happy.


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## LMuhlen (31 Oct 2022)

tam said:


> That's interesting, I'd have been inclined to let it drop lower at night on the grounds that it would take longer to warm up so stay lower for longer in the day time.
> 
> I sometimes wonder about how much fluctuation there is between night/day in the wild, and would the fish actually prefer a temperature drop at night?


I assume the nights and the days are long enough for the temperature to reach its equilibrium. Haven't really tested it. I could improve the tank's thermal insulation, but the tank is a centerpiece in the living room and there would be no way to make it look good. Our houses here in the tropics are not insulated at all, we just suffer through the eventual cold waves (which are only cold by our own standards, of course).


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## cldskt (31 Oct 2022)

25.5-26.5 for me, with chiller in tropical countries.


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## jacopo16 (15 Nov 2022)

Mine is at 25 sharp!


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