high temps and water level questions

P

pugmonkey

AC Members
Jan 8, 2005
23
0
0
my first question is very important, i have a 85 gallon tank with 2 4 foot floresant light strips on it, lots of plants and some tropical fish in it. yesterday my tank got 85.1 degrees. i took off the top and only had one light on the tank and took the other off so the water could cool off but theres no way to put a fan next to the top of the water, question is. at what tempature will my fish start dying? i dont want them to die , and i know that the temps here in southern california will get much hotter

second question is. what is the water stop line on the tank? i currently fill the tank to the very top, well almost, just after the silicone. is it spossed to be a little lower ?

thanks for any help that you can give me, i really dont want my fish to die and if anyone could tell me how hot is too hot i can try to figure out how too cool it down when that time arrives. ohi forgot, i unplugged my heater because hot weater is back now
 
85 F is a little warm for most fish long term. What kinds of tropical fish do you have? I'm assuming either you don't have AC in your home or you leave the thermostat high. One of the biggest problems with warm water is that it doesn't hold as much oxygen as cooler water. If your fish are gasping or breathing heavier than normal, then try increasing the aeration in the tank. As far as your water level is concerned, I think most people fill their tanks up to the rim, so to speak...I know I do. I don't like seeing a water line.
 
I would use bags of ice and place in the water. This will cool down the water over time and help with temp spikes if done right. When my tank was at 85 recently I turned off lights and heater, put ice in bags then in water and then hung a fan from the celing to cool the tank.


As for the water level, I don't like to see the water line either, so I usually fill up to the rim. It also helps with the HOB PF return water not to make much splashing\noise.
 
Last edited:
i have

8 tiger barbs
6 red eye tetra
4 zebra danio
4 adult platy and some fry, dont know how many
and 1 small common pleco

i dont have ac and when i did have the heater in the tank it was set to about 76 to 78,but now i took the heater out.

my fish are acting fine, no gasping for air, they seemd to like it when it was 65 degrees lol but i am kinda worried that it might get higher then that. i turned on a bubble wand

i have 2 kittens that are always into everything and im worried that they might make the fan fall into the water , i think im gonna make a new canopy and attatch some wire mesh so the fish dont just out and so it the heat can excape some, also raise the lights

last resort will be to add some ice packs that way it doesnt melt into the water, it just cools it off gradgually, i have plenty of water movement in my tank so mixing the warm and cold water shouldnt be a problem

about the water line goes, lots of people in other groups told me to keep it anyways from 1 to 3 inches below the rim. well, im not gonna do that because my friend that shares my room hates listening to the tank, me, i cant hear too good so it dont bug me lol

thanks for all your help :)
 
make that 7 tiger barbs, one died, i put a fan over the tank and its working great at keeping the tank cooler, later ill raise the canopy thus raising the lights meaning less heat from them and ill still use the fan,there might be more dead fish but i cant tell because my plants are hiding all the fish
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
AquariaCentral.com
Top Bottom