Help! How do I cool the water down in my tank?

[The Zigman]

I store water in a 50 gal vessel in my basement.. it has a heater in it to keep it somewhat warm... but it is still about 6 degrees lower than my tank...

 

[Evanleigh]

Thanks Byron. Now I won't have to stress so much.

The tank right now is still 80 but not going higher. It is a bit of a cooler day and I have had the fans going and the glass lid off. Trying to keep an eye on the tank so no fish will jump out.

 

[Evanleigh]

I store water in a 50 gal vessel in my basement.. it has a heater in it to keep it somewhat warm... but it is still about 6 degrees lower than my tank...

So do you transfer your fish to the bucket if the aquarium gets too warm?

 

[BigJohn]

What Byron said.

Plus, this is pretty much an ich treatment, all should be fine.

 

[Rbishop]

There is quite a difference between doing a weekly water change with cooler water, and doing several frequent changes the same day. I would not do the latter. Before I got a room air conditioner for my fish room, I had tanks full of fish, including many wild corys, remain around 90F for a week (dropped during the cooler night obviously) during summer heat waves, with no fish losses. Just keep the fish quiet, do the normal weekly water changes, feed less (missing alternate days is fine). Additional water circulation (airstones, filter) is good, and keeping the room air circulating above the tanks.

I use slightly cooler water for all water changes. I mix hot and cold, as using just cold in my situation would lower the tanks by ten or so degrees and I do not think this is wise. Temperature obviously fluctuates in the wild between day and night, but it is not sudden or massive. The temperature lowers when the rainy season begins, but again this is not a rapid frequent fluctuation back and forth nut seasonal.

Temperature affects several physiological processes in fish, and such rapid extreme fluctuations is bound to have an impact on stress at the very least, and in higher temperatures you want to avoid stress as mjuch as possibled.

Byron.

Maybe I missed it, but I don't see anyone recommending several frequent WCs the same day with cooler water.

 

[Byron Amazonas]

Maybe I missed it, but I don't see anyone recommending several frequent WCs the same day with cooler water.

My fault for not being clearer. I read the posts and then did my response on the several issues. Someone mentioned using ice packs and cold water packs, which obviously need replacing regularly as they melt/warm, and you yourself did suggest daily cooler water changes. I think it would be best to leave things alone rather than up and down. Some cooling will occur during night, usually, though this depends upon the situation and outdoor/indoor temperature; but this is more gradual, and that was my point. B.

 

[BigJohn]

Thread is called: Help! How do I cool the water down in my tank?

Byron and myself were spot on.

The mods were not wrong but were giving wrong advice related to the situation, being completely off topic. Just my two cents.

 

[Rbishop]

Thread is called: Help! How do I cool the water down in my tank?

Byron and myself were spot on.

The mods were not wrong but were giving wrong advice related to the situation, being completely off topic. Just my two cents.

State what is wrong with any advice I offered....

 

[BigJohn]

State what is wrong with any advice I offered....

Here you go:

I am another one that normally uses water at WCs that is substantially below normal tank temps. And my WCs are always at about 50%. I have never experienced anything unusual doing it this way.If I was in your situation I would do a WC each day in the early evening, large and with water at normal tank temp or even lower.

The first 3 sentences have nothing to do with the situation and as such do not help. The last sentence is simply bad advice.

Fish are already stressed from being at a higher temp than normal. Your advice to do a daily 50% wc with temp lower than the regular temperature a few days in a row would increase the yoyoing of the unusualy higher daily temp for already stressed fish. It is bad advice for that situation.

 

[jbradt]

I have actually used cooler than tank temp water changes along with frozen bottles of water for an extended period of time (4 summers without air conditioning) without any sign of harmful effect on the fish. It's anecdotal evidence, but has some longevity behind it. IME, it is a totally viable way to manage tank temp especially over a few days.