Summer Heat Is Upon Us!

[Crossfc]

So the summer heat is upon us. Atleast in the States. I cringe when I see my tank thermometer above 80F or 27C. So lets share our ideas on how to keep our fishies cool in the summer heat!

1) Keep your tank out of direct sunlight! Sunlight is over 1000 watts. Keep your tank out of the sun unless you want to boil your fish!

2) I heard you can use a icebox if you have a canister filter and submerge your filter in some ice water in an ice box.

 

[ArauraDiscus]

Hmmm I don't really worry. if the temperature is above 90-95 degrees, we turn our air conditioning on, if for any reason, for our dogs and fish. If we have the windows open, it never goes above 84 degrees. 84 is fine for short periods of time for almost any fish besides temprate or coldwater fish. My Discus tank has even gone up to 90, which isn't a real problem. But if you do get worried for whatever reason, and feel you need to lower the temperature. Using ice is an easy method. Also doing water changes from your hose will replenish the tank with very nice, cool water. Also, increasing surface movement and airation will cause the water to move a lot more and release heat. Chillers are always an option, and putting your fish tanks in the basement for the summer is always an optiopn as well as heat rises.

 

[K.J.]

We don't have AC, so I'll have to measure the water a lot in the summer... if only I could just turn off the heaters, but that would have too much fluctuation then.

 

[Aphotic Phoenix]

Another method that is strongly supported on another forum is:

Have a fan blow across the water of your tank. This can help lower the temperature of the tank by a few degrees, but of course you'll have to replace some water due to evaporation.

 

[rdd1952]

We don't have AC, so I'll have to measure the water a lot in the summer... if only I could just turn off the heaters, but that would have too much fluctuation then.

Actually, it depends on the size of the tank. Large volumes of water hold temperature very well so it's quite likely you could turn the heaters off without any problems. On the other hand, if the temp gets up into the 80s during the day and your thermostat is set at 78, the heater shouldn't ever come on anyway.

 

[Crossfc]

It doesn't not get cold enough at night in the summer here that I need to have a heater on. I unplugged mine incase it goes bonkers and boils my fish.

 

[MoonstruckMuse]

The fan is an interesting idea - how exactly do you set that up with a tank with hood/cover? I may do that with a few of my tanks instead of constantly using ice.
I usually float a frozen water bottle in the tank. It lowers temperature, and is easy to take out and refreeze or whatever, heh.

 

[Meds081603]

I have never worried about tank cooling. I keep our home thermostat set at 81 while at work and 75 when at home. The A/C keeps it from getting too hot. The water normally stays 78-82.I am not sure about other fish but I know guppies can take temps in the low 90's just fine and goldfish can handle upper 80's. I breed guppies in my work shed outside and there is no A/C. The temps here in maryland can hit 100+ on bad days. I keep the heater set on the guppy tanks at 82 but their water was 93 today and often gets over 90. We also have a 80 gallon pond that gets to the upper 80's at times. The 5 goldfish in our pond are 7 years old and have never had issues from the heat.

I probably wouldnt want to see how well other fish can handle it but I know the guppies can take high heat.I'd also say oldfish can take much higher temps than most people think.

 

[Crossfc]

It seems that people with an air conditioned room have no issues. Some of us don't and it can get hot in the summer. I use the fan idea too. It works for a few degrees.

 

[Heather.]

Wish we got a summer here in Scotland..Nothing but rain.. Thats one thing I wont need to worry about, is my fish getting too hot..

 

[miriena]

How bad is it to take some 80+ degree water out and dump some cold water in? I've been doing that occasionally, coming home around 3pm on my lunch break to see if my fishies are still alive, but doing so many water changes worries me.

Sadly, I think my 20gal tank is a cory short because of being a wee bit too hot The platies and rasboras don't mind at all. And a betta in another tank is pretty happy!

 

[Lynda B]

I toss a few ice cubes in if it gets up more than 5 degrees from the setting. We also have an A/C unit in the other room and use ceiling fans to keep the air moving in the rooms where we have tanks. And draw the shades on the windows. Helps keep the cool air in for both the fish and us.

 

[HODDY]

It seems that people with an air conditioned room have no issues. Some of us don't and it can get hot in the summer. I use the fan idea too. It works for a few degrees.

lmao,the fish are more likely to wear wooly jumpers