cuteusagi

Hi all!

It is now summer where we are with daily temperatures between upper 80's and mid-90's, and our aquarium has gone from a wonderful regulated temperature of 80-81 degrees, it is now 86.6, and I'm worried that our water is going to get too warm for our fish and plants. We do have a/c, but our units are nowhere near our tank, and the cooler air doesn't really get to that part of the apartment.

Chillers are quite expensive, so is there any other way to help bring down the temperature of our fish tank? I thought about opening the lid (we have glass lids that are tight fitting, so not a lot of air gets out of the tank), but we have an African Butterfly Fish and I don't want to risk him jumping, especially with the water being so warm.

Any suggestions or ideas? Thanks!!!

goggles

why don't you turn the heater down. or do you have air stones? if not then get some. the cool air being pumped into the water will help. i have heard of people droping ice cubes into the water on realy hot days.

cuteusagi

Since our heater is only set to heat the water to 80 degrees, the little light is actually flashing to indicate that the water temperature is too high. The heater doesn't heat the water past it's temperature setting. I do have 2 air stones running at the moment during the day. Not sure if I want to risk the ice cube thing, since the water would only be cool where the icecubes were, and I don't want to stress the fish.

tkfury

I have to second the ice cubes. I hear a lot of people place ice cubes in little baggies and let them float - the bottom of the tank is naturally a little cooler than the surface. I believe I've also hear of people placing a damp towel in a shallow container with water around the tank and letting a fan blow on it.

You say you have plants so I'm not sure if it'll help any but maybe cut down on the times the lights are on? If the temp isn't dropping below the upper 70's I'd say just unplug the heater - with the heater already getting it at 80 its probably easier for the warmer air to heat the tank up even more.

One part of my glass canopy is broken but with some killifish I just picked up some fake pond lilies and float those at the opening. But again, with live plants that might cause a problem with the light getting past the decorations and to the plants.

goggles

turn the heater down to a lower temp to allow for the rising air temp.

Shawnie

im with the ice cubes and froze water bottles floating in the tank matter fact had to do some today as we are in the second day of 90s with major humididty...good ole new england!

Drea

I have had good result with ice cubes in a baggie place in the filter assembly and also turning up the air stone bubbles

nugzboltz

I would recommend maximizing your water exposure to air. That is, open or remove the canopy, and to a more extreme degree, you can place a fan next to the tank so that it blows across the surface of the tank water.

My thermostat is set at 74 F with outside temps at ~90, and my tank water is about 76-77 F with no extra cooling/heating and 30W lighting over 14 gal.

Lonely Angel

As the ice cubes melt won't they release water that hasn't been dechlorinated into the tank? Or is that small of an amount not enough to worry about?

rileyrk190

I am having the same problem now with my tanks and dont really know what to do? They are at 87 degrees and i am really concerned. Does prolonged exposure to 87 degree water have ill effects on the fish?

Ryno

Put the ice cubes in a bag so they don't melt into the water.

Barbrella

Doing more water changes, making sure there is good oxygenation with air stones, and using the ice cube in the baggie should help fish get through heat waves okay.

Shawnie

I dont have city water so my melting cubes are fine I would use the baggie method if I had city water tho..or treat the water before you freeze it and just have a tray of cubes for your fish..they love playing with them

COBettaCouple

I'd go with ice cubes as well.. but is there any way to move the tank to a cooler spot?