Care Posted July 1 Share Posted July 1 I have a 20 gallon tank with 2 adult and 6 young mystery snails. We live in an apt in Chicago with no central A/C, we use window units. We’re going on vacation for 8 days and it will likely get warm in our apartment, maybe mid 80s depending on temps outside. I have my aquarium heater set at 72, but the temp in the tank has been around 76 recently. Wondering if any of you have advice on something I could do in the short-term for vacation? I was thinking of doing a big water change with cool water (closer to 68?) right before we leave? Thoughts? I was also curious, generally speaking, what others do to keep their tanks cool in the warmer months/climates? thanks! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rube_Goldfish Posted July 2 Share Posted July 2 On 7/1/2024 at 7:58 PM, Care said: I have a 20 gallon tank with 2 adult and 6 young mystery snails. We live in an apt in Chicago with no central A/C, we use window units. We’re going on vacation for 8 days and it will likely get warm in our apartment, maybe mid 80s depending on temps outside. I have my aquarium heater set at 72, but the temp in the tank has been around 76 recently. Wondering if any of you have advice on something I could do in the short-term for vacation? I was thinking of doing a big water change with cool water (closer to 68?) right before we leave? Thoughts? I was also curious, generally speaking, what others do to keep their tanks cool in the warmer months/climates? thanks! The only trick I know, and it may not work here, is to point a fan at the tank. Pointing a fan across the top of the water's surface works even better but it works because it speeds up evaporation, which may not be something you want to speed up if you won't be home. Hopefully someone else has an idea I don't know about. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HelplessNewbie Posted July 2 Share Posted July 2 (edited) Water chiller appliance? Edited July 2 by HelplessNewbie Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tlindsey Posted July 2 Share Posted July 2 On 7/1/2024 at 7:58 PM, Care said: what others do to keep their tanks cool in the warmer months/climates? Some people unplug the heater or heaters. Do you have a relative you can trust to take your mystery snails in until you got back from vacation. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
quikv6 Posted July 2 Share Posted July 2 I use USB fans on my Axolotl tank to get the temp between 60-64. If your target is 72, you shouldn't need a chiller, unless the aquarium is in a steam room. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Desert Dweller Posted July 2 Share Posted July 2 On 7/1/2024 at 5:52 PM, Rube_Goldfish said: The only trick I know, and it may not work here, is to point a fan at the tank. Pointing a fan across the top of the water's surface works even better but it works because it speeds up evaporation, which may not be something you want to speed up if you won't be home. Hopefully someone else has an idea I don't know about. Adding an air stone will create movement and help to reduce the temperature. 2 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Whitecloud09 Posted July 2 Share Posted July 2 A fan and or an airstone. In the cooler months, over here in the southeast, where the heat index yesterday was 108, i have to wait till late at night and get my jugs, for wcs, and fill them up to 72 degrees, as i have a non heated tank. So idk how cold your water gets, but maybe doing a water change with slightly colder water could help? Just don't have a big difference in water temp, under 5 degrees is fine, but not to drastic. So a fan is best recommendation. Pointed towards tank. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tlindsey Posted July 2 Share Posted July 2 I left on vacation during the summer for a week and have a open sump on a 180gal. To my surprise water didn't evaporate that much. I like everyone's idea about using a fan but I would definitely unplug the heater if you had it plugged in. On 7/2/2024 at 8:40 AM, Tlindsey said: I left on vacation during the summer for a week and have a open sump on a 180gal. To my surprise water didn't evaporate that much. I like everyone's idea about using a fan but I would definitely unplug the heater if you had it plugged in. I've heard of people using a clip on fan to agitate the surface of the aquarium water. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pepere Posted July 2 Share Posted July 2 By and large your tank is typically going to be a bit warmer than your room temperature is. Lights and pumps add btus to the water andheat always flows from an area of higher concentration to an areaof lower concentration. running fans on the tank will not lower tank temp below ambient room temp except in the case of evaporative losses.. given the relative cost of tank chillers verses room air conditioners, I would generally go with room air conditioning for Tropical fish… lowering tank temp by big water change wont buy you much time. 20 gallon tank has about 160 btus per degree of water temp…It will be aboveambient temps before the day is out. assuming you could just cool the room the tank is in and close doors to that room, that would be the tack I would take. 3 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Care Posted July 2 Author Share Posted July 2 Thank you all so much for your suggestions. @Pepere - Unfortunately, the aquarium is in a large open space, so cooling the room temp with a window AC would take awhile and be quite a waste of energy, however, could be a good last resort. I am going to ask a neighbor to check the snails, so perhaps he could check the water temp and turn the AC on a few times throughout the week if temps get too hot. I just checked the forecast, and high temp outside is supposed to be 88, but not until close to the end of the trip. I am hoping the inside air temp won't get dangerously high. I may invest in an airstone and fan and have my neighbor turn the window AC on if aquarium temp is getting above 84 F (that is the upper limit of temp range for mystery snails on the internet). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
daggaz Posted July 2 Share Posted July 2 (edited) On 7/2/2024 at 3:02 PM, Pepere said: running fans on the tank will not lower tank temp below ambient room temp except in the case of evaporative losses.. That's a big exception, given that is exactly how the physical principal of evaporation works and why everything from animals to modern refrigeration uses it to keep _cooler than ambient temperatures_ so long as you have excess water to spend. As long as humidity isn't in the upper nineties, a fan ABSOLUTELY will work (leave your window open). And I seriously doubt you can empty a significant part of 20 gallons (in 8 days) in the process, but you might want to run it for three days in advance and measure, and top it off just to be sure. Oh wait. You're in Chicago? Yeah you might be screwed on that humidity bit. Edited July 2 by daggaz Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pepere Posted July 2 Share Posted July 2 On 7/2/2024 at 5:08 PM, daggaz said: On 7/2/2024 at 9:02 AM, Pepere said: running fans on the tank will not lower tank temp below ambient room temp except in the case of evaporative losses.. That's a big exception, given that is exactly how the physical principal of evaporation works and why everything from animals to modern refrigeration uses it to keep _cooler than ambient temperatures_ so long as you have excess water to spend. My point specifically was, don’t expect a fan to do much lower tank temps if you keep a lid on the tank. You need to access evaporative cooling to cool the tank. Blowing 80 degree ambient air at the tank with a lid on it is not going to do much cooling…. In fact the waste heat from the fan motor may well be worse than not running it… And as you rightly point out, if ambient humidity is high where you are at, you wont get tremendous evaporative cooling either. Here in Maine where we can see 80 degree temps with 76 dewpoints we often appreciate the air conditioner lowering humidity more than the air temp cooling… 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rube_Goldfish Posted July 2 Share Posted July 2 On 7/2/2024 at 6:26 PM, Pepere said: My point specifically was, don’t expect a fan to do much lower tank temps if you keep a lid on the tank. You need to access evaporative cooling to cool the tank. Blowing 80 degree ambient air at the tank with a lid on it is not going to do much cooling…. In fact the waste heat from the fan motor may well be worse than not running it… Yes, I forgot to mention the "take the lid off first" part, thank you. Lids are generally good insulators, which is usually a good thing... @Care if you trust your neighbor to know how to do a top off (temperature match, add dechlorinator...) then you could remove the lid and blow a fan across the water's surface, then ask the neighbor to do a top off every 3 or 4 days. @daggaz has a good point about trying this all out before leaving, so you'll know what to expect. By the way, if you're worried about the snails going on walkabouts or the fish jumping with the lid off, you could temporarily cover the tank with window screen or craft mesh or light diffuser material. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
quikv6 Posted July 3 Share Posted July 3 If you have a glass lid, I'd switch to a mesh reptile-style lid. This way, you can put a small fan atop it, and aim it a a small angle right at the waters surface...to aid in the evaporative cooling mentioned earlier. It does make a significant difference in temperature, and the water loss from evaporation in minimal, in my opinion. You certainly won't lose 20 gallons in a week. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Flumpweesel Posted July 3 Share Posted July 3 The main danger with the water getting warm is that it has lower dissolved O2 so I would add the the air stone as essential. After that I would ensure that the curtains are drawn to keep the sun out and the lights and heater are turned off on the tank. 8 days is not very long and most things can handle it a little warmer than advertised. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
daggaz Posted July 3 Share Posted July 3 On 7/3/2024 at 10:39 AM, Flumpweesel said: 8 days is not very long and most things can handle it a little warmer than advertised. Tell that to Pinchy the prized Maine lobster. Rest in peace, Pinchy, you were delicious. 😢 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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