help settle a debate

[kdawg]

its getting hot out by me and the temp is affecting my fish tank. its getting up to 86 deg. F so to cool it down ive been doing 5 percent water changes in my tank with a little cooler water about every two hours and ive got my tank back down to 80 F. Well a friend of mine said i was dumb and that i should of just put alot of cold water in there all at once and if the temp went to low my heater would bring it back up. i tried to tell him that a temp change like that so fast wouldnt be good. so heres the debate. he says that lakes and such have huge temp changes like that in like an hour, and i said that in such a large body of water that the temp changes are slow. could somebody please settle this. and if you have any tricks to cool down my tank besides a chiller that would be great.
thanks, Kevin

[Barbie]

The difference between lakes and your tank would be that the fish can swim back into the warmer or cooler water as they need to for their comfort level. If you change it in the tank they can't adjust, just suffer through, and yes, it's definitely going to stress the fish!

To cool the water you can open the lids and place a small fan blowing across the surface of the water. You can cool the tank 10 degrees or more with this method, so keep an eye on it for a day or two ;). You'll also need to top up more often, which in turn will mean you need to make sure you don't miss water changes, as there will be a much higher hardness level to deal with due to concentration.

You can also freeze liter bottles full of water and float them in the tank. I always worried I'd crack the glass with this method so I tend to put them in the sump, the filter, or tie them in the center where they aren't against the glass. HTH!

Barbie

[Marc van Arc]

he says that lakes and such have huge temp changes like that in like an hour, and i said that in such a large body of water that the temp changes are slow.

You are right.

[racoll]

You are definately right kdawg.

Small water bodies like ponds and pools can change a lot over a day with the weather (usually in temperate climates). Big lakes however will remain much more stable over daily changes. Only the surface water temp will change.

I would agree with you that rapid temp changes should be avoided.

I would never add cold water, or ice to a tank. It depends what fish you keep, but I would let them just get used to it.

You will have to increase your water circulation though. Do this with extra airstones rather than powerheads, as the powerhead motors may just add more heat.

If you have species that really can't cope with summer temperatures, I would consider replacing them for species that can.


Barbies advice on opening the hood, and using a fan is definately the best method to keep it cool.

[bronzefry]

I have difficulties when the weather gets warmer, too. I also place bottles of water in the freezer. I float one of the bottles in the tank. When the water has melted, it goes back in the freezer. I also use airstones to add extra oxygen during heat waves(I usually don't use them). If you have powerheads in your tank(s), this can be a source of heat. I also noticed that the 10 gallon tanks heat up much faster than the 75 gallon tank.
Amanda

[kdawg]

Thanks for everybodys input. my budy is just one of those guys who knows everything and you cant tell him anything even though he doesnt know every thing. thanks for the advice ive got my top open and a fan blowing on it. thats helping alot. also i have two hang on bio wheel filters and an under ground filter powered by two power heads so for the summer im going to power them with an air pump. i had no idea power heads gave off heat. thanks again.
kevin

[Sandtiger]

What kind of fish do you have? Most tropical fish and even some non-tropicals should be able to handle that temp. Oxygen is more important than the temp, higher temps have less DO and that will kill off fish faster than the temp itself, throw some airstones in there for the added oxygen.

[Coryman]

Uk the UK we rarely have the excessive heat problem, but in 2003 we did have a spell which caused my fish house to go into the low 90's F there were three tanks of Corys that were really struggling and what i did for those was to put a load of ice into a polystyrene box, take a coil of air line connect one of it to the air system and the other to a three way valve and put the main coil (About 30 metres) into the box of ice and seal the box. Air stones were connected and placed into each of the three tanks, the end result was that the cooler air going into the tanks reduced the temperature to a reasonable 77ºF. The ice was topped up every morning.

Ian

[racoll]

What a brilliant idea Ian


That has to be so much better than putting ice in a tank, which is something i've never been comfortable with.

[jimmyB]

Kdawg: Ask your bud how come my kids little pool stays about 65 degrees (the night temperature) when the daytime gets hot and sunny and over 90? Larger masses of water take more energy to change their temperature.

Second idea for cooling the tank, when I used to brew beer at home, and I had to bring the boiled wort down to around 78 degrees so i could add the yeast, I used a coil of copper tubing that was attached to the cold water spigot on my sink. The coil was sanitized, i dropped it into the wort, and ran cold water through it slowly. The wort cooled down, and the water inside the coil of copper warmed up and was drained into the sink. So, no tap water ever entered my brew, but the cool-down took a matter of 2 or 3 minutes. It was always a 5 gallon batch that went from boiling to 78 degrees.

[bronzefry]

Thanks a million, Ian!!!!!
Amanda