JoeQ Posted May 22, 2022 Share Posted May 22, 2022 Short of buying an aquarium chiller what are some good ideas for cooling your aquariums? It's only day 2 of 80+ temps and im already concerned about what long stretches of this heat will do to my plants! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
xXInkedPhoenixX Posted May 22, 2022 Share Posted May 22, 2022 (edited) People take lids off, keep the lights off and use fans to blow across the water. Have had others use frozen water bottles floating in extreme cases. (floating refrigerated/cold bottles works too of course) Edited May 22, 2022 by xXInkedPhoenixX Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
eatyourpeas Posted May 22, 2022 Share Posted May 22, 2022 Evaporative cooling can be quite effective. If you have a canister filter, placing it in a cooler with an ice pack helps a lot. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nabokovfan87 Posted May 22, 2022 Share Posted May 22, 2022 On 5/22/2022 at 10:28 AM, JoeQ said: Short of buying an aquarium chiller what are some good ideas for cooling your aquariums? It's only day 2 of 80+ temps and im already concerned about what long stretches of this heat will do to my plants! During the winter months, I'd be making repashy and stuff for the freezer. I got 3-4 trays of those large coctail ice cube molds (3" square" and I freeze those into large 5 gallon bags. You'll go through a LOT more ice than you think and I really worry about the temperature difference causing issues with the glass stresses. That being said, if I ever have a severe issue, that's my current play. Especially adding one to the HoB over a day might be what "works" to drop temps. Note: it's over 110 degrees in the summer here. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Seattle_Aquarist Posted May 22, 2022 Share Posted May 22, 2022 On 5/22/2022 at 10:28 AM, JoeQ said: Short of buying an aquarium chiller what are some good ideas for cooling your aquariums? It's only day 2 of 80+ temps and im already concerned about what long stretches of this heat will do to my plants! Hi @JoeQ Most species of aquatic plants will tolerate 80 degrees and higher temps. I grow emersed plants in my attached garage and in the summer the temperature can hit 90+ and I have not lost a plant. Remember. most of the plants we use in our aquariums are 'marginals, that live near the shore of rivers or lakes in the tropics.....just imagine how warm they get in the summer there. Fish are another matter since the amount of dissolved oxygen in the water decreases with increasing temperatures. As temperatures rise increased water circulation will help keep O2 levels up for the fish. -Roy 4 1 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
eatyourpeas Posted May 23, 2022 Share Posted May 23, 2022 A very good point made by @Seattle_Aquarist regarding O2, making sure an air stone is added to the tank during higher temps. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JoeQ Posted May 26, 2022 Author Share Posted May 26, 2022 On 5/22/2022 at 7:18 PM, Seattle_Aquarist said: Hi @JoeQ Most species of aquatic plants will tolerate 80 degrees and higher temps. I grow emersed plants in my attached garage and in the summer the temperature can hit 90+ and I have not lost a plant. Remember. most of the plants we use in our aquariums are 'marginals, that live near the shore of rivers or lakes in the tropics.....just imagine how warm they get in the summer there. Fish are another matter since the amount of dissolved oxygen in the water decreases with increasing temperatures. As temperatures rise increased water circulation will help keep O2 levels up for the fish. -Roy Thanks Roy, and sorry about the late response. I'll most likely add a combination of suggestings (adding more agitation, removing top, using 24h bubbler) but do you recommend changing anything fert or light wise? I've always had trouble growing at higher temps which for me ment MELT! It wasn't until I got my temp down to 74~75 that I started seeing incredible sustained growth. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Seattle_Aquarist Posted May 26, 2022 Share Posted May 26, 2022 On 5/26/2022 at 5:41 AM, JoeQ said: Thanks Roy, and sorry about the late response. I'll most likely add a combination of suggestings (adding more agitation, removing top, using 24h bubbler) but do you recommend changing anything fert or light wise? I've always had trouble growing at higher temps which for me ment MELT! It wasn't until I got my temp down to 74~75 that I started seeing incredible sustained growth. Hi @JoeQ If your light is LED then I would leave the light photoperiod alone. LED lights do not put off large amounts of heat like the old incandescent and fluorescent lamps did. If the amount of light stays the same then the amount of ferts should remain the same. If you chose to cut back on the photoperiod then adjusting your fert levels may be needed. -Roy 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JoeQ Posted May 26, 2022 Author Share Posted May 26, 2022 On 5/26/2022 at 12:30 PM, Seattle_Aquarist said: Hi @JoeQ If your light is LED then I would leave the light photoperiod alone. LED lights do not put off large amounts of heat like the old incandescent and fluorescent lamps did. If the amount of light stays the same then the amount of ferts should remain the same. If you chose to cut back on the photoperiod then adjusting your fert levels may be needed. -Roy Thanks again, im using the 3.0 for an unusually long day (14h i think) with next to no algea issues. I do plan to do a huge trim/rescape soon so adjusting my ferts always goes along with that. Hopefully I have my tank balanced to the point, where im not affected by the heat like in years past. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
xXInkedPhoenixX Posted June 1, 2022 Share Posted June 1, 2022 Gonna be in the 90s today- while my house has central air, the add-on where my Flex9 sits doesn't have a vent and gets to be anywhere between 80-85 degrees (which oddly is very comfortable for me) - this makes the tank a bit too warm IMO for my Hillstream Loach- I think the others are ok with it (endlers, guppies, embers). I'd love to buy the tank lid risers but again, Hillstream Loach (cats don't help either- one likes to sit on top of this tank). So I remove the feeder hole lid (aftermarket) and I purchased a small flexible fan- this will keep the tank that reaches up to 83 degrees on these days to the 80 degree mark or less. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JoeQ Posted June 1, 2022 Author Share Posted June 1, 2022 On 6/1/2022 at 12:13 PM, xXInkedPhoenixX said: Gonna be in the 90s today- while my house has central air, the add-on where my Flex9 sits doesn't have a vent and gets to be anywhere between 80-85 degrees (which oddly is very comfortable for me) - this makes the tank a bit too warm IMO for my Hillstream Loach- I think the others are ok with it (endlers, guppies, embers). I'd love to buy the tank lid risers but again, Hillstream Loach (cats don't help either- one likes to sit on top of this tank). So I remove the feeder hole lid (aftermarket) and I purchased a small flexible fan- this will keep the tank that reaches up to 83 degrees on these days to the 80 degree mark or less. I'm pretty much the same with hillstreams. Yesterday we had the hottest day of the year (house temp was 88 at it's highest) So I opened the lid and ran my ceiling fan all day plus ran my bubbler which kept the tank at 83-84. I think what i need to do is make a grated top so fish don't jump out (i had a few rummynose suicide from a lid left open before) and run my ceiling fan. On the hottest days I might also start floating frozen bottles by the output to chill the water a few degrees. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
xXInkedPhoenixX Posted June 1, 2022 Share Posted June 1, 2022 Yea that's rough Joe, wouldn't blame you for adding frozen water- at some point there is just no other choice. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tihshho Posted June 1, 2022 Share Posted June 1, 2022 Can you lift the stock lid with something to allow more airflow? Raising it by half an inch should provide a decent gap for air to pass especially with that fan, all while keeping the cats out. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JoeQ Posted June 1, 2022 Author Share Posted June 1, 2022 On 6/1/2022 at 3:37 PM, Tihshho said: Can you lift the stock lid with something to allow more airflow? Raising it by half an inch should provide a decent gap for air to pass especially with that fan, all while keeping the cats out. No cats here, just suicidal fish! 😂 I have a versa top so adding a few 1/2" risers is definitely doable! Thanks for the idea 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tihshho Posted June 1, 2022 Share Posted June 1, 2022 On 6/1/2022 at 3:56 PM, JoeQ said: No cats here, just suicidal fish! 😂 I have a versa top so adding a few 1/2" risers is definitely doable! Thanks for the idea Doh, I thought Inked's post was yours. My mistake! I've not done this, but theoretically the physics behind this should work. Styro cooler with small inlet hole in the lid, half full of ice, and an air pump in it. Air being pushed into the tank will be cooler and should aide in cooling. Not sure how long that will last though. Just be sure to have the air pump out of any area where it's going to get wet from the ice melting. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
xXInkedPhoenixX Posted June 1, 2022 Share Posted June 1, 2022 (edited) On 6/1/2022 at 12:37 PM, Tihshho said: Can you lift the stock lid with something to allow more airflow? Raising it by half an inch should provide a decent gap for air to pass especially with that fan, all while keeping the cats out. In my case to answer you 🙃 no- my snail and/or my Hillstream taking a walk outside the tank is kind of a nightmare scenario- the Flex does not have a lip and the Hillstream and Nerite regularly hang along the top and partially out of water. They make some really cool tank lid risers aftermarket on Etsy- but just not feasible in my circumstance with inhabitants more than the cats- they really don't care for the fish- they just sit on the lid. Honestly friend- I just put in the fan in my pic- the one I was using was just placed on top of the tank- it worked but it wasn't sound- one budge and it would fall off. So I got that clip on this week- so far I'm impressed- it's 82 degrees in the room and 75.6 in the tank! Edited June 1, 2022 by xXInkedPhoenixX 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tihshho Posted June 1, 2022 Share Posted June 1, 2022 Might be the Asian in me, but Bamboo stakes are only a 1/4" thick and you can cut them to length and sit the lid on there during your heat wave... Little unconventional, but gotta do what you gotta do, haha. 1 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nabokovfan87 Posted June 1, 2022 Share Posted June 1, 2022 On 6/1/2022 at 12:56 PM, JoeQ said: I have a versa top so adding a few 1/2" risers is definitely doable! Thanks for the idea These might work in the corners too. or as mentioned above, skewers/chopsticks to lift it. If you have some 3m VHB tape, that helps the situation also because of the added moisture.https://www.amazon.com/3M-SJ5312-Bumpon-Blister-Bumpons/dp/B01A9UJK3S/ref=sr_1_2?crid=382NHY1MOCS1C&keywords=3m+bumpon+clear+vhb&qid=1654120693&sprefix=3m+bumpon+clear+vhb%2Caps%2C139&sr=8-2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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