Does a 55g stay cooler or warmer?

This may be one of those, "everyone knows this common knowledge but google refuses to answer this basic question," type of questions, but does a 55 gallon tank stay naturally colder or warmer if left to the elements/room temperature?

Story: i recently acquired an adult bearded dragon in a 55g tank; but without a stand! didn't realize how vital it was to get one, but the set up was otherwise perfect which is why i adopted him. Anyway, found a good deal on craigslist for a 55gallon stand that came with a 55g tank as well...which i assured myself i didn't actually NEED and planned to sell as a turn around profit.

then i realized, my axies could TOTALLY use that; they're in a 20 long right now (they're just babies at the moment), so i realized i could use that 55 gallon as they're long term, last stage size tank. i always planned to get them a larger tank once they were bigger, but i never actually paid attention to needing one since they're still small enough for the 20!

my question is, will this 55g reflect higher than the room temperature, lower than the room temperature, or equal to the room temperature if no cooling method is used? internet searches just get me tropical tank answers which aren't very helpful.

fellow 55galloners, an answer is greatly appreciated!

Hey,

The water will eventually reach the same as room temperature, but it takes much, much longer to heat up or cool down than a small tank would!

mewsie said:

Hey,

The water will eventually reach the same as room temperature, but it takes much, much longer to heat up or cool down than a small tank would!

Click to expand...

figured; i hate net searches not yielding easily found answers to simple questions...

next simple question, is only one chiller needed for a 55g? :wacko: two fans, a screen top, and a canister filter still aren't enough even with my ac on to keep my water much below 70 in my current 20...stupid 100+ degree weather and 3rd story location!!! plus the best spot was in front of a window...can i make this more difficult on myself?:dizzy:

Heheh, I know what you mean about simple questions!

I can't help you with chiller knowledge I'm afraid, living where I do it's fairly cool all year round! Plenty of folks on here will help you out though.

Regarding how much water a chiller will, erm, chill - I imagine there will be different models with different capacities.

mewsie said:

Hey,

The water will eventually reach the same as room temperature, but it takes much, much longer to heat up or cool down than a small tank would!

Click to expand...

I agree that the temperature will be more stable. But I disagree about the temperature relative to the room temp. The tank water can be significantly warmer or cooler than the room temperature, it depends on several factors:

• type of lid
• wattage (=heat production) of the filter
• type of filter
• type of lighting
• anything that affects evaporation (more evaporation = lower temp)

This page shows a little experiment involving the water temp in tanks with various types of lids:
Caudata Culture Articles - Cooling