New and Need Advice!

[Nephele]

Hey, I joined this forum because it seemed to have people who could answer questions with helpful advice. Right now I need advice on cooling down a 1.5 gallon fish tank please?

I won a goldfish at the fair, at the time he was just over a half inch long so I figured I could put him in my old ten gallon (which used to contain female bettas but has been in storage for years) since it would be awhile before he'd outgrow it and upgrading to a bigger tank later when I could spare the money would be easier. I found out when I got home that the ten gallon leaked (years in storage and basically a cheap tank to begin with), cue emergency visit to the store which luckily had a 1.5 gallon on sale just within what I could afford to spare at the time so that became Fishy's temporary home while I worked to get the money for something bigger.

However, now our air-conditioner has gone out. So the money I had been saving for a bigger tank for Fishy now has to go towards getting that fixed because I can't handle heat very well and a lack of air-conditioning with summer coming up fast could land me in the hospital. But I'm worried about Fishy, because his tank keeps getting up over 86 degrees Fahrenheit (which is the top of the range of the thermometer I got for the tank). The tank does not have a heater, and I've removed the light (in fact following advice found on a different forum I have the whole lid open and a fan blowing on the tank) but the temp is still rising.

Currently my mom has me putting ice cubes made from the same water as I use for water changes in there every ten to twenty minutes, but it doesn't seem to be making any difference. Are there any other ways to cool a tank off? I know a larger tank would probably have less of this problem, but as I said, I can't get one right this moment due to having to get the air conditioner fixed ASAP for my own health.

 

[madams102]

with such a small tank I believe you will constantly fight this battle the only thing you can do put some ice cubes in a plastic bag and float them on the top to cool the water down but my advise is to try you best and purchase a larger tank so you can more easily control the temperature.

 

[Nephele]

Thanks, like I said; a bigger tank isn't really feasible right now because we have to fix the air-conditioner... But a friend did offer to help me out via Fishy-sitting at her house, so we moved the tank over there where he'll be cooler. It's not an ideal solution since I know moving around like that is stressful on the fish (and he'll have to be moved back once we have a more permanent fix in place), but I think he has a better chance of survivng that than he does being in a tank that was getting close to 90 degrees every day despite me icing it.

Thanks for the advice, and I definitely am trying to get a bigger tank... And to think, I was so happy to have a cold water fish so that I didn't need to have a heater in there constantly and risk it cooking the fish (as unfortunately happened with the bettas I used to keep)... Ah well, even a tropical fish would have objected to those temps anyway and I do love my little fair Fishy.

 

[Autumnsky]

You can look for a free one on CL, yard sales too. Lots of people get tanks and loose interest and they want them gone fast.

Lots of people moving. Especially 55G are available frequently.

So the ability to go pick it up fast would be a plus! Fishy is going to need daily water changes. That tank will need to cycle too!!!

 

[Nephele]

I checked local ads for tanks for sale, and all of them are either too small, or way to big for my space (I could never fit a normal 55 tank where I live right now, not and keep my work space which I need). The few tanks I have found that seem to be in the right size range were being sold with fish. Maybe if I didn't have Fishy I might be interested in buying a set with fish, but at this point I need a tank for the fish I already have.

Here are the two tanks I'm currently considering for when I can get the money.

Aqueon 36 Gallon Deluxe Bow Front Aquarium Kit ($180 normally but on sale for $135 right now) (Can't get the link to work for this one)

I'd have to find, buy, or build a stand for it but I like the looks and it isn't really that expensive. Most of the reviews suggest upgrading the filter though so I wonder if it would actually work out any cheaper than buying a tank and stand set up and getting the filter and other supplies separate.

Marineland® 56 Gallon Column Style Aquarium and Stand ($300 normally but currently on sale for $240)

This one is bigger, and comes with a stand, but is 100$ more expensive and I'd still have to buy a filter, gravel, ect... Plus, I'm having trouble finding filters that size to compare reviews and figure out which would be best to buy if I got this one.

I'm going to keep looking for a used tank, but fish keeping isn't really a huge hobby around here so finding something bigger than a ten gallon that isn't too large for my space and/or currently occupied will be a challenge.

 

[Mebbid]

With the filter size, if you are going to want to fully stock the tank look for at least 100 gallons worth of filtration. Both tanks would be good, I would go with what you like most since tanks are generally a long term investment.

 

[Autumnsky]

For goldfish the filtration amount is MORE turnover per hour than a normal tank, I think it is 10x or MORE for Goldies/also depending upon stock levels in the tank as well. You have to read the filter box to verify the rate the filter will filter - gallons per hour.

Just seeing a filter say 40 doesn't mean it will turn the water 40 x or 40 gallons per hour.