General Care Discussion :: diffuculties maintaining temp

[monolithmaji]

for some reason the lights that i am using to heat the basking area are also heating up the water .. could it be the lamps i am using are too big there cheap clamp lamps i got from wal-mart. i have them siting further then 17 inchs away from the basking area.

[marisa]

How big is the tank and how much water do you have in it? Lighting is more apt to affect the water temp in a small tank, especially one that doesn't have much water in it.

What wattage are you using? Perhaps a lower wattage is needed.

You mentioned lights---are you using more than one incandescent light to heat the basking area? If so, and if you're not using a UVB light (flourescent and won't really give off heat) change one out for a UVB light.

[RunninWideOpen]

Do you have a thermometer for the basking area? If not, get one and set your light to get your basking area at the right temp. If your lights are actually heating up your water, then your basking area has gotta be way too hot.

Could something else be heating up the water? Is your tank near a window?

[SpotsMama]

Do you have a cover on your tank, or a partial cover?

[monolithmaji]

the tank is 10 gallons... i rotate using a heat light and a uv bulb and no there is no cover on the tank and i have a thermometer for the basking area and the water.

[steve]

How many watts is that? What kind of lamp (incandescent, halogen, etc)? and what type (flood, spot?)

[marisa]

Why are you rotating the lights (heat and UVB bulb)? A regular UVB light wouldn't heat up the water by itself. You never said what wattage the heat light is...

It might also be good to start thinking about a larger tank/container.

[rayzherup]

I have a ten gallon tank and i use a water heater and I keep the heat lamp 8 inches away from the basking area. I use a 50 watt repto heat bulb. it works great! they said that 50 watt was good for smaller turts. How big are your turtles? My water stays at 78 degrees all the time.

[rayzherup]

I also use both a heat lamp and a uvb for 10-12 hrs a day. y are you rotating?

[grey goose]

monolithmaji and rayzherup, your tanks are too small. When you go to a larger tank, your lighting setup will be alot easier.....