Tank Is Too Hot!

[arielsworld17974]

It has gotten super hot here in the past couple weeks where I live and they haven't installed our coolers for the summer yet. I was watching my fish and I noticed all my fish in my fry tank (including all the fry) are hanging out at the top. All my levels are perfect 0 ppm for ammonia and nitrite. So I tested the temp and it's Between 82 and 84 F. I don't know what to do. I don't have an aeration rock and I can't go get one till next Friday. And I know higher Temps mean lower oxygen. What to do???
I turned the lights off and lowered the heater just a little bit. I know I'm going to have problems because it gets cold at night right now and really hot during the day ....

 

[LyraGuppi]

Could you lower your heater? Sorry if I didn't notice if you didn't have one.

 

[arielsworld17974]

Yeah I lowered it slightly. Don't want to send them into shock or anything. But I'm trying everything in my power to cool my house down. I turned the lights off as well see if that helps. I mean as long as they're getting oxygen from the surface they'll be fine right??

 

[arielsworld17974]

Well just turning the lights off and opening the hood has dropped it to 80. Which is a much better level. I also dropped the water level slightly so my filter creates more surface waves. Let's see if that helps.

 

[Fishmanic]

a window fan for the room especially at night would help---you should leave your heater still on via thermostat--be sure the heater is not broken and stuck on constantly---what does your room thermometer read (if you dont have one you should get one)

 

[RRaquariums]

If you have a small fan of some type face it so it blows across the surface of the water this will help cool it during the day another trick is make some ice cubes put them in ziplock bags and float them in the tank now it's pretty hard to accurately tell how much that will lower the temp so I'd suggest keeping an eye on the tank if you add a bunch of ice cubes but it works great if you need to lower the temp fast.
Check your heater to make sure it's not broken then set it as low as you feel safe having the tank temp at night this will make sure the tank stays heated at night but not during the day.
You can also do small water changes with cooler water to lower temp and as a bonus this helps oxygenate the water.
Add some air stones if you can and get air moving around that will help to.
Hope this helps some and good luck.

 

[arielsworld17974]

The heater is good. It seems to have cooled down a lot, probably because the sun went away. That's what happens where I live. I have been doing water changes daily just because they're fry. And it seems to help. I don't have a fan. I'll have to go get one. I'm going to try the ice tomorrow. Thanks guys!

 

[attibones]

...probably because the sun went away. That's what happens where I live.

 
The sun sets where I live too.
 
I live in Mississippi, and summers usually mean 100+ heat. I usually don't use a heater in my tanks starting in June, but only if my air conditioning situation is sub par. One summer, I had no air conditioning in the front of the house, and my betta tank reached roughly 95 degrees. I set up a fan, removed the heater, and kept the lights off. The temp dropped a few degrees, but not by much. At mid eighties, your fish are at the max for their heat tolerance, but if you knock the heater back, lower the water level, and keep the room dim, they should be just fine. 
 
Oh, one other thing that really helps: Black out curtains. Get some curtains that keep the light out and they will help lower the temp in a room. This is especially great if your tank is near a window. 

 

[Akasha72]

get hold of some plastic bottles with good lids, add some dechlorinated water to them and put them in the freezer. Once frozen add one to the tank and watch the temp closely. It's not an exact science as to how many to add as it varies with tank size etc. The cold bottle floating should help the temp to lower. If your fish arn't jumpers then you can also open the lid to let the heat out

 

[RobRocksFishTank]

Be VERY careful cooling the water. A sudden temperature drop can be very detrimental to fishes health. Because of this, I would not suggest suing ice unless you are absolutely certain that you can control the temperature drop. I would not turn down the heater, as it only maintains a minimum temperature and you probably don't want the temp to drop below that set point. I would work on keeping the room cool. Blocking sunlight can help tremendously. Do this for adjacent rooms as well. Once the air temperature is cool enough, then air movement around the tank will help lower the temperature. 

 

[arielsworld17974]

I know I've been trying to do everything g I can to cool my house. Our cooler should be set up here soon they just had to fix it first. Then the room will be perfect.
Woke up this morning to a perfect 80 degree temp and all the fish look happy and playful. So it's just a battle now to keep my house this temp. Thanks for all the advice!