hi, i have a 12 gallon aqua pod that i cannot seem to get a steady tempurature.

When i take my heater out and the lights are on it sits at a nice 76.7 but once the lights are off it drops to 69.2

when i put the heater in, it spikes to almost 80 (and i have the heater on low and its only 50w)

is there any reason why this would be happening? maybe im doing something wrong, i dont know haha, please help??

Well you say you did the obvious of setting the heater at its lowest setting...
I have never had an aquapod but I read about it here:
Aquapod | Current What's Next
Looks like a pretty sweet setup. Is your thermometer on the opposite end of the tank as the heater? I'm also curious as to how the flow is in the tank, if its turbulent or not.
Some things to consider, at least.
Alternatively, try and consider taking the next step and investing in a controller such as the ReefKeeper II, AquaController JR, or something similar. They are entry level controllers but pack some cool features. It'll kick your heater off much quicker than it's built in rheostat. The controller's hysteresis is adjustable to even a tenth of a degree, so you can keep the temp extremely stable.
ReefKeeper II and ReefKeeper Elite -
Digital Aquatics 2008 - Systems
Also consider the less expensive AquaController JR -
Neptune Systems - AquaControllers - AquaController Jr
The smaller the tank, the harder it is to keep stable. A controller should solve the problem for you and also give you insight into other things that are going on in the tank. Wish you the best, hope you get it sorted.

i have my heater in the second rear compartment and the thermometer is located in the front left. i went to my LFS and my friend lonzo whom is the owner said that i should invest in a controller as well. he also recommended that i invest in a better cooling fan for the lighting. i think i will do as such. thanks a ton MH

Anytime, Ben!
See you around the forums.

idk if i would buy all of those items, if i was you... i would put the heater on so that it keeps a solid temp of 78 with light and then see what happens without lights.. the heater should keep the water at a solid temp varying only slight by a few .degrees... otherwise get a better heater instead of investing in all different unnecessary elements...

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you see ive already done that and it stood at a stead 77.6 - 78.6 but when the lights are on it rockets up. so its a few different elements that are causing the system to act like it is. my first fix was to get a better fan and it has really cooled things down so i think that is what i needed.

I'd keep my heater in, set to what degree I wanted and then I would do the following:

I would buy a mountable fan, and have it blowing under the hood, and/or I would invest in a chiller. It's warming up for summer, and if you are already having overheating issues, it could get really bad in one day of heat.

Chillers for your size aquarium run around $100, and sometimes on Ebay, you can get one that is less money.

You run it, controlled, at your desired cool, and the heater will still prevent a drop.

The fan may just do the job for you, but if not, please consider the chiller.

I can recommend a little Iceprobe, which is sufficient for a nano tank, and I see them all the time, on Ebay, for $80 to $100.

yeah, you could get a chiller/ fan for the daytime and just turn it off or on low during the night..

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“Sell a man a fish, he eats for a day, teach a man how to fish, you ruin a wonderful business opportunity.”
If your an Expert Reefer Click HERE

80 degrees is not problematic. A reef can be kept very well at 80, this is not a spike. To avoid fluctuation just set your heater to 80. If the lights warm things up, the heater turns off. No problem here, just keep the heat on. . .

I agree a lot. Try it out to see if it helps if not then I would go with the controller. Keep us updated.

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Josie:cool:

add an air conditioner and its should solve the problem :P

I've sold alot of these and its a persistent problem.Two of my customers told me that the only way they got the temp down was to use a dremel tool and make the ventilation holes on top(above the lights)larger.Doing this will allow light to escape from the little slits on top, which may bother some people.They both stated that since they've done this the problem has been solved, with lights on temps of 78-80.I personally think temps below 78 are too cool for tropical animals which spend 90% of their lives in water of 80 degrees or higher!

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"All limitations are self imposed..."

80 is fine, a reef tank should be anywhere from 78F to 82F. If you do have a heater, lets say you set it to 80. Once your tank heats up and gets to 80 it should turn of, then once it drops it should heat it back up to 80

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Glad to be of any help-Austin.