Dangerous Temperatures

[cane76]

my tanks are really heating up in this weather what do all do to keep them cool?ive turned the heater off on my smallest tank and its still 30.what is to hot for tropical fish?

 

[guppler]

I only have 1 heated tank, and it's unplugged for the summer. My upstairs tanks get quite warm sometimes. 1 has an adf, a male betta, a yoyo loach and a coolie. It hasn't been through a whole summer yet, and I'm thinking about moving the critters. The other upstairs tank has 3 goldfish. 2 were from the feeder tank and the other is a bristol shubunkin, so they're probably some of the most tollerant fish. But since I don't think they like water up near 90f, I sometimes put in some of those little plastic fluid filled balls that they sell for cooling drinks without diluting them. I've thought about putting in bigger plastic things meant for keeping lunch boxes cool, but I'm a little afraid of them getting their lips stuck or significant temperature gradients or something, so i haven't tried it yet. I have a flower shape and a round yellow smily face that I bought with the goldfish in mind. Each is maybe 15cm across. I think they're filled with "blue ice". I sure wouldn't want them to leak either, but I don't think that's likely. Also too much stuff floating at the water surface might reduce oxygen transfer by exposure to air. I don't know how effective these things really are either in a 20g tank, or how long they last.
I imagine there are some kind of water refrigeration systems, but probably not that the average hobbiest would get for an aquarium.

As for tollerances, I've seen them listed in some resources for specific species, but I don't know how acurate they are. Some might be "preferances", as in what's ideal for the fish. It's probably harder to find ranges of tollerance that show how warm you can get before they stress to death or you really need to worry or something. Keeping the tank well aerated might be the best thing you can do.

 

[mike_nofx]

Cover the tank with a wet blanket (No i dont mean an english person!) or a wet towel! That works to keep the temp down a bit. Towel doesnt have to be completely soaked, just damp-ish.

 

[McMurray]

Just read a post where Fozzy_Wozzy_Woo has a good solution for the problem. here is the link

cooling the tank

 

[guppler]

I can see evaporation helping some, (the wet towel thing), but I don't know how much difference it would make unless you at least blow a fan over it.
As for the hose under the house thing, well I know that wouldn't work here. You mean the actual house that the people live in? I can't imagine anyone digging under my foundation just to cool a fish tank. Even running a hose out my second story window and back in would probably not get aproval from my parents. But i can imagine it with some houses. sort of.

 

[McMurray]

ok well you could use an insulated cooler box filled with ice and water.... Umm beer bottles.. then run a pipe in there.

You can buy a cheap 12v car system for 30 pounds which is normally for 5 or 6 cans and a few bottles you could modify this to have a pipe running through it then back to the tank.

 

[Bloo]

My fish are absolutely fine - despite the hideous hot weather and the tanks around 33C (90F).

I'm sure it's not great for the fish long term, but have to wonder how I didn't even give it a second thought all those years when I had tanks in South Africa - and never had a problem with heat related deaths or even fish gasping the top etc. etc. and our temepratures must have often pushed the high 30's with extremely high humidity.

 

[SamUK]

we need a pinned topic on keeping your fish tank cool.


then this thread isnt made everyday its hot.............

 

[McMurray]

we need a pinned topic on keeping your fish tank cool.


then this thread isnt made everyday its hot.............

I agree.

 

[guppler]

good idea.
I do think hot weather was what killed my weather loach, and I might be able to find a spot for a small cooler with some popsicles or sodies or somethin'. I've often wished I could keep some yogurt and soymilk upstairs for a cool breakfast in bed.

 

[Mr Miagi]

Many serious reef keepers have tried the method of burrying a long (very long) stretch of hose underneath the ground, then pumping water through it.

The hole has to be deep enough so as the temperature during the day does not effect the temperrature to the depth of your hose (you wont want your water to start heating up as the ground warms, because less heat will disipate through the ground). Also, you have to drain the pipe when not in use (stopping the water becoming moldy and stagnant). You also need a significant length of tubing to allow a few degrees of cooling to take place.

There are mini chillers, which are expensive, you can leave the hood off, you can use the esky method, as suggested by McMurray, but use cold ice with water to surround the tubes, (bugger buyin bottles of drink). Or, buy some cheap computer fans and their power supplies (can be bought from shops or fleabay) and run them when your lights are on.

 

[guppler]

I do turn off the lights on my aquariums when it's really hot, even though the upstairs tanklights are flourescent, which doesn't get as hot as incandescent. I use the incandesent ones to warm the guppy tanks in winter, and sometimes leave them on pretty late, which my little sis objects to.
I told my mom about the hose under the house idea and she thought they'd have to be pretty deep, because around here the "cold" water comes out of the pipes hot in the summer.
We haven't had much really hot weather here yet this year, but it's suposed to come pretty soon. That's one reason I'm thinking about moving some of my critters down stairs. My room is the hottest when it realy gets up there. sometimes I sleep in my sisters room or on the couch if I can't cool it down enough upstairs. I don't really plan on staying in this hous forever anyway. I figure the goldies will survive another summer upstairs if they have to. I don't know if they'd be much happier in an outdoor pond, but i am considering that too.

 

[annka5]

IMO the thing thats most dangerous with over-hot tanks is the lack of oxygen this causes. Try to make sure the filter disturbs the surface enough, maybe even add an airstone.
The temp probably gradually increases (unless the tank is in direct sunlight) which has to help, as temp shock will not be a huge issue.
Depending on the type of fish, worth bearing in mind that some almost certainly periodically experience high temperatures in the wild.

 

[TwoTankAmin]

1- Turn off the lights.
2- get a fan to blow across the top or front of the tank.
3- Get several small plastic containers, fill by removing tank water (replace it with new water). Place in the freezer to make ice blocks. When you put one in the tank, refill the container and refreeze.

If it is that hot, why not just get a window air conditioner and cool the room- that way your sister can sleep in privacy too and might even pay to sleep in your room

The trick of running hose underground is based on the fact that once below the particular heat/frost line in depth, the ground is a fairly uniform 55 degrees year round.

 

[CFC]

During the dry season water temperatures in the Amazon are often found to be in the mid 40s but the fish all do fine at this, the key is the ammount of oxygen entering the water. The warmer the water is the less free oxygen it holds and in moderate to heavily stocked tanks this can mean the fish are using up whats available faster than it can be replaced, the answer to the problem is increased surface agitation to expand the surface area and increase gas exchange speeds. The best way to agitate the waters surface is to point the filter return towards the surface and install a powerhead or two doing the same, airstones dont do quite as good as job unless you have a fairly large "airwall" type stone and suitably powerfull pump to power it as otherwise the spread of the bubbles is insufficient to make a notable difference.