How do I bring water temperature down?

The friendliest place on the web for anyone with an interest in aquariums or fish keeping!
If you have answers, please help by responding to the unanswered posts.

Komodo

Aquarium Advice Activist
Joined
Sep 19, 2014
Messages
131
Location
Montréal, Canada
Because of the summer temperatures in the basement, my aquarium water temperature is almost 90 degrees. I unplugged the heaters to no avail. How do I bring the temperature down?
 
Plastic bottles full of frozen water.
A small fan blowing across the surface of the water also helps.

Unplugging the heater won't do anything since it only cycles when the water is below a set temperature. Power heads and pump motors will cause water temperatures to rise though.
 
Solid glass lids with no way to ventalate the tank will increase temps.. trust me my 55g has a glass top and its pretty much sealed almost.. It doesnt evaporate but man the temps got to like 86f so i remove the plastic back peices and the temps dropped to 82f




Btw SHOULDNT a basement be cooler lol, My basement in my townhouse in Virginia is like 64f... While the bedroom 2 floors up with my 92g and 27g and 10g with the door closed (its a small bedroom) its like 84f even during the day which can get 95f or so. I often sweat in my bedroom if i keep my door closed.. yet my tanks are only the same temp as the bedroom itself.. Which is perfect for my discus tank lol.. But yea..


something aint right if a basement is 90f in canada lol
 
I removed the glass cover, stopped the circulation pump and reduced the time my lights are on. Since last night the temperature dropped three degrees already. I will try to turn the circulation pump back on again to see if this makes a difference.

My basement temperature is 78 degrees. Yes it’s warm but I have a dehumidifier on 24 hours this probably contributes to the heat. I opened a window this morning this should bring the temperature down some more, especially at night.

Thank you all for your good advice.
 
Btw SHOULDNT a basement be cooler lol, My basement in my townhouse in Virginia is like 64f... While the bedroom 2 floors up with my 92g and 27g and 10g with the door closed (its a small bedroom) its like 84f even during the day which can get 95f or so. I often sweat in my bedroom if i keep my door closed.. yet my tanks are only the same temp as the bedroom itself.. Which is perfect for my discus tank lol.. But yea..


something aint right if a basement is 90f in canada lol

We have very different temperatures in Canada than you do in Northern Virginia. Last winter we had steady -30 degrees for a couple of months. :x-mas: but in the summer we often get temperatures in the low to mid-eighties, close the windows and that goes up.
 
We have very different temperatures in Canada than you do in Northern Virginia. Last winter we had steady -30 degrees for a couple of months. :x-mas: but in the summer we often get temperatures in the low to mid-eighties, close the windows and that goes up.



summer our temps are higher then yours plus we have crazy humidity so thats why i was saying how can your basement be so hot ?
 
We have very different temperatures in Canada than you do in Northern Virginia. Last winter we had steady -30 degrees for a couple of months. :x-mas: but in the summer we often get temperatures in the low to mid-eighties, close the windows and that goes up.


My bad,

I mixed Celsius and Fahrenheit.

It should have read -22 to eighties Fahrenheit.
 
I removed the glass cover, stopped the circulation pump and reduced the time my lights are on. Since last night the temperature dropped three degrees already. I will try to turn the circulation pump back on again to see if this makes a difference.

My basement temperature is 78 degrees. Yes it’s warm but I have a dehumidifier on 24 hours this probably contributes to the heat. I opened a window this morning this should bring the temperature down some more, especially at night.

Thank you all for your good advice.

I don't understand how your basement temperature is 78 degrees, but your tank temp is 90 degrees. Your tank should never been warmer than your room temperature at the hottest part of the day.

If by "circulation pump" you mean your tank filter, you should never turn that off. That will decrease the amount of oxygen in the water and, more importantly, the majority of your BB is in the filter media (unless you have a really old tank). Either way, you run the risk of an ammonia spike with no circulation. The amount of heat that it generates is minimal anyway.
 
I don't understand how your basement temperature is 78 degrees, but your tank temp is 90 degrees. Your tank should never been warmer than your room temperature at the hottest part of the day.

If by "circulation pump" you mean your tank filter.

Sorry, I should have come back sooner.

What I meant by circulation pump is this…

Fluval SEA CP3 Circulation Pump 2800LPH - Circulation Pumps - Fluval SEA - Brands | Swallow Aquatics

I don’t know what happened. I turned everything off, including one of my two Fluval filters. Opened the windows, turned off the dehumidifier and waited two days. When the temperature matched the room’s temperature I started everything up again. Now all is good. I don't know what happened.
 
Because of the summer temperatures in the basement, my aquarium water temperature is almost 90 degrees. I unplugged the heaters to no avail. How do I bring the temperature down?


We have horrendous summers down here in Melbourne (Aust) - gets up to 46C or 114.8F where I live. This is what I do for my goldfish tanks:
1. Air conditioning - when at home, day and night after temp. exceeds 35-40C (I never leave it on if going out due to fire risk).
2. If have to go out - all blinds down. Add sleeping bags or blankets as extra cover on the windows (I don't find this does much, though).
3. Change at least 50% water every day once temp. exceeds 35C.
4. Buy bags of party ice and float in tank (make sure you wipe bags down before floating the whole bag in the tank).

I find the most effective actions are the aircon and water changes.

Good luck :)


Sent from my iPhone using Aquarium Advice
 
Ps I have upgraded to bigger tanks this year and so think the water changes will able to be reduced in % each hot day.

You can also buy aquarium water coolers, but they are super expensive - about $400-800 (AUD).


Sent from my iPhone using Aquarium Advice
 
Back
Top Bottom