Help! can't stay cool!

[greenween]

I was wondering if anyone knows of a few ways that I could cool down my tanks now that it is summer. We don't have an a/c and cannot come close to affording one. I currently have 2 tanks: one gal. -betta(bloo) and 10 gal.- goldfish (scooby) w/plants. They both seem a little sluggish during the day, the temp has spiked at 80 degrees! All I could do was shut the lights off (which I do on the 1 gal. anyway) and pulled up the lids ( hoping to get more air on the surface. But I worry about the plants, they need some light. Neither one of them get direct sunlight, but would the light in the room be okay for the plants, I just got them a week and a half ago. One is low light and one moderate. (moneywort and red somethingorother) My question is how do I keep cool in the summer and still have enough light for my plants without a/c? I think I read something about this awhile back, but I can't find it.

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A lot of folks who encounter this problem have kept the lid open and run a fan across the top. This will increase the evaporation rate of your water, but that's what cools it down.

Sorry I can't help you on the plants, but I don't know much about them. But if you just have the lid open on the tank, it should allow you to keep the lights on as well.

[Christine]

80 is a good temp for a betta actually..

[msdolittle]

I do the fan thing and keep my lid open. Some folks drop bags of ice cubes in their tanks (I've paid attention because my tanks are getting pretty warm!). I also add a gallon of cold water to the tanks here and there......

There's some cooler apparatus that some people have talked about too, but they say that mother is spendy.

[Durbkat]

Like Christine said 80F is a good temp for bettas but it isn't for the goldfish, as long as you have a thermometer in that tank I'd take a ziplock bag and put a few cubes of ice in it then seal the bag up and float the bag in the tank and then check the temp every few minutes and once it gets down into the low 70's, 72F or lower then remove the ice and just have a fan blowing on the tank after you remove the ice to keep the temp down.

[book_em_danio]

I don't think that the temp will be much of a problem. Keep in mind however to keep up with water changes. Warmer water makes Ammonia, Nitrite and Nitrate even more of an issue.
Remember to do a 25% change at least once a week. Remember to get the water in close to the temp of the water in the tank. Use dechlorinator.
A sudden 5 degree drop may be a huge issue.

[book_em_danio]

Originally Posted by Durbkat

Like Christine said 80F is a good temp for bettas but it isn't for the goldfish, as long as you have a thermometer in that tank I'd take a ziplock bag and put a few cubes of ice in it then seal the bag up and float the bag in the tank and then check the temp every few minutes and once it gets down into the low 70's, 72F or lower then remove the ice and just have a fan blowing on the tank after you remove the ice to keep the temp down.

This is not a good idea! Water near the ice might be 50 degrees or less. This will certainly stress and kill your fish!

[Durbkat]

Geesh, no need for the huge red letters. That is what I've heard to do and I've read it in a magazine that you could do it, besides I thought goldfish like coldwater anyway.

[Osiris]

It is perfectly fine to put ice in the tank if need be in bags or even cool packs, it's just like water by the heater is warmer then any other place in the tank, water from heater is rather warm!

No Worries.

[Osiris]

Should note i've only had to use ice once, our AC blew out when we were away came back tank was 89 degree's, used ice packs floating in the tank to cool it down

[book_em_danio]

Originally Posted by Durbkat

Geesh, no need for the huge red letters. That is what I've heard to do and I've read it in a magazine that you could do it, besides I thought goldfish like coldwater anyway.

1. No fish is going to "like" the shock of dropping 8-10 degrees suddenly. Certainly will kill most.

2. Please quote this magazine so that I can tear them a new one!

3. I use big red letters when someone says something stupid enough to put the life of someone's pet in grave danger!

I'm sorry son, you are no expert by any stretch of the imagination... Don't be thin skinned about it and get defensive. Read and learn. Books would be a great place to start. Unfortunately there's a lot of misinformation on the web... some intended as mayhem, some out of not knowing better. I don't know which case is yours, but seriously, I'm not trying to be hurtful or drive you away, but you can't say ridiculous things and not get called out on them. I hope at some point you have something valuable to contribute.

[book_em_danio]

Originally Posted by MalawianPro

It is perfectly fine to put ice in the tank if need be in bags or even cool packs, it's just like water by the heater is warmer then any other place in the tank, water from heater is rather warm!

No Worries.

The water near my heater is not significantly warmer than an area 20" away. No heater I have gets that hot. Perhaps that's the case of a very high wattage heater in a small tank, i.e. a 200 watt in a 20, but I don't believe this is typical. The original poster has a 1 gallon and a 10 gallon. I could see the 1 gallon really being effected by a couple of ice cubes in a baggy, due to the tiny water volume.

[Osiris]

Couple of ice cubes won't change the water temperature drastically in a 1g container it's 1g of water, it takes much more cold water to cool hot water then hot water to warm cold water.

2-3ice cubes in bag to cool the 1g to where it needs to be is no harm done.

[harif87]

Your plants will need light to survive. Your lights in your room wont suffice because ..well....they dont contain any UV rays that the sun contains that plants need to conduct photosynthesis. Your gonna have to keep the lights on some time during the day if you dont want your plants to die. Try raising the lights off the surface of the water a little to allow more air to pass through the lights and water so the water doesnt get so hot

[northfacehiker]

Originally Posted by book_em_danio

3. I use big red letters when someone says something stupid enough to put the life of someone's pet in grave danger!

And you also make yourself look like a fool. You are not an expert. Even the moderator of this section of the forums disagrees with you. If you don't think the water near your heater is warmer than the rest of the water in your tank, you need to think again. It will be at minimum a few degrees warmer until the temperature levels out through the tank. As for cooler temperatures, they sink. As the water cools, it will naturally flow to the bottom of the tank. This means warmer water will rise and take the place of the cooler water that has settled.

I do not consider myself to be an expert, but I can offer additional information to back up my suggestions. You've done nothing but yell and toss around trivial nothingness. Please respect others in the forum, even if their opinions differ from yours. Lastly, the owner of a thread should read all replies and make an informed decision based upon all given data and opinions. You yelling doesn't make you more important. It accomplishes one thing: discrediting your comments.

[Durbkat]

Originally Posted by book_em_danio

1. No fish is going to "like" the shock of dropping 8-10 degrees suddenly. Certainly will kill most.

2. Please quote this magazine so that I can tear them a new one!

3. I use big red letters when someone says something stupid enough to put the life of someone's pet in grave danger!

I'm sorry son, you are no expert by any stretch of the imagination... Don't be thin skinned about it and get defensive. Read and learn. Books would be a great place to start. Unfortunately there's a lot of misinformation on the web... some intended as mayhem, some out of not knowing better. I don't know which case is yours, but seriously, I'm not trying to be hurtful or drive you away, but you can't say ridiculous things and not get called out on them. I hope at some point you have something valuable to contribute.

Who do you think you are? I don't have to take this from some big mouth know it all when I made a simple error, a mod just said it was fine and you come and open your rude mouth. You need to keep your mouth shut because its not that big of a deal.

[book_em_danio]

Originally Posted by MalawianPro

Couple of ice cubes won't change the water temperature drastically in a 1g container it's 1g of water, it takes much more cold water to cool hot water then hot water to warm cold water.

2-3ice cubes in bag to cool the 1g to where it needs to be is no harm done.

It takes exactly the same amount to cool or heat. If you had 1 gallon of water that was 70 degrees and added a gallon of 75 degree water, I'd be willing to be any amount of money that it will be 72.5 degrees when combined, or even your moderator status, against my permanent banishment from this forum.
On the other hand if you add a gallon of 65 degree water to that same 70 degree gallon, the temperature will be exactly 67.5 degrees. Being the son of a high school physics teacher, I know this with much certainty.
I stand by the belief the ice will do more harm than the 80 degree water to either fish.

[book_em_danio]

Originally Posted by Durbkat

Who do you think you are? I don't have to take this from some big mouth know it all when I made a simple error, a mod just said it was fine and you come and open your rude mouth. You need to keep your mouth shut because its not that big of a deal.

Good luck with YOUR fish...

[Durbkat]

No good luck with your fish as I turn my a/c on when it gets hot and turn my heat on when it gets cold so I don't need to put ice in my tank. Also I don't get goldfish simply because you can only have like 4 of them for a 55g and I want more fish than that in a tank as it makes the tank look empty.

[harif87]

Originally Posted by book_em_danio

It takes exactly the same amount to cool or heat. If you had 1 gallon of water that was 70 degrees and added half a gallon of 75 degree water, I'd be willing to be any amount of money that it will be 72.5 degrees when combined, or even your moderator status, against my permanent banishment from this forum.
On the other hand if you add half a gallon of 65 degree water to that same 70 degree gallon, the temperature will be exactly 67.5 degrees. Being the son of a high school physics teacher, I know this with much certainty.
I stand by the belief the ice will do more harm than the 80 degree water to either fish.

EVERYBODY CALLLLLMMMMMMMM DOWN
( this is when i use my big red letters )

Really everyone needs to put their ego aside


Let the threadstarter use his judgement and gain some experience. Suggestions were provided now its his turn to do his part......to learnn


Also one shouldnt argue with a moderator. Im sure he didnt get to a become moderator because he looks pretty.