I Love The Hot Weather, But....

[Nic84]

I arraived home yesterday after a day out to find my tank at 31 degrees, I have my heater set to 26 (which it normally maintains it to). Is there anyway, without investing in expensive air conditioning units, that I can bring the temperature of the water down again? I was going to syphon out around 20% of the water and add some slightly cooler water to try and bring the temp down but wasn't sure if the sudden temp drop would be bad for the fish?

Just so you know, I have two Platys and two bamboo shrimp in a 25 litre tank.

Many thanks.

 

[dipsydoodlenoodle]

I arraived home yesterday after a day out to find my tank at 31 degrees, I have my heater set to 26 (which it normally maintains it to). Is there anyway, without investing in expensive air conditioning units, that I can bring the temperature of the water down again? I was going to syphon out around 20% of the water and add some slightly cooler water to try and bring the temp down but wasn't sure if the sudden temp drop would be bad for the fish?

Just so you know, I have two Platys and two bamboo shrimp in a 25 litre tank.

Many thanks.

I did a water change and the temperature was back up again quickly.

I've invested in some ice packs. Another thing is to fill a bottle with water and freeze it.

 

[JoshuaA]

I arraived home yesterday after a day out to find my tank at 31 degrees, I have my heater set to 26 (which it normally maintains it to). Is there anyway, without investing in expensive air conditioning units, that I can bring the temperature of the water down again? I was going to syphon out around 20% of the water and add some slightly cooler water to try and bring the temp down but wasn't sure if the sudden temp drop would be bad for the fish?

Just so you know, I have two Platys and two bamboo shrimp in a 25 litre tank.

Many thanks.

Wow, is your tank in direct sun light? If not just open a window/door to cause a draft and it will cool the room down.

However I hear that such low volumes of water are hard to regulate with heaters so that could also be an issue with a combination of other factors.

My advice would be just to try and reduce the ambient room temperature.

 

[Nic84]

Unfortunately, reducing the room temperature is not always an option as it is a brand new built house and extremely efficient when it comes to heating. Opening a window is fine when I'm in the house but during the day the house is not occupied and thats when the temperature is at its highest.
The tank is not in direct sunlight and sits on the kitchen worktop. I will try adding a few litres of colder water and see what happens. The fish don't seem too bothered though. What effect will warmer water have on them?

 

[Gilli]

Could you leave a fan blowing facing your tank while you are out? That would cool the air down around the tank and make things a bit cooler. We have a fan on a pole stand which you can adjust the height - they are inexpensive and you could have it high up if your tank is on a stand. Also leave the cover off the tank if you have one to let the cool air circulate more.

 

[bravehart]

Unless your tank is in direct sunlight, it sounds like something is wrong with your heater. Try turning your heater right down to say 22 and see if that helps, it could be that the calibration has gone wacko. If you can see your heater glowing when it is on, you could test it by taking the heater out altogether until the water cools down to slightly above 26, then stick the heater back in. If it comes on sraight away again then try turning the heater down until it doesn't come on when you stick it in the water. (remeber to switch it off when you remove it from the water)

 

[PDSimon]

The cool water would do them some good I imagine, as if its raining and cooling down.

 

[JoshuaA]

If it comes on sraight away again then try turning the heater down until it doesn't come on when you stick it in the water.

I believe if you remove the heater from the water and place it back in after some time, it will likely turn on straight away anyway as the thermostat hasn't properly adjusted to the temperature of the water is at the ambient room temperature.

Whats the temperature of your room during the day? I mean if the room temperature is above your set temperature on the tank then thats your problem. The only way you could possibly reduce that is by introducing some sort of cooling, Removing the lid and directing a fan at the tank, hopefully you would "Strip" the heat away. Like when it rains... you're not cold, however when its windy and then rains the wind strips the heat away from the moisture. Hopefully using that might help!

Though if you've got fish in there you really would want to cover it up to prevent them jumping out with something. A thin table cloth could help, white!

So yeah just take some precautions I think, there isn't much you can do though if the room temperature is above your tank temperature unless you introduce some sort of cooling. You can always put a few white sheets of paper in the window to reflect the light out and that really will help prevent the greenhouse effect in your room.

Edit: I'm having this problem with rabbits! Both my rabbits live in a massive hutch in my conservatory however as the sun rises in the morning before anyone is awake it sometimes super heats the conservatory. We did have a timer with a fan so it would set off at like 5am to start cooling however the rabbit chewed through the cable haha. Initially I put white bedsheets over the entrance of the hutch but it only helped keep the temperature down for a bit initially then it would rise up just like the rest of the room.

I ended up leaving the kitchen door open to let them run into the kitchen where it is usually really cool. So they have an entire conservatory and kitchen during the night to live in haha, they got more freedom then the dog sometimes!

 

[waterdrop]

Agree with Gilli. A slow fan, running air across the surface is one of the best ways to handle warm tanks. Evaporation removes energy from the tank and energy is heat (this is why we sweat of course! Mother nature has figured out a good cooling method.) WD

 

[Nic84]

Thanks for the info guys. I attached a small mountable fan onto the opening of the tank and had it blowing across the top. The water is now back down to the correct temperature (due to the sun now being on strike like BA workers) and the fish are still looking awesome (especially the bamboo shrimp, they are incredible animals).

Thanks a lot for your help guys.

 

[Jenste]

I have a similar problem - -i have removed the heaters from my tanks completely so i can rule a heater problem out, none of my tanks get direct sunlight, i have windows open and ceiling fans on constantly (we don't have AC)....the house if quite cool and comfortable from all the air circulation....but my tanks are all above 80 degrees!!!
i have been doing massive water changes every day to get it back down to the 70s, but the next day my temp is up again...
I have been putting freezer packs in the tanks, ice cubes in the filter out let...nothing is working...


help? lol

 

[OldMan47]

The effect of high water temperatures is simple to state. Water at a higher temperature will not hold as much oxygen as cooler water. If your fish are able to adapt to the higher temperatures, it means that they are able to survive with less oxygen in their water. Each species of fish has a different tolerance of high temperatures. Some fish, cories come to mind along with goodeids, are not very adaptable to high water temperatures. Other fish, discus among them, are quite comfortable with temperatures as high as 30C.

 

[chrisbassist]

Unfortunately, reducing the room temperature is not always an option as it is a brand new built house and extremely efficient when it comes to heating. Opening a window is fine when I'm in the house but during the day the house is not occupied and thats when the temperature is at its highest.
The tank is not in direct sunlight and sits on the kitchen worktop. I will try adding a few litres of colder water and see what happens. The fish don't seem too bothered though. What effect will warmer water have on them?

This sounds like a silly excuse.

Efficiency when heating means well insulated, to stop heat transfer (stop heat leaving the house) but you know it works both ways right? The better the insulation, the better it will hold a low temp during the day.

Don't blame good insulation when all that is doing is helping, either it's actually not good, or something else is causing the problem.

Insulation can't decide to allow heat transfer in one direction and not the other.