The weather's been fairly nice until this week. 100 degrees today, and our little wall unit a/c can just barely keep the house comfortable. I've pulled the hoods off my 2 5gal tanks and they seem to be settling at 76-78, but I just lost a dwarf puffer to (I'm pretty sure) columnaris, which apparently thrives in warmer temps and lower oxygenation. The oxygenation is actually up b/c all the tanks have lower water levels thanks to evaporation, so the HOB in the one tank and the canister in the other are creating quite the waterfalls. The tanks did go through some wider temp swings last week until I got more aggressive about trying to keep the temps down. Anyway, is there any method of keeping the temps even lower? The hardest time, of course is that godawful stretch from mid-afternoon to after sunset. I suppose ice packs around the tanks might help, but wouldn't they only last a few hours?
Advice on keeping mini-tanks cool?
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Bioworldmaker
Aquarium Advice Freak
maybe wrapping the tank around a blanket?
It may sound strange, but I don't know if you have seen those "socks-looking things" that REI and sporting stores sell to help to keep the waterbottles cool? It actually works by isolating the waterbottle a little, so maybe it will do it for your tank too? Just an idea.
It may sound strange, but I don't know if you have seen those "socks-looking things" that REI and sporting stores sell to help to keep the waterbottles cool? It actually works by isolating the waterbottle a little, so maybe it will do it for your tank too? Just an idea.
TankGirl
Aquarium Advice Addict
The way those "socks" work is if you wet them, and in a dry climate the evaporation keeps the water bottle cool. It only works in dry climates, though - so if you are in a humid area the evaporation does not occur. This is the concept behind "swamp coolers" that houses sometimes have in the Southwest.
If your heat is dry, then a damp towel wrapped around the tank will indeed cool it - no question, but I would be a frustrated aquarist with towels on my tanks, LOL! That is a wonderful suggestion to get through the worst of the heat of the summer, and at night you could probably remove them.
If your heat is humid then you are limited to fans blowing across the tops of the tanks, raising up the hoods for better air circulation, and increasing aeration through use of bubble wands and, like you mention, lowering the tank water level.
Good luck - you are not alone!
If your heat is dry, then a damp towel wrapped around the tank will indeed cool it - no question, but I would be a frustrated aquarist with towels on my tanks, LOL! That is a wonderful suggestion to get through the worst of the heat of the summer, and at night you could probably remove them.
If your heat is humid then you are limited to fans blowing across the tops of the tanks, raising up the hoods for better air circulation, and increasing aeration through use of bubble wands and, like you mention, lowering the tank water level.
Good luck - you are not alone!
Judging from how sticky I feel after spending the day inside the house, I'm guessing we have damp heat, or at least, not dry heat. I'll think about getting some mini fans to plug in next to the tanks. About the only thing I can think of. I grew up in Colorado, and THAT was a dry heat... When we visited my grandparents in Puerto Rico when I was 7, I complained to my mom, "I'm sweating!" I'd never really experienced that, since the sweat tends to evaporate right off of you in CO.
As far as the columnaris goes, from what I've read it's an environmental issue, so the only way I can prevent any of the other fish from getting it is to try to make the environment unhappy for the bacteria and keep the fish from getting stressed. No problem!
Thanks for the ideas, all!
As far as the columnaris goes, from what I've read it's an environmental issue, so the only way I can prevent any of the other fish from getting it is to try to make the environment unhappy for the bacteria and keep the fish from getting stressed. No problem!
Thanks for the ideas, all!
Menagerie
Aquarium Advice Addict
I second the fan idea and I'm sorry to hear about your puffer.
I fight with keeping my tanks cool as well. I find that my 29 and 55 gallon tanks do okay with the bio-wheels churning up lots of surface turbulence, but my 12 gallon Eclipse (which is completely enclosed) and my 30 gallon cube (heavily planted with no biowheel) are a challenge.
My husband installed fans on the top of the Eclipse last summer and they work great. What we did was cut holes in the top with a Dremel tool and mounted two PC case fans on top. Then we bought an A/C adaptor with adjustable voltage settings on it and wired the fans to it. The more voltage you use, the faster the fans spin so you can adjust them depending on how warm it is in your house.
He actually had installed another set of them on a plexiglass strip for my 30 gallon tank but I wasn't using it. Then I lost a marble hatchet and a ram to columnaris.
I put it back on. Next summer, I'll start using it at the beginning of the hot weather.
My husband installed fans on the top of the Eclipse last summer and they work great. What we did was cut holes in the top with a Dremel tool and mounted two PC case fans on top. Then we bought an A/C adaptor with adjustable voltage settings on it and wired the fans to it. The more voltage you use, the faster the fans spin so you can adjust them depending on how warm it is in your house.
He actually had installed another set of them on a plexiglass strip for my 30 gallon tank but I wasn't using it. Then I lost a marble hatchet and a ram to columnaris.
I put it back on. Next summer, I'll start using it at the beginning of the hot weather.aquahungerforce
Aquarium Advice Apprentice
I agree with Madame X. PC fans work great and they're dirt cheap. I have the same problem on my 10 gal with 2 goldfish who love cold water, but are doing ok around 76. I also have two HOB filters and an air wand, and it is still a challenge when the temp rises.
TankGirl
Aquarium Advice Addict
That is a great tip about the PC fans - this topic comes up regularly every summer (no surprise).
Are ice cubes out of the question? I've been doing it that way for years. When it gets very hot here, I drop 6 or so ice cubes in the tank (20 G). It doesn't effect the temperature all that much, but brings it down to a normal-ish level.
fishstixs05
Aquarium Advice Freak
Ice cubes may work, but for a tank that small i would put just one in, possibly made of frozen water from the tank, so the levels arent damaged (chemical, ph, clorine,blah blah blah)
krap101
Aquarium Advice Addict
you could just float a like water container in there and fill it with water. then put the ice in it. it'll be colder by that thing so the fish can hang around there or something
TankGirl
Aquarium Advice Addict
That is a good idea, Krap101, but the problem with this is that the temperature will drop relatively quickly, or just in spots, and then relatively quickly rise again when the ice is melted, so you have fluctuations in temperature that are not terribly good.
icon149
Aquarium Advice Apprentice
Often times isn't it swings in temperature that are most detrimental to your fish? You may want to just turn up your heaters! Yeah i know it sounds crazy but if you keep your tank steady at 83 or 85 degrees it will be easier on your fish than bouncing from 76 to 83 everyday. As long as you get to the higher temperature gradually then your fish can acclimate themselves to the higher temp water. for a few months it shouldn't hurt them.
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