Keeping tank cool?

[octopus44]

I live in New Orleans and I don't use air conditioning so i need some advice on keeping my tank cool (55g). Its only May and my tank is at a steady 82 degrees (80 at night)! Is is okay to pour refrigerated water and/or ice into the tank in the mornings or will this startle the fish? This would probably end up being a lot of work to do every morning so any other advice would be appreciated

[gm72]

If the tank is in the sun, move it. At what temp do you have your thermometer set? What kind of fish? You'd need a lot of refrigerated water to cool down 55 gallons.

[octopus44]

The tank is not in the sun. When you ask what i have the thermometer set at do you mean the heater thermometer? I do not currently have the thermometer on.

I just recently got this tank and it came with a few goldfish an oscar and a pleco, but i am looking for new homes for these guys because i want to set up a planted community tank with tetras minnows etc.

[gm72]

Yes, heater. Sorry, wrong wording!

Glad to hear you are going to find new homes for your fish, because you are horribly overstocked now. What is your room temperature? Enough surface agitation on the water to allow cooling that way? Point a fan at the tank? Goldfish are cold water fish and will not appreciate the heat.

If you don't use air conditioning and you live in such heat you may be in for a struggle.

[octopus44]

Glad to hear you are going to find new homes for your fish, because you are horribly overstocked now.

Yeah I know i need to find a new home for them a soon as possible. These goldfish s**t like crazy. I'm kinda in a pickle though because they are not in the greatest of health and the oscar has bitten parts of the plecos fins off so i dont think that anyone will want to adopt them. The oscar is also pretty big so finding someone with a big enough aquarium will be difficult.
Grrr I don't know what to do.

A far as keeping the tank cool what is the hottest i can let it get for tetras and the like? I really don't want to have to use ac because brings my electric bill up really high.

[hungryhound]

i found a site that gives a few more suggestions.

[Only Registered Users Can See Links.]

you may need a chiller, but it may be cheaper to simply get an air conditioner for the room in question.

[gm72]

Great find, Hungry! Great information there.

[modster]

Pointing a fan at your tank will not cool it (assuming there is no temperature difference). Maybe a chiller? I have never seen a freshwater tank with chiller before (maybe that's because i am a noob:41: ). A chiller will probably cause your electric bill to go up too. Also, try to look up bong cooler. That's what people use to cool their computer :-p

[gm72]

Modster, a fan most assuredly would help if the tank were in the sun. Perhaps I failed in mentioning that the surface of the water would also need to be exposed. Apologies to all if that was misleading.

[octopus44]

I may have to give in and just us an air conditioner in my room. Chillers are way to expensive.

[gm72]

You usually can find a cheap air conditioner at WalMart or other similar store for under $100. You just need something to keep the temperature around 82 or so degrees.

[octopus44]

Thanks for the input! I better get on this soon because its rapidly getting hotter down here!

Yeah I know i need to find a new home for them a soon as possible. These goldfish s**t like crazy. I'm kinda in a pickle though because they are not in the greatest of health and the oscar has bitten parts of the plecos fins off so i dont think that anyone will want to adopt them. The oscar is also pretty big so finding someone with a big enough aquarium will be difficult.
Grrr I don't know what to do.


Regarding finding new homes for my fish do you have any advice?

[Rue]

Goldfish really are cold water fish...while they can handle 82F for a short time, prolonged exposure will kill them...find someone with a nice pond to take them...

...chillers aren't uncommon for goldfish as far as I know...but as mentioned very expensive...

The other fish would benefit from airconditioning too...

I've been to New Orleans a couple of times...always in November...lol...and it's hot then...can't imagine the summers...

[2manyfish]

I can't imagine living in New Orleans without air conditioning!! The humidity must be awful!! Really, a small room air conditioner is probably your best bet. A chiller would work but aside from it being expensive to buy and use, the condensation that would result on the outside of the tank would make it very hard to see inside. Besides that, why would you make the fish nice and comfy while you sweat it out?? A fan blowing over an open top will only do so much, and while you may think that pouring ice water into the tank would be a good idea, a better idea would be to freeze something like a pop bottle with cap on (minus the label of course) put dechlorinated water inside (just in case of a leak) and put that in the tank instead. You would have to experiment to see how often you need to do that but in the end, when it gets to be high summer you're still going to have trouble with the temp.

As far as the fish, call around to the local stores in your area and see if anyone would take them off your hands. Some stores will give you store credit but if you had to you could always just give them away. If that doesn't work then I'd try putting an ad on [Only Registered Users Can See Links.] . Find your area and list them there....

[NeonJulie]

I have a hard time keeping my tank below 80, and I really want it at 78. It's in a bathroom with no windows or bright lighting, but that Eclipse light gets warm. The heater's hardly ever on. It seems to depend on how outside it is, and the AC settings on BOTH sides of the house. (And my parent's hardly ever turn theirs on.)

I'm curious, but would running the bathroom fan above the toilet help keep the temp down slightly? Or would it just add to the electricity bill? Does anyone know of a less bright/hot lamp to fit an Eclipse 12?

And I'm also curious, but how do fish cope in the wild? Does it never get cooler at night where they live?

[octopus44]

The heat really only feels bad if you use ac and then go outside. If you live without ac you just get used to and you don't have to deal with it feeling nasty when you leave the ac since your already accustomed to it.

The reason i want to avoid using ac is because the old house that i live in is very poorly insulated and i would have to leave the ac running all day to keep it at the appropriate temperature.

I've been looking around online and i have found a few chillers for around $200. Thats still a lot of money but i may fork out the cash and just go for it.
Do you really think that there will be a lot of condensation on the tank?

[2manyfish]

There will be condensation for sure. You might want to check around on the net to see if that chiller will put out heat into the room too. I don't know if it will or not but it's something you might want to find out about before you fork out any money.

I have a hard time keeping my tank below 80, and I really want it at 78. It's in a bathroom with no windows or bright lighting, but that Eclipse light gets warm. The heater's hardly ever on.

Do you have live plants in this tank? If not, just leave the light off during the day. If you do have live plants then leave the front part of the lid open. This will allow the heat to escape. You can aim a small fan at the opening too if the temp still stays high and that will help. I doubt running the bathroom fan will help much at all.

[crackatinny]

I may have to give in and just us an air conditioner in my room. Chillers are way to expensive. I think its cool that you love your fish so much, that the desision to buy an air conditioner came down to the safety and comfort of your fish before you thought of your own comfort. Now thats dedication LOL.

[gm72]

Neon, you were asking about how fish cope in the wild. Remember that the deeper ground will not get as warm as the ambient temperature. So, lakes and such are always going to be cooler than the air. Also, the temperature swings are far more slow to come about. We're talking about hundreds of thousands of gallons in some cases.

[octopus44]

I think its cool that you love your fish so much, that the desision to buy an air conditioner came down to the safety and comfort of your fish before you thought of your own comfort. Now thats dedication LOL.

My girlfriend doesn't think its so cool.

[YaYgoldFish]

:hmm3grin2orange: