How to cool down a tank.

[Killybeys]

Im currently having trouble dropping the temperature in one of my tanks. I know this sounds weird but im in the process of trying to breed gymnogeophagus labiatus. I also get im kind of in the wrong season to be cooling tanks down but i can't seem to get the tank down past 68 degrees. From what ive read they need 60ish. Was just wondering if anyone had any ideas on how to cool it down (without buying a chiller).

 

[Salzabar]

http://www.amazon.com/Sanatop-Aquarium- ... 4N30Q7MRVZ

 

[Caseyf]

This may be a dumb question, but what is the room temperature?

 

[KaraWolf]

Cold water changes? Like with ice water. You can also dump frozen water bottles in to chill it off. Only ever heard of that for summer tanks getting too hot though.

 

[ShortyKiloGyrl]

They make chiller systems for tanks depending upon how cold you want to go. I would compare room temp to desired tank temp and see if the fans would work first like Salzabar suggested. Chillers can be spendy

 

[flamechica]

I read once that in a power outage or if your heater goes out, you could put mason jars of hot water in your tank to keep it warm, so you could probably try to opposite to cool it down.

 

[PokeSephiroth]

Easiest way is to put a fan blowing air on the water's surface. You'd be amazed at how cool the water gets with a simple fan blowing air across the surface of the water.

You'll run into evaporation issues but that's easily remedied by topping off the water level.

Just get one of those desktop fans or if you're crafty, modify a PC fan :-D

That being said, your next best bet would probably be a chiller, which, of course you mentioned wasn't an option. Lol

 

[Killybeys]

Room temp is usually around 73 or 74 and ill have to give the fan a try. Im looking for something that consistent and doesnt fluctuate in temperature. Ill give the fan a try!!

 

[Caseyf]

You are going to have a real hard time getting the temp down below room room temperature by using just fans. If the ambient air is not close to your desired setpoint, then an air cooled heat exchanger just can't get the job done.
There is no place for the heat in your tank to transfer to. You could use a small sump pump running through a coil of tubing that is in an ice bath. Or instead of an ice bath, find a little mini refrigerator

http://seattle.craigslist.org/search/ss ... i%20fridge

to run the coil of tubing through.

http://www.amazon.com/Super-Efficient-S ... er+chiller

I don't mean to argue, but I just didnt want to see you throw away money.

 

[bronzefighter]

You are going to have a real hard time getting the temp down below room room temperature by using just fans. If the ambient air is not close to your desired setpoint, then an air cooled heat exchanger just can't get the job done.
There is no place for the heat in your tank to transfer to. You could use a small sump pump running through a coil of tubing that is in an ice bath. Or instead of an ice bath, find a little mini refrigerator

http://seattle.craigslist.org/search/ss ... i%20fridge

to run the coil of tubing through.

http://www.amazon.com/Super-Efficient-S ... er+chiller

I don't mean to argue, but I just didnt want to see you throw away money.

Ah, but using a fan to evaporate water isn't a simple heat exchange process. Water has a large enthalpy of vaporization, which in the simplest of simple terms, means that it takes a lot energy to change from one state (liquid) to another (gas). That energy is provided by the fans and...heat! So, the drier your air is, the more water it can hold, which can lead to lower water temperatures in your tank. I've gone through this first hand with my old reef tank. It was only a small biocube and I didn't want to invest in a chiller. So I wired up some computer fans to the hood, and it dropped the temperature by 10F at times. So, don't be so quick to discount a simple evap cooler :

 

[Cory]

You are going to have a real hard time getting the temp down below room room temperature by using just fans. If the ambient air is not close to your desired setpoint, then an air cooled heat exchanger just can't get the job done.
There is no place for the heat in your tank to transfer to.

In my experience this isn't true. These are pictures taken today at the shop. Shows room temperature, temperature of the tank being cooled by a $15 clip on fan, and the temp of a tank next to it with no fan. In a room that gets 77-81 Degrees at all times. It's able to lower it by roughly 10 degrees.

 

[justin case]

Dorm fridge and 50 feet of tubing.