Heating a 180gallon

[Rosan Shrestha]

I do have a 180g African cichlid tank. Everything is good on summer.
The problem is It doesn't get as warm as I want in winter.
additionally I don't have a canopy or any glass lids.

will keeping a wooden canopy or a glass lid help in maintaining the heat in the tank?

I checked the heater . No issue with it.

winter is coming in 3-4 months

 

[alecrromine]

I do have a 180g African cichlid tank. Everything is good on summer.
The problem is It doesn't get as warm as I want in winter.
additionally I don't have a canopy or any glass lids.

will keeping a wooden canopy or a glass lid help in maintaining the heat in the tank?

I checked the heater . No issue with it.

winter is coming in 3-4 months

A cover of some sorts will surely help the heater maintain temp. What size is your heater? On my 180 I have two 300w ehiem jagers. I also have glass lids. It usually stays 2-3º warmer than what I set my heaters at. Before I had the lids temps stayed right at where the heaters were set.

 

[Drstrangelove]

A lid will be extremely helpful.

Just make two cups of hot tea or hot coffee (or just hot water) and put a cover over one (a CD case will do fine) and leave the other uncovered. Come back in 30 minutes and you will see the temperatures are very different.

Heat in the tank escapes best through interacting with dryer cooler air in the room. Cover the tank and you will find it a lot easier to maintain higher temps.

A wood canopy will help but not as much as a glass or plastic lid.

 

[Rosan Shrestha]

A lid will be extremely helpful.

Just make two cups of hot tea or hot coffee (or just hot water) and put a cover over one (a CD case will do fine) and leave the other uncovered. Come back in 30 minutes and you will see the temperatures are very different.

Heat in the tank escapes best through interacting with dryer cooler air in the room. Cover the tank and you will find it a lot easier to maintain higher temps.

A wood canopy will help but not as much as a glass or plastic lid.

So glass lids are better to maintain the Heat inside the tank? i thought wooden one would do me more favor on that.

 

[Rosan Shrestha]

A cover of some sorts will surely help the heater maintain temp. What size is your heater? On my 180 I have two 300w ehiem jagers. I also have glass lids. It usually stays 2-3º warmer than what I set my heaters at. Before I had the lids temps stayed right at where the heaters were set.

Its a 300w heater.
I guess I need to get a canopy now .

 

[Drstrangelove]

There are two issues.

One is the transference of heat through the material (wood, glass, acrylic) by heating the material and then having the energy dissipate into the air. That is basically insulation. However, the other issue is moist air bypassing the materials (covers) and carrying away heat from the surface of the tank water.

Wood is a better insulator than glass and slightly better than acrylic, but a wood canopy will allow a large amount of moisture to escape through the wood and the gaps in the canopy. Far more than a glass or acrylic top.

 

[Rosan Shrestha]

So if you would need to suggest which type of cover would you suggest for my case?
a glass lid or a wooden canopy?

 

[Rosan Shrestha]

actually my tank is in the basement
which is around 68f in the winter
and the evaporation from the tank is really high. Instead of just a wooden canopy or just glass lid
what if i keep the glass lid first then a wooden canopy?

what do you guys think? if it might work with the heat loss problem?

 

[twentyleagues]

Glass would be the best at keeping in heat and evaporation, which will also cause the temp to drop. Wooden canopies are nice usually more for looks imo, I have one now and have had them in the past. Canopies are usually open in the back to allow for ventilation. All though if you have strong enough lighting in there it will help to heat the water with the lights heating the air. I had that problem with T5s over my reef.I had to get fans to suck out the heated air faster then it was created or my tank temp would rise.
And remember Winter has come for some already........

 

[alecrromine]

actually my tank is in the basement
which is around 68f in the winter
and the evaporation from the tank is really high. Instead of just a wooden canopy or just glass lid
what if i keep the glass lid first then a wooden canopy?

what do you guys think? if it might work with the heat loss problem?

I think you'll be alright with just a glass lid. In my opinion canopies are extremely expensive for what they are. Some that I've seen are more expensive than the stand. For a 180 gal 6x2 tank the glass lids are ~$70. The canopy that matched my stand was priced at $330. I quickly looked up the price of glass lids and said no to the canopy.