Water temperature

[hyetexa2001]

Ok i have a question. I have a 10 gallon aquarium and the temperature is a constant 86 and above all day long with out the incandescent bulbs on. I am wondering if that could be a problem. I know for for sure my goldfish doesn't like it because they prefer cold temperatures. I dont know what to do to keep the temperature lower. I mean i dont want to have to buy one of those chillers because they cost alot. Is there any way to keep the temperature cooler. I am wondering if ice would work or maybe a bottle with frozen water inside and just keep replacing them as they melt . if i throw in ice the water will rise so its not gonna work. I would really appreciate it if someone would help me find a solution thank you. Good bye Laughing

Oh and i almost forgot i bought one of those water testing kits. well its not actually a kit is a 5 tests in one strip they are very good but theyre arent too too easy to read if the colors dont exactly match. Here are my results from today

1.nitrate 20 [acronym:81454ddcfa="Parts per Million"]ppm[/acronym:81454ddcfa]
2.nitrite .5 [acronym:81454ddcfa="Parts per Million"]ppm[/acronym:81454ddcfa]
3.hardness 75 [acronym:81454ddcfa="Parts per Million"]ppm[/acronym:81454ddcfa]
4.alkaline 100 [acronym:81454ddcfa="Parts per Million"]ppm[/acronym:81454ddcfa]
5.[acronym:81454ddcfa="power head or Measure of the concentration of hydrogen ions, depending on context"]ph[/acronym:81454ddcfa] 7.5 7.6 I would like to buy the chemicals to lower and increase the setting do you guys think its worth it thank you bye

[BillD]

Don't start messing with the water. Your pH is fine your nitrates are fine although they could be lowere. Your nitrite should be 0, so I think you should do a water change to lower that. I would do a change of about 50%. A 2 litre soda bottle, with frozen water will help to cool the tank, maybe too well. Try a smaller bottle and see if you can get it down a little.

[Toirtis]

What sort of thermometer are you using to measure tank temperature? You are correct that 86ºF is too high.....about 10ºF too high for tropicals and and a good 15ºF-20ºF for goldfish....you may need to consider moving your tank to a cooler location....just whereabouts is it now located?

[hyetexa2001]

My aquarium is located in my room. and my room is on the side where the sun hits in the morning. but it doesnt hit the aquarium. It wouldnt really matter because everywhere in the house is hot. My mom says i have the coolest room .but it can get really hot cuz i like to use the computer with the door closed and the window and everything . So i was thinking about using a little 20 ounce bottle for cooling but then that would be too much waste of space because i would have to lower water because i cant take the hood off scared of fish jumping out. But if i lower water lvl the undergravel filter tube will be out of the water s i dont know what to really do this sucks.

[hyetexa2001]

Oh i am using a termometer that hangs off the wall of the aquarium. it was recomended by the petco salesman. He said it was accurate and it was also more expensive than the rest .i used to have an 8$ termometer but i let my friend borrow it and the idiot broke it. I was very great but the petco here didnt have it.

[Toirtis]

OK, the 'frozen bottle method' may be just about your only option, short of using a chiller.

[tkos]

Leaving the top open on the tank and aiming a fan across the top of the water will cool the tank down a bit. You will have to add top off water every day but it does lower the temp safely. Adding a bottle of ice to a tank will probably lead to problems. It is usually suggested to add it to the filter.

The problem with high temp is usually one of lower oxygen. Hot water holds less dissolved gases, epsecially oxygen. Many tropicals can tolertae the lower levels fine and have evolved to do so. Certain cooler water fish like White Clouds, goldfish and trout have evolved to live in cooler conditions with higher oxygen content. Adding the fan will help to increase gas exchange in the tank water and keep the oxygen levels higher.

[severum mama]

When I first started keeping fish I bought a 10 gallon kit that sounds very similar to what you have now. It came with an incandescent light in the hood, which used to heat up the water way too much while I had the lights on. I know you said that you are not turning the lights on right now, but my point is that this is a problem that you will continue to have with your lights. The temp will not stay constant even when you have your heater on. My suggestion for your lights is to either buy a 10 gallon fluorescent hood (you can get this pretty cheap) or to buy some [acronym:f79cdb973e="Compact Flourescent"]CF[/acronym:f79cdb973e] bulbs for your incandescent hood, which is what I did.

the hood: http://www.thatpetplace.com/Products.../Itemdy00.aspx

the bulbs:
http://www.bigalsonline.com/catalog/...d1=1843;pcid2=

[id10t]

Dump the incandescent light. Walmart (and others i'm sure) sell a compact flourescent that will fit right in. I made the change on my 10gal and temps went from starting at 80 and raising a degree per hour to staying right at 80 all the time.

You still may need to work on your base temp.

[mvigor]

I think a 2 liter bottle of frozen water would be a bit too big to put into a 10 gallon tank. Try the same idea with a 1 liter bottle or a 24 ounce bottle.