Aquariums in the summer

[AgilityIG]

What do you all do in the summer with your tanks? I had my temp climb from 76 up to 81 yesterday. The fish don't seem stresed about it, but I worry about such a temp change with them. I have turned off my heater and am keeping the lights off and my ceiling fan is on in that room. I don't use my central air if I don't have to (it's on now as it was 90 degrees at 5:30pm). I want to keep my fish comfortable and not stress them.

I think keeping their lights off helps - I normally turn them on at noon and off around 9pm. How much light do they really need? This is not a planted tank. They have some natural light, of course.

Right now, the temp is back down to about 78.

 

[i3k]

I just have A/C going during the day. Heater off of course. My fish are used to living in warm water and do really well in 78-80 degrees.

A little fan blowing on top of the water surface helps too.

 

[William470]

I have wondered the samething. I have been trying to get my tank's temp to 75 degrees. I can get it to 75.9 degrees.

I have Danio's in there now and would like to open the lid. I am afraid what might happen. I may look around this weekend for some screening. Or make something up to fit when the lid is opened.

 

[mfdrookie516]

never had an issue... if my tank gets above 78, that means the house is above 78, that means I'm burning up, that means somebody will be coming real fast to fix the a/c

 

[AgilityIG]

never had an issue... if my tank gets above 78, that means the house is above 78, that means I'm burning up, that means somebody will be coming real fast to fix the a/c

LOL - yep - it was pretty miserable for us here yesterday. We have been in the 60s and then, boom, right up to 90 with no chance to aclimate.

 

[Andrewz00]

i leave my tanks to fluctuate with room temp.... ive had it this way for years.... never had a problem. never turn my heater off... it turns it self off if it gets to the set temp or above, this way i dont have to worry about making sure its back on when the A/C kicks on...

i always figured, nature fluctuates.... why shouldnt my tank?

 

[CA_BroncoFan]

Im in cali where it gets well above 100, but like mfd i never let my house get above 76 so my guys are all pretty good. I like the fan on the surface idea. one of the little desk fans that have a clip to hold onto the tank would be perfect.

 

[Mark Hewitt]

I have turned off my heater.

You shouldn't need to do that. Heaters are thermostatically controlled so if the water is above temperature, they won't switch on.

The best thing is just to make sure your tank has no direct sunlight, and if there is some then erect a bit of cardboard to shade the tank.

 

[HeathB]

Even with my ac on full blast and the heaters off, I can't get mine to drop below 80. Even with the heaters back on now at their lowest settings, it won't drop much. Of course for the betta this is just right, but I'm not sure how well the plants will do in it. I think I read somewhere that most plants do better in mid-upper 70's.

 

[CA_BroncoFan]

I think you'll be fine as long as it doesn't go above 86 for too long. I would suggest keeping your heaters where they were so you don't forget to turn them back on when it gets colder again

 

[mgamer20o0]

there a few things you can do for your tank if it gets too hot. leaving the hood open so the water can evaporate will help some. if it gets too hot you can add a fan blowing over the water. this will evaporate more water and help cool it down more. if it still getting to hot its a good idea to have some frozen water bottles to help cool it down. i use powerade bottles and freeze some tank water. you can also do small particle water changes to lower the temp even farther.

depending on the fish would determine how hot you really want to let them get.

 

[AgilityIG]

Thanks - a lot of good ideas for me. I might find one of those clip on fans and have it to use just in case.

 

[thuffman03]

I never really had an issue after I switched to larger tanks. My first tank, 10g, was quick to change but with my 120 I just turn off some of the lights and that seems to keep everything nice. I do keep my house 10 degrees or so below outside temp in the summer.

 

[Bert B]

here in the Desert the summer is hot and even with A/C on it keeps the temp around 81. it cools off slowly at night to about 79 but my Africans are used to it & thrive. I add frozen bottles of water & on days the a/c is turned off, i open the window next to the tank. the tank is off to the side and it is an east facing window so the heat of the day doesn't hit there. flourecent lights should not put off very much heat if any. I will also add cool water to the tank, being 100 gallons it helps just right.