Someone Help!!!

[Kageshi17]

The water in my tank is getting ridiculous everyday! I don't have a/c and I don't have a cooler place to store them! THE WATER IS GETTING TO ABOUT 90 DEGREES EVERYDAY! PLEASE HELP! ONE OF MY CATFISH DIED AND I LOVED HER SO MUCH! SOMEONE HELP PLEASE AND FAST! I don't want them all to die!

[mr.dark-saint]

How big is the tank? Ghetto fix on the cheap. Get a few plastic bottles and put water in it then freeze it and drop them in to the tank.

[Christine]

I'm really sorry about your catfish. With the high temps in Salem OR being 68 or less right now.... Why is your water getting so hot?

[Kageshi17]

Hell I don't know. My house is always really stuffy during the day and it just...maybe not good circulation or something. I even think maybe my roomate is turning on the heat because he says hes "cold". Ugh...yeah and he wont listen to me when I tell him not to turn it on...so...but the water bottle idea is good...except for I leave for work at 2pm and come back at 9pm. When I leave, the water is about 78 degrees....ugh I'm in a fix. Well summer will be over soon, right? K thanks all!

[Christine]

Is your tank near a vent? I've found I have to rearrange my smaller tanks seasonally depending on if I have the AC or heat running.

[emc7]

If you have a light, turn it off. You could also blow a fan across the surface, or drop the water level, If you have a HOB filter the evaporation from the falling water will help cool the tank.

[Kageshi17]

Yes I do have a filter. And a bubbler...so those two should keep the water cooler. But no filter for my babies...I just put a small bubbler in there though. I turn it off when they're feeding though. Hahaha. I guess the weather has simmered down a bit so that is helping...but both of my heaters just gave out and I have to go buy new ones...they almost fried my fish (pieces of crap I tell you) but umm yeah. I hope my babies will last through the night without a heater I guess I might leave the light on em? And yes my tank is near a vent, that might be the problem. Thanks everyone who has been responding I really appreciate it.

[craftyflalady]

These are Tropical fish I assume. 90 degrees isn't too much of a problem for them. What is the problem is the higher the temp of the water the less oxygen is in the water. I would drop a couple more bubblers in there for sure. Keep the water really moving at the surface and should be fine. And yes, I would move your tank or at the least, close that vent.

Good Luck,
Kathy

[mr.dark-saint]

If your bunkie is jacking up the heat you can block the vent (if you can by shutting the flap or placing a licence plate (don't ask. Ghetto remember). I do wonder if the heater was your problem (the one in the tank). Speaking of that how big is the tank (asking again)? Since the tank is able to rise 12 degrees in 8 hours towards the evening (makes me wonder what the room temp is about 4/5 in the afternoon when the sun is beaming in to the room). Turning off the light when you're not home is a good thing (buy a lamp timer and rig it so you have a light to walk in to the house at 9-ish) less money to hand over to the electric company.

One last thing you can place egg crate over the tank (so the fish can't jump out) but with the top open there will be more surface cooling.

[Kageshi17]

Thanks for all the help! I think I have the heating under control and the tanks arent getting too hot because of the cooler weather cycling in. Hahaha the license plate over the vent is a great idea and I love ghetto-nes!

You guys are so helpful and I dont know where I would be without this forum!

Much love!

[Gump]

i use a small $5 fan from walmart on all my tanks, have the fan blow on the surface of the water and it will drop the temp quickly depending on the size of the tank.

[Kageshi17]

Awesome. Thats a good idea!

[fish_doc]

In the future here are a few other ideas.

Aquariums that overheat is a very common thing that happens in the summer and I see the question on how do I fix this asked several times a year on different forums. So don’t worry if you have this problem you are not alone.

There are several ways to cool a aquarium. Some are very expensive others very simple. But the labor involved in cooling the tank is indirectly tied to the cost. The more expensive the less maintenance, the cheaper needing a constant eye and lots of work.

The first thing you can do is air-condition your house - (you didn't want to hear that) There is the expense of installation then the expense of electricity. Keeping the air around the aquarium cool will keep the water in the aquarium cool.

The second thing you can do is buy a aquarium chiller - Chillers are often needed to keep the water temperature within a range optimal for your tank inhabitants. These can run $400 on up. (Not so cheap either) Chillers are available in two forms: drop-in and in-line. Drop-in chillers have cooling coils that you simply place in the sump to cool the water. No plumbing is required. In-line chillers have internal cooling coils. Water is pumped into the chiller, cooled, and then returned back to the tank or sump. The chief advantage of an in-line chiller is that it can be placed remotely from the tank (such as a basement, a different room or a garage).

Temperature controllers are necessary to operate the chiller. A single stage controller will control just the chiller, while a dual stage controller can control both a chiller and a heater to minimize variance and eliminate conflicts.

The third thing you can do is small frequent water changes with cooler water - This is good for the temp but hard on the biological filtration. But by changing out the water in small amounts you don’t stress the fish with large temperature changes.

The fourth thing you can try is place ice cubes in a plastic bag and let it float in the tank. As the ice melts it will cool the water in the tank but not to quick for the fish. Depending on the size of the tank and how much you have to cool it this may not be possible.

The Fifth and final way that I am aware of is to take the lid off the aquarium and blow a fan across the top. I know this sounds dumb like how can a fan cool water, BUT the fan causes evaporation and evaporation is what creates the cooling of the water. This could be slow going on very humid days.

You might want to try a combination of the last 3 ways to create a slow cooling process that wont shock the fish. Keep in mind you want to cool your tank slowly. Rapid changes in temps are just as bad for your fish as leaving the tank to hot.

Don’t be afraid to turn off any lights on the tank. The light only creates more heat and if you don’t have live plants you should not have any problems having a dark tank for a few days.

Actually there is one other way. But that is only if you have a basement. (I think you know where I am going with this) If you move the tank to the basement it will cool naturally since basements usually are cooler than upper floors. This could be a major project and something you would want to leave in the basement once you have it there.

I hope this gives you a few things to try. Sorry for it being so long but I wanted to list all the possibilites I could think of.

http://www.aworldoffish.com/tank/wat..._cooling.shtml

[Kageshi17]

Awesome. I think I will use the fan idea next time I need to cool my aquarium. Since it is only a 10g (hoping to get a 20g) then I'm sure it will work quite efficiently. Thanks much!

[angelfishamy]

window a/c units can be purchased for a couple hundred. less if you find one used.