The past couple of days the tep reached 90+ degrees. I noticed that my tank temp went up to 82.2 from a normal of 79.9. Short of getting a chiller for the two months a year that its warm here in Wisconsin, is there anything I should be doing? Or do I need to not worry about it?
I don't think it matters that much. Two days ago the highs in my area was around 68F and yesterday was 92F, today 94F. My tank 2 days ago was around 70F and last night was 84F, all my fishes were fine.
Anybody every DIY'd a cooler with the peltier coolers you can find in specialty computer shops online... the ones that cater to "overclockers"? it seems a peltier cooelr setup would be much less expensive and much quieter than a tradidional phase-change cooler, although inefficient... just a thought.
As long as the temp stays under 90 degrees you shouldn't have a problem. The fish will adapt.
Now if the temp starts to raise and drop suddenly then you could be in trouble but if it is only changing a couple of degrees at anyone time don't worry. If it does start to vary quite a bit from day to day then just make sure to keep and eye on the fish for signs of stress then act accordingly
My tanks were topping off at 86 degrees every summer for years until we got the ac put in. Never had any troubles.
If you really are worried though. The fan idea is a great one. That is better than most because it will at least be working in conjunction with the outside tempurature.
My bro has had similar probs and we are sorting out a PC fan setup to keep things cool.
We are using....
and old power supply from a PC that older than me
2 80mm fans that plug straight into the supply (you can get the flashy silent running ones if you like)
From my days of "overclocking" and "PC Modding" I have worked out the perfect airflow route under his hood.
Basically One fan at one end on intake and the other at the other end on outake. The outake fan will be spinning a little slower to create negative pressure inside the hood and suck more air in. (see not just a pretty face LOL )
Oviously adjust the method depending on the tank size and obstructions inside the hood. So a big 5footer will probally need 120mm fans at least
All that should mean a very cool and stable temp all year long
