Cooling tanks in the summer

[bluegryffin]

What about those days when I work, and am gone for most of the day? I can't babysit the tanks all day. Will bags/bottles of ice cool the tanks too much if I leave them in for a long while?

 

[crashinc25]

or if you have an ice maker that works well baggies of ice...

Not to get too technical, but a frozen 1 liter will melt slower than a bag of cubed ice. A larger surface area and density will maintain it's solidity longer and cool the tank for a longer period of time.
As for "baby-sitting" the tank, I would suggest trial runs with 1 bottle to start. Measure the temp before adding the bottle, time how long it takes for the bottle to melt, and measure the temp once melted. Do this again with 2 bottles and that will let you know how many to use while at work or elsewhere.
I would like to know that answer as well. Post your results if you do this trial.

 

[bluegryffin]

I would, except that I would also have to wait until it got hot enough to do it. Oh well.

 

[navygirl76]

i use liters or 2 litres of frozen pop bottles filled with water. or the ziploc with frozen cubes or water is a great idea also!

 

[Arizonagrace]

I am so glad you posted this. I was worried about the same thing. I normally have an air conditioner in my bedroom where all the tanks are, but the plug for the conditioner is being used by tanks. Forgot about leaving that plug open when getting more tanks.

There won't be a problem when using cubes in a ziploc or liter bottle with ich or the temp changing quickly? I have a 20, 29, 30 long and a 12 gallon. I am trying to get an electrician in here to put in 2 more plugs so I don't have this problem. I have mostly livebearers, but do have tanks with angels, tetras, danios and such.

 

[pwmin]

Hmm, never thought about that. I didn't think it got hot enough here to have to worry about that. In general, it takes about 1/2 lb of ice to lower the temp of 1 gallon of water by about 10 degrees. That is for hauling fish, so it would be different in your situation...that is for quick cooling, not sustained cooling or trying to keep temp stable, but may be of some help. I think a soda bottle w/ ice would work the best since you want it to melt slowly (want more SA as was mentioned before). If it starts to get too cold, your heaters will just turn on.

 

[brianp]

The apartment I live in gets pretty damn hot in the summer time, but only really hot for like 3 months or so. We have an air conditioner in the living room, but not in the bedrooms. So that leaves one 55 gallon tank and one 10 gallon fancy goldfish tank that might develop overheating problems. I'm asking now so I have time to plan it out before the heat hits us. I certainly don't want to buy a $300 chiller for 3 months out of the year, so what should I do to get around this? Will fans with timers work? If so, what would be a good way to set that up? Any suggestions?

My tanks are in the garage and I face this same issue every summer. Here's what I do:

1. Turn your heaters down by 5 degrees. This will allow the tanks to cool during trhe night so they can absorb some additional heat during the day without hitting a critical temperature. Try to ventilate and cool the room at night.

2. Tun off your tank lights. Use room lights to provide illumination for the fish.

3. Prop open the tank lid to ventilate the tank.

4. If things really get bad, go to your local convenience store and buy a bag of ice and drop it into the tank to get you over the hump.

 

[bluegryffin]

My tanks are in the garage and I face this same issue every summer. Here's what I do:

1. Turn your heaters down by 5 degrees. This will allow the tanks to cool during trhe night so they can absorb some additional heat during the day without hitting a critical temperature. Try to ventilate and cool the room at night.

2. Tun off your tank lights. Use room lights to provide illumination for the fish.

3. Prop open the tank lid to ventilate the tank.

4. If things really get bad, go to your local convenience store and buy a bag of ice and drop it into the tank to get you over the hump.

For 1-3, that works alright huh? I guess I have no choice but to wait and see. Thanks!

 

[ar0wan]

Evaporation is the key. I was successful with a series of fans that are on the same timer as the lights (day onry). My research yeilded the following:

- Bags of ice / 2l bottles frozen
-- serious maintenance issue. Had to replace them constantly. Didn't like the chance of introducing forgeign substances into the water much either.

- The DIY chiller fridge
-- Most ppl state that there are simply not enough BTUs on these things to do a damn bit of good. They state that a retrofit AC unit can work (too much work if you ask me)

- Fans
-- simple. cheap. asthetic. effective. Pix below.

 

[neekaragua]

Evaporation is the key. I was successful with a series of fans that are on the same timer as the lights (day onry). My research yeilded the following:

- Bags of ice / 2l bottles frozen
-- serious maintenance issue. Had to replace them constantly. Didn't like the chance of introducing forgeign substances into the water much either.

- The DIY chiller fridge
-- Most ppl state that there are simply not enough BTUs on these things to do a damn bit of good. They state that a retrofit AC unit can work (too much work if you ask me)

- Fans
-- simple. cheap. asthetic. effective. Pix below.

that looks awesome have you ever thought of hooking that up to a temp controler and have it turn on and off like that (sorta like a heater but bckwards)