If "room temp" is 72F (~22C), does this mean...?

Question

that an unheated fish bowl/tank will be the same temp? I believe humidity plays a major role in the resulting temp of an unheated fish bowl/tank at room temp. For example, if room temp is 72 degrees this does not necessarily mean the water in an unheated bowl/tank will be the same, correct? I am trying to explain to someone that they need a tank heater to ensure a consistent temperature in a fish tank because ambient air temp doesn't necessarily translate into that being the temperature of the water.

Answer 1

well...cant you just tell the person that you are a top contributor at yahoo answers in the subject of fish? That would convince me enough. anyway finatic, you are right about the point that you made about the water temperature being different compared to that of the room temperature.

Room temperature is commonly used(correct me if i am wrong you science guys out there) in science to describe a condition. for example, the substance H2O is liquid at room temperature. The substance H2O is solid at temperatures below 0 degrees C. Therefore room temperature is reffered to the temperature of the gaseous particles in the room.

the reason the water temperature is not the same as the room temperature is because of a few things. Firstly, specific heat capacity of the variety of substances around us. May sound fancy but all this is, is the ability of a certain substance like water and the air in the atmosphere to contain heat. or in other words, the amount of heat energy required to increase the temperature of the substance in question by 1 degree Kelvin. Kelvin unit is used in theory but it works just the same for Celsius. for ferenheits, conversion is necessary.

so air has an understandably low specific heat capacity compared to water. which means less energy is required to increase the temperature of air compared to water. therefore the heat energy of the sun increases the temperature of air, much more dramaticaly then water.

vice versa, water would lose heat or get colder slower than air since it has to lose more energy to bring its temperature lower by 1 degree Kelvin. so generally, the water would be warmer than air at night.

another thing is that there is always a constant transfer of heat between bodies at any given time. in this case between water and the air. water absorbs heat from the air and at the same time dissipates heat into the air. and the same could be said about air. but the transfer rates of these two processess are different because the basic principle of the conservation of heat governs the transfer of heat happens from the hotter side to the colder end. so the water absorbs more heat than it dissipates. but it also does dissipate heat. and vice versa for air.

combining the two factors mathematically, would ultimately prove our point. but theory and hypothesis should suffice for now.conclusively, you are right, the room temperature does not affect the temperature of water otherwise suggested.

Answer 2

Hey Finatic,

I don't know the science behind this answer, all I have for you is personal experience. I live in Florida and the temperature here outside is usually pretty warm, so we keep our house at 78 degrees most of the time (except for winter). During the summer I thought I could get away without having a heater since I wanted to keep the tank temps around 78. I kept a good tank thermometer in there and watched the temp of the tank over several weeks. I found that the tanks would stay below 78 usually not going below 75, but I would have fluctuations in the water temperature. I got heaters for the tanks to stabilize the tanks to the temperature that I wanted and haven't had a problem since. The temperature variations that I experienced in in the tanks was not due to being by the vents from the a/c for the room. I don't know the exact reason for the tanks not wanting to stay at room temp but since I tried that I have always recommended heaters for tanks just to make sure you keep a stable temperature (because like you know, any constant variation in temperature, or pH for that matter, will stress fish). I hope this helps, sorry for not knowing the science behind this, it's just what I have experienced personally.

Answer 3

If the ambient room temperature is 72, it stands to reason that each and each different merchandise in that room could have a temperature of 72. in case you have been to herald an merchandise that had an enhanced or decrease temperature, that gadgets' temperature will quickly equalize with the room's temperature additionally. Pour a tumbler of water with ice cubes, wait some hours. The temperature of the water has warmed to the ambient temperature of the room. The fish tank is likewise at ambient room temperature. The potential ranges of all the gadgets could tend to stability out on an identical point over the years.

Answer 4

A fishbowl in a room SHOULD be in thermal equilibrium with the ambient room temperature. That is, the room and the fishbowl should be the same temperature. I don't think the rate of evaporation of water from the tank would be fast enough to make the water in the tank cool down significantly at all...

Answer 5

the fish tank temperature will vary along with the ambient temperature of the room just a little behind it since water releases heat slower than air. in essence you need a thermostatically controlled heater for your tank.