Patto Posted January 11, 2006 Share Posted January 11, 2006 Hi All, I'm sure that this has been covered a million times - especially with the recent weather in Sydney, but i was wondering how everyone controls the temp of their tanks? More specifically, how do you do it when you are at work and the weather is hot but not out of control like New Years Day was? The reason i'm asking is that its 36 degrees in Sydney today and i'm at work. How do i keep my tank between 26 and 28 degrees??? Thanks for your help. Patto Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Trojan Posted January 11, 2006 Share Posted January 11, 2006 Hi All, I'm sure that this has been covered a million times - especially with the recent weather in Sydney, but i was wondering how everyone controls the temp of their tanks? More specifically, how do you do it when you are at work and the weather is hot but not out of control like New Years Day was? The reason i'm asking is that its 36 degrees in Sydney today and i'm at work. How do i keep my tank between 26 and 28 degrees??? Thanks for your help. Patto ← Do a search on chillers. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wui39 Posted January 11, 2006 Share Posted January 11, 2006 A chiller is about all you can use other than an air conditioned room. Otherwise....work from home and put ice packs in the water Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ash Posted January 11, 2006 Share Posted January 11, 2006 lids off & point pedistal fans over the top of the tank - evaporative cooling works surprisingly well, better than ice IME Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
parrdog Posted January 11, 2006 Share Posted January 11, 2006 As others have said, I point fan at surface with lids off, keep the lights off and float frozen water bottles. Water changes do the trick too . Jamie. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GTR73 Posted January 11, 2006 Share Posted January 11, 2006 The best I can recommend to those that don't have well-insulated fishrooms, chillers or aircon, is the following: 1. Turn off your tank lighting 2. Take off the lids and cover the tank in some type of mesh or netting (to stop the fish jumping out) 3. Direct a fan onto the tanks water surface and, very importantly, direct the air onto where your spraybar is located or whatever creates the water flow. The fan directs cool air onto the water surface which is being circulated around the tank. This method has it's limitations but it can lower the tank a couple of degrees and most importantly, keeps the tank well oxygenated. Fish can generally handle the heat iteself, but they use more oxygen in coping with increased temperatures. Thus the reason we sometimes have losses is because a bubbler that usually suffices on a normal cool day can't provide enough O2 on a hot day. You may also think why blow hot 40 degree air onto a hot tank? It's the airflow onto an open surface in conjuction with water circulation that's important. Also bear in mind your room may cool by 2am at night but your tank with lids on won't. With lids off, fans and water circulation I assure you it'll lower the temp in the tank if the room cools. And from my experience, frozen water bottles are a lot of effort for not much gain, especially in a large tank. But give them a go anyway I guess. I live in Brisbane, in a 65 year old Queenslander house, and I've never lost fish during the hot days we get up here. And all I've done is take lids off, ensure plenty of water flow and use fans. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Patto Posted January 11, 2006 Author Share Posted January 11, 2006 Awesome! Thanks everyone. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MoliroMan Posted January 11, 2006 Share Posted January 11, 2006 i also use fans directly on the water surface! i turn off all my heaters as well so i place all my fans on timers from 2pm - 12 am so i don't need to worry about it. Don't want the fans going all day in case the temp. goes too low. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Waterboy Posted January 11, 2006 Share Posted January 11, 2006 One thing i do is before i set up a tank i make sure it sits in the coolest part of the home.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JLL Posted January 11, 2006 Share Posted January 11, 2006 This may only make a minute difference but the lower the dissolved salts (all salts) in water the higher the specific heat. So, the closer you have to pure water, the higher the amount of heat needed to raise the temperature. Salty waters heat up faster than fresh water. Perhaps having less salts in the tank in summer will help to keep the tank cooler. (i think this is the right way around but point it out if i have it wrong) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GTR73 Posted January 12, 2006 Share Posted January 12, 2006 Hmmm, that salt thing is interesting. And good point about the timers - indeed good for your fans if you have to go off to work and the forecast is for a hot day. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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