hot hot hotter

[mellowyellow]

Yesterday, after adding a beautiful pearl gouramis and four fancy guppies to our freshwater tank our air conditioning stopped blowing cold air. I
stopped looking at the thermostat in the house at 94 degrees. The tank temperatures were slowing climbing at one point after all our efforts the salt water tank read 86. I didn't know what to do so I figured ice might help instead of cold water, so I floated ice cubes in a plastic bag. after hours of floating ice and running out of ice the temps were finally down to a workable 83. The two clowns looked like they were floundering about and the chromis went into hiding.

The freshwater fish seem ok today. The gourami is swimming casually like he was not effected by the water temps and our tetras and fancy guppies appear to be ok.

So far anyway, we haven't lost any. Thanks to God.

 

[melosu58]

Also blowing a fan across the top across the surface would work wonders.

 

[maxima423]

yea my room is the same way, when there was a heatwave in NY, what i did was put the filter on high, put 2 airlines without a air stick so they produced large bubbles and have a fan blow across the top, the ice cubes are only temporary

 

[mellowyellow]

Thanks. I'm wondering if a chiller would help. What do you think? The air conditioning was fixed yesterday thank God. It was a capaciter (spelling?) The system is 16 yrs. old. I guess nothing lasts any more. LOL

 

[maxima423]

chiller would def help, they are pricey thats why i am not going to buy one, dont have that kind of money yet, but if you can afford it, yea... go get one

 

[Raimond]

Chillers are great, set it and forget it....
Not cheap though, if you decide to get one make sure to check the reviews before handing over your $. I got mine at "the giant fish" last month. I was at work when mine quit and arrived home to a hot tank. Added all the fans I could find and put ice from my freezer in the sump. Got to about 81 and then the search began for a new one.. 4 hours later, I settled on one and the store above had the best deal and they threw in the install kit for free. Hose and clamps provided, none of which I had on hand. Was here in 2 days and it uses 60% of the energy of the old one. Plus it is very quiet, I can't hear it come on while the old one would wake me up. It will still take years to recoup the cost but with all the money I have invested in my tank it was worth it. It also depends on where you live if you really need one or not. Before you purchase one try adding a fan on top of the tank and see if that helps, most likely it will to some extent.

Good luck, spend wisely my friend!

 

[mdaniel2882]

When I had a fresh tank my, then 2.5 year old figured out that there was a dial on the heater he could turn. by the time i figured it out the temp was well over 90. The water was uncomfortable to the touch. my gourmi's and my neon tetra were the only ones to make it. unfortunately salt water fish are not a flexable. keep a couple of 2L bottles of water in the freezer and throw them in the sump when your temp gets too high. it takes a long time to melt that volume of ice. that or buy the chiller for $800-$1000. I would go with sacrificing the freezer space.

 

[mellowyellow]

Raimond: My 30g and 20g don't have sumps. However, your advice gave me a good idea. I'll freeze two large plastic bags filled with water and keep them for emergencies. I know from boating experience that a large chunk of ice lasts longer than ice cubes. Thanks.

 

[Raimond]

Great I'm glad I could help. A large bag of ice can make a significant difference on a smaller tank.

These forums are great for useful information and assistance.

 

[mellowyellow]

I'm still looking for a fan that clips on. Any suggestions. Oh by the way I lost all the fish in the freshwater tank except neon tetras and two albina corys. The salty tank fish are happy as can be. I guess the temperature and cool down didn't hurt them. I'm glad.