Cooling the tank water???

[tetra73]

Should I even bother? The current temp is about 86f to 88f. Is hot in NYC right now. The plants are doing OK. In fact, I am seeing some fast growth rate as well. I have mostly java ferns, L reopen, couple of crypts, rotolas, and a carpet of chainsword narrow leafs.

[msawdey]

Hi Tetra

What do you normally keep your tank at?

Im in San Diego and last year we had alot of hot weather. What I did was take old soda bottles (liter) and freeze them. Every day when I got home from work at 4 I would place 3 of them in the tank to cool it down.

My tank is usually around 79 degrees and during last summer was running upwards of 88... I personally would try to cool it off

[shinycard255]

I feel as if that's a little high...

Can you hook up a fan somehow to graze the top of the water to help cool it off?

[Keyboard Aquatics]

Originally Posted by shinycard255

I feel as if that's a little high...

Can you hook up a fan somehow to graze the top of the water to help cool it off?

Yep, putting a fan over the surface of the water can help to cool the water up to 3 degrees, maybe more. If you use a timer, you can have the fan come on when needed.

KA West

[Aquatic Delight]

In my home, my tanks seem to stay at whatever temp i keep my house at. I had to turn the A/C down to bring the tank temps down. so far that has worked, from 80 down to 76.

[tetra73]

OK. I have a fan by the tank surface and see how much cooler it would make. The temp was normally around 80f. Since early Jun, the temp was above 80f.

[msawdey]

Originally Posted by tetra73

OK. I have a fan by the tank surface and see how much cooler it would make. The temp was normally around 80f. Since early Jun, the temp was above 80f.

I used fans in additions to the bottles of ice. The fans just did not cut it as they took my tank from 89 to 86.. which was why i suggested the iced bottles

[Trickerie]

Originally Posted by tetra73

OK. I have a fan by the tank surface and see how much cooler it would make. The temp was normally around 80f. Since early Jun, the temp was above 80f.

I use a fan on my ACF's tank to get the water into the lower 70's. I can get it down 10 degrees using my method. What you want is a fan that has wide coverage. Then, you want to prop it over the tank, so the flow of air goes directly head on with the water, not grazing over the top. The slight agitation it causes the surface is what disperses the heat. I have 1 tank at 80F, and another right beside it with the fan method at 71F. Midday in FL

[radioman]

I agree with the fan. It will lower your water temp considerably.

[HybridHerp]

Your plants are hardy and should be able to take it, I mean its only going to be this absurdly hot for another day or two anyways, next week its like back to 80's outside

Fans and ice work though, along with simply adding colder water when doing a water change

[CandleMaker]

With my heater off I came home to find my water at nearly 86F, I read that it should be in the 70's, How can I keep the temperature down? I live on the top floor of an apartment building so we get roasted a bit.

Not to mention my pH is always 6.0-6.4

[Trickerie]

Originally Posted by CandleMaker

With my heater off I came home to find my water at nearly 86F, I read that it should be in the 70's, How can I keep the temperature down? I live on the top floor of an apartment building so we get roasted a bit.

Not to mention my pH is always 6.0-6.4

Aquarium fan. That's really the only affordable option. They have some that clip on to the tank and are pretty low profile. However, if you want drastic changes, use a compact fan for a desk or office

[TwoTacoCombo]

Has anyone tried making a small scale cooling tower for an aquarium? We have one where i work to cool tap water below tap temperature. It basically runs product water through a radiator while another pool of water is circulated over it like a waterfall and a fan blows through the grid, cooling by evaporation. It's quite effective on a large scale, but I'm not sure how well it would do at the home aquarium level...

[PlantedRich]

One quick and pretty cheap way is to move any powerheads you might be using so that they will leave a larger ripple at the surface. If you are using HOB filters, letting the water line down a bit more so that there is more splash will do the same. I feel the fan is the best but anything that gets more evaporation will help. Simply opening glass covers or canopies will help to let the moisture out.

If one has a major problem that requires the work, the swamp cooler idea above will do a lot. Before the days of freon type air conditioners, the "evaporative coolers" wer the norm. They still use quite a number of them in really dry areas as they give good cooling at a low cost.

[Diana]

I have seen some pretty massive evaporative cooler ideas in use in greenhouses. Smaller ones work, too, as long as the water lasts.

The more surface area where water and air meet, the better. The more air movement, the better.

The basic concept is the hot water evaporates and is carried away by the air. So keep the air moving. And provide the maximum air-water contact.

Evaporative coolers work best when the humidity in the air is pretty low, so if you are having hot and humid weather this may not work as well. Try it anyway, it is easy to set up, using the ideas suggested above.