Chillers

[olyman]

Hi all.
I have been keeping tropicals on and off for as long as I can remember but need some advice re chillers. I recently lost some fish due to the very hot weather. Went on holiday, left some windows open but fish were cooked when I came home, really distressing, I had two of the fish for over 10 years with no trouble.
So, in order for it not to happen again has anyone got experience of a way of keeping the aquarium from overhearting in hot weather?
Thanks in advance, Dave.

 

[DrRob]

Often a simple fan on the surface works wonders.
 
Otherwise a rotation of 2 litre bottles of water through the freezer makes for huge ice cubes which helps (especially in a tank with a sump like one of mine).
 
Turning the light lights off also makes a huge difference, although the plants don't like it.

 

[olyman]

Often a simple fan on the surface works wonders.
 
Otherwise a rotation of 2 litre bottles of water through the freezer makes for huge ice cubes which helps (especially in a tank with a sump like one of mine).
 
Turning the light lights off also makes a huge difference, although the plants don't like it.

Yes, I do use ice blocks when I am able to, the problem arises when I am away on holiday. One idea I got was to use a room air conditioning unit to keep the ambient temp down.