Hot Tanks

dunnm · Jun 3, 2011

Hi,
I am sure this is an old one but summer is here ! My tanks got upto 30.2C whilst I was out today - 3 X 20% brought them back ish. I looked at coolers last year but they are cost & space prohibative. Any tips ?
Cheers

StandbySetting · Jun 3, 2011

Floating 2L bottles filled with Ice generally works well, other than that, not lighting the tanks and unplugging heaters will help.

dunnm · Jun 3, 2011

Cheers,
Just emptied 2 bottles of the wife's fizzy water and refilled / frezeered. About the lights ? the tank is far hotter than the room presumably because of the lights - but if I turn these off (which is whatI did immediately on coming home) whatabout my plants ? (Java moss & anubias - not worried about But Amason frogbit) I notice you are are a plant person
Thanks

StandbySetting · Jun 3, 2011

Java Moss and Anubias will be fine without light for a few days whilst the weather is hot, ambient light should be sufficient for them.

eaglesaquarium · Jun 6, 2011

What about just using the light at night when the ambient temps are lower?

Caprichoso · Jun 7, 2011

StandbySetting said:
Floating 2L bottles filled with Ice generally works well, other than that, not lighting the tanks and unplugging heaters will help.

I like your idea! I used to freeze ziplock bags of de-chlorinated water and float them in the tank but the bags would eventually start breaking down.

Geoff- · Jun 8, 2011

eaglesaquarium said:
What about just using the light at night when the ambient temps are lower?

Well you're still adding heat into the system when you use lights so I would avoid it. Night time is the only chance your tank has to cool off so why ruin its chances by running lights!!

You can also aim a desk fan at the water surface to provide some evaporative cooling.

Vin Swords · Jun 9, 2011

Ice, cold water won't help to cool down the tank more then an hour.. Total weste of time.

I use fans.. Normal bathroom extractor fans fitted in the roof with thermostat switch. Works very well.

nurglespuss · Jun 9, 2011

Yes desk fan accross the surface is good, a sufficient evaporaion gap between hood/tank is good, keeping the room shaded, but with the windows open is good.

The key element is to avoid extremes.

e.g. with your water changes, it cooled fairly rapidly from 30-to normal.

Most fish are fairly tolerant of short term temperature rises.

Install an air pump with airstone/bubble curtain if you haven't already.

Caprichoso · Jun 9, 2011

Vin Swords said:
Ice, cold water won't help to cool down the tank more then an hour.. Total weste of time.

I use fans.. Normal bathroom extractor fans fitted in the roof with thermostat switch. Works very well.

How is it a waste of time? That is how I kept my fish in my 30 gallon from boiling to death when I lived in an apartment. The tank would start to heat up too much around 4-5pm. I would add the ice to the tank and the temp would stay at a reasonable temperature until the outside temp cooled down in the evening. Summertime where I live, the evenings are much cooler, like 10-15C.

nurglespuss · Jun 9, 2011

In a situation such as that, one wonders at the wisdom of keeping fish in that environment.

The reason Ice/ice cold water are not a good idea, is that it results in a roller coaster ride of temperatures for the fish.

Better off to keep something like Discus that love the higher temps.

Caprichoso · Jun 9, 2011

nurglespuss said:
In a situation such as that, one wonders at the wisdom of keeping fish in that environment.

The reason Ice/ice cold water are not a good idea, is that it results in a roller coaster ride of temperatures for the fish.

Better off to keep something like Discus that love the higher temps.

Dude, I live in Canada, it's not like the Sahara desert everyday. There were the occasional times in the summer(which doesn't last too long here) where my apartment would get smokin' hot and yes, I would have to resort to ice. I also have heaters in the tank so it's not the "roller coaster ride" you envision it to be. Next time you point out the "wisdom" of others and make assumptions, you may want to get the facts first instead of throwing insults. I've successfully kept fish for 15+ years and I know how to handle things just fine.