weird occurrences in new tank, need help please!

[echoofformless]

i just got my girlfriend her first aquarium. we got this tank, which we're cycling with a betta. there are lava rocks, driftwood, gravel, and a few small plants in there as well. however, it is giving us some problems.

1. the tank temp WILL NOT go down. i initially bought a heater, but took it out because the water never got cool enough for it to kick on. the room the tank is in stays around 72 degrees most of the time: the tank will not drop below 80, sometimes it gets a bit higher. water changes will lower it to around 78, but within an hour or two it is right back up there. i bought a coralife compact fluorescent bulb to reduce the heat output of the light, and have been using it very minimally (4 hours or less per day). i keep it on a low bookshelf (about 3-4 feet off the ground). is this happening because the tank is acrylic? how can i get the temperature down?

2. I have experienced several small, round, white, hairy mold-like things growing in the tank on my driftwood and lava rocks. the first pieces were sighted yesterday. i've been removing all the items it's growing on, scalding them off, and placing them in tank-accessory quarantine. but today there were two more.. one in my java moss and one on another lava rock. why is this happening, and how can i make it stop? i do assume this has something to do with the temperature being so high.

 

[wayne]

How big is the tank? Is it in a window, is it above a heater. I would tempted to take the thermometer out of the tank and see what it thinks the temperature is in air in the place the tank is sited.
Acrylic tanks certinly store heat better. If it's any consolation for many fish 80 is not a temp to worry about at all

2. I don't knoiw, it does actually sound like some kind of bacteria, but a photo would help. I doubt the heat is very relevant.

 

[svetlana]

2. I suspect it can be uneaten food covered with fungus. It has "hairy" appearance exactly as described. These are not harmful when appear occasionaly but need to be removed nevetherless. To prevent it from happening make sure that all food was eaten.

 

[Grymatta]

Do you have a hood on the aquarium? If so, maybe you can leave it open and see if the temp drops? How about putting one of those desktop fans and having it blow across the surface? That should lower the temps.

 

[TrpTwlght]

I keep my room kinda cold, and I have tropical fish so I keep my aquarium heaters at 82-83, and the fish love it. That way if my room gets super chilly, the temp in the aquariums still doesn't get cold. As long as your tank is staying at a consistant temp and not rising, you should be fine keeping it at 80. Just think, you'll never have ICK!! That stuff can't survive at temps that high.

And I agree with svetlana, that is probaby left over food that is growing. Bettas don't each much at all. I have in a little tank by himself and I only feed him every three days, and even then he doesn't eat all the food. So you might cut back on his diet as well.

 

[echoofformless]

UPDATE:

Okay, we did a very gradual 50% water change. The temperature went down to about 76. We left the light off. Room temperature is about 68-70.

Come back not ten minutes later, and the temperature is approaching 80 again. This tank is literally defying the laws of physics. It is NOT by any heat source, NOT next to a window, (this happened at night anyway) etc.

 

[radamsk1]

What filtration do you have on the tank? I've noticed with a variety of pumps (especially pond sized pumps 200 gph or higher) or filters, if they have a problem, can drastically overheat the water due to some mishap or malfunction caused by friction of the impeller or other parts.

I used to use an old pump of mine to circulate my saltwater mix I make, I'd leave it on for an hour and it would heat the water to almost 90 degrees in the bucket, needless to say the pump does pump 400 gph ;-) and I think it's defective and I've yet to dismantle it to check the impeller since I have no regular use for it.

Try taking a look at the impeller unit if it's a HOB or canister and check to see if the material around it is warm. If so, then that's your problem. It wouldn't be the first time I've seen this happen.