Opinions please on dealing with Summer temperatures

[Amanda34]

I run my tank in Winter between 25 & 26°C, and in Summer I keep it as much as possible between 26 & 27 by floating frozen water bottles in it and using a fan blowing across the top. There's plenty of water movement and a bubble wall airstone. My house has been getting to 34°C lately (but gets even hotter) as I have no air-conditioning and can't afford a chiller, and I know the bottles I add only adjust the temperature by 1 degree so there's no large fluctuations occurring. I was told by someone at a pet store that I'm doing the wrong thing and should stop putting cold bottles in the tank and just let them deal with the heat. This person claims their adult bristlenose lives in 33°C water and is perfectly fine. The main fish I worry about are my corydoras and baby bristlenose pleco. Do you think I'm doing the wrong thing?

[V227]

IMO, I'd just go with extra aeration. Summers can be long. Constantly dealing with frozen water bottles can be a real chore.

[Caliban07]

I agree. Leave them be. You can increase aeration and lower the water level during the summer months to give you a large surface area to volume ratio for better gas exchange.

[goatnad]

Originally Posted by Amanda34

I run my tank in Winter between 25 & 26°C, and in Summer I keep it as much as possible between 26 & 27 by floating frozen water bottles in it and using a fan blowing across the top. There's plenty of water movement and a bubble wall airstone. My house has been getting to 34°C lately (but gets even hotter) as I have no air-conditioning and can't afford a chiller, and I know the bottles I add only adjust the temperature by 1 degree so there's no large fluctuations occurring. I was told by someone at a pet store that I'm doing the wrong thing and should stop putting cold bottles in the tank and just let them deal with the heat. This person claims their adult bristlenose lives in 33°C water and is perfectly fine. The main fish I worry about are my corydoras and baby bristlenose pleco. Do you think I'm doing the wrong thing?

You could make a homemade chiller out of a mini fridge. They are a good bit cheaper then a real chiller. Look around sites like criagslist for a used one then YouTube "mini fridge aquarium chiller".