How do you cool a tank?

[Anonymous]

So it got to be 90 today and is currently 81 in the house. The next few days are supposed to be really warm and so our tanks will also be really warm. I have done the whole float a frozen water bottle thing before, but its frustrating to have had fish stress and die from temperature changes. And unfortunately keeping the whole house at a cooler temp isnt an option, so ideas for until we move please

 

[Anthraxx]

leave things closed up and dark during the day/the heat of the day. also leave tanks without heaters or with them turned down so low they barely turn on. also daily water changes to help keep the temp down are decent ideas. open windows and doors at night to keep the house cooler the next day.

 

[Madness]

Cold water changes, daily. You shouldn't have to touch the heaters cause if the tanks are at 90, the heaters shouldn't be coming on.

 

[Anonymous]

Yeah keeping this place at a livable temp has been a pain. So ready to move on! We keep the lights on the tanks off most of the time too. The only thing with water changes is that sometimes the water that comes out through the sink is just as warm as it is outside! There are some major insulation issues with the house so I think our pipes heat up easily. I dont think we are quite to that point. so hopefully the really warm wait until we leave.

 

[Madness]

Nothing wrong with using the outside faucet

 

[Kaosu]

box fans..take of any lids of your tanks and set box/window fans blowing down on to them

its how swamp coolers work. ^_^ always seemed to work well for me.

 

[hbluehunter]

When I do water changes I use 2 hoses, one from outside with straight cold water and one from inside with hot water.. I've found it makes my tank at the perfect temp everytime.. During the summer it helps a lot with keeping my tank temps down too..

 

[Madness]

I would not recommend using any hot water, regardless of the time of year.

 

[aquaman95]

i would not do hot and cold on glass either wouldnt it break

 

[Madness]

no it wont, but thats not why I said that I dont recommend it.

 

[Anthraxx]

i simply suggested turning the heaters down to cover all the bases. as for not using hot water ive never encountered any issues doing it in all my years of fish keeping, heck i cant NOT do hot water for the discus.. temp swings are a no go. but i can understand your fear for foreign contaminants

 

[Madness]

I would do the cold water changes daily, and Kaosu's idea of a fan is a great idea also. Doing both of these should keep everything at a reasonable temp. GL.

 

[seattle23]

Why would you ever do hot water changes unless you had money invested in a hot water tank purifier?

And cooling a tank in eastern wa... turn off your lights take off/open your lid. Do a COLD water change from the tap. You get water from the mountains water changes of 30% to 40% will be enough to keep temps at bay. Do them in the afternoon. Make sure your heaters are working properly.

 

[aquaman95]

i do a cool water change at about 12:30 everyday when it get seriously hot i have a smaller tank's compared to most so they get hot fast being in my tiny room (would be bigger but tanks lol)

 

[Betty]

I've worried about this too. Most of my tanks are upstairs in a room above the garage and it gets hotter than heck when it's hot outside.

With multiple tanks, I can't do enough water changes every day to keep the temp where I want it. I can't open the lids on most of the tanks because my fish are jumpers and I've lost a few that way.

What I do is make sure that I keep up with regular maintenance (50% water change each week) and keep the tank lights off and hope for the best. When the water is clean, the higher temperatures don't seem to bother my fish. I know that fish survive raised temperatures for several days when they are being treated for some diseases like ich.

 

[hbluehunter]

Hey Madness i'm just curious why you wouldn't use hot water to do waterchanges ?? If i dumped 150 gallons of cold water in my tank all my rays would be doing back flips and dead ?? I've done the hot water hose and cold water hose for my water changes for years and haven't had any issues so far ??

 

[Madness]

I have addressed this several times on numerous threads. I will just say this, have the hot water from your tank tested straight water, then with prime or whatever you use. You will be amazed at what is found. Your rays may show no signs now, but give it time. Its like drinking soda all your life, nothing going on now, but it will . If you need to add warm water than put cold water in a holding tank heat it up then add.
All in all its your decision, all I can do is try to educate, and to help on this matter but it comes down to the hobbyist.

 

[hbluehunter]

No problem, thanks for the info.. I just hadn't seen the subject with adding hot water brought up before.. didn't mean to beat a dead horse.. I'll have to test my hot water and see what i find out..

 

[Madness]

I didn't mean to come across as sour. I have tried to point out the facts on several occasions on many forums. Just to get people that are not willing to listen or even consider that there is a serious issue with it. I had one guy come on and say "hey, I just did a hot water change in my tank, and the fish all smiled" or something like that. Some people are shallow minded and are never open to change. They figure they don't need to learn something new cause they have beendoing it this way for ever. I am always learning, and when I come across something that I feel is a serious issue in the hobby, I feel that I need to address it. I strongly feel and am very passionate about the issues associated with using the hot water from your hot water tanks.

I think that I will take all my research and make some phone calls, and add more documentation, and write an article on it. Hmmmmmm, I just may do that.

 

[Betty]

I think that I will take all my research and make some phone calls, and add more documentation, and write an article on it. Hmmmmmm, I just may do that.

I think that's a great idea. Or at least have it as a topic of its own if there isn't one already.