Tank temps way up..

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biguebs

biguebs

Dovii
MFK Member
Mar 5, 2011
568
380
102
Fort Wayne, IN
I'm sure I am not the only one with this problem right now...

Anyway, my tanks are out in my garage (which is heated in winter, but no a/c in summer). Usually I don't have an issue because Indiana usually isn't getting full humidity and upper 90 degree temps.

However, the extreme heat is causing my tank temps (180, 125, 55, two 20s) to skyrocket. I'm having trouble keeping them below 87-88 degrees. Do have a fan running in the garage, have turned off lights on all aquariums. But not having much success. I can get the temps down to around 83 with water changes, but I'm worrying about the temp going up and down so frequently on them. This heat wave is supposed to last another week, thats a lot of water changes. Anyone else dealing with this right now?

Stocking: 180- oscar, p. bass, florida gar, pleco 125- turtles (sliders) and a JD
55- florida snapper 20- 1" texas cichlid 20- 1" jag cichlid
 
So I did a little more searching and came across a similar thread... It stated that temps like 87-88 degrees are not going to kill my fish as long as the tank is properly aerated. Is this accurate? I have airstones running in all of my tanks. Are my fish safe in these conditions? I usually keep the tanks around 78 degrees if it's relevant info.
 
Colder water holds disloved oxygen better than higher temp water. At 87-88 F you should have an air stone or tons of water agitation to prevent lack of oxygen in the water. If you see you fish at the surface a lot and it looks like they are gasping for air, then you know your oxygen levels are not sufficient.

I'm battling high temps in my tanks as well. My tank is normally 78 F and is in the 86-87 F range right now. I do believe that the fish will be fine at the higher temps (I'm assuming that you don't have sensitive fish like Discus). I think you are better maintaing the higher temp than to do constant water changes to lower the temp back to the low 80's F. A too drastic temp change lower could do more harm than good.

I would become more concerned if the temps got into the 90's.
 
88 for long periods of time may be an issue, but you have relatively hardy fish (though some are small) so it may not be a problem. A couple things you can try:
-Keep the tank lids open (or if you are worried about fish jumping, then crack the lids), and point fans at the top of the tanks.
-Fill ziploc bags or plastic bottles about 3/4 full of water, and freeze them. Then place them in the tank, and rotate them out regularly. You can figure out how many you need in each tank and how often to switch them out for new ones to drop the temp as needed.
 
calioutlaw1a said:
88 for long periods of time may be an issue, but you have relatively hardy fish (though some are small) so it may not be a problem. A couple things you can try:
-Keep the tank lids open (or if you are worried about fish jumping, then crack the lids), and point fans at the top of the tanks.
-Fill ziploc bags or plastic bottles about 3/4 full of water, and freeze them. Then place them in the tank, and rotate them out regularly. You can figure out how many you need in each tank and how often to switch them out for new ones to drop the temp as needed.
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The small fish are really the ones I'm concerned about. I have all the lids cracked, but I do worry about jumpers, especially the gar and p. bass in the 180. I like the ziploc bag idea, I have some of those at home! I'll try that today.

BODYDUB said:
Have you thought about buying a little window a/c????
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Yes, I have. Really wish I could do so, but unfortunately, there's no window in my garage.
 
Carefree_Dude said:
Portable ac and cut a hole in the wall to vent it?
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:grinno: Lol... I like your gumption. But I can't justify cutting a hole in the wall of my garage for an A/C unit that I really only need for a week or so (clarify, I don't need it, but the fish could use it but will probably be fine without). Usually heatwaves aren't a problem in northern Indiana. I really don't know how that would affect my home's resale, but I'm doubting it would up the value.
 
The only other way if you can't cool the room with tanks that size is a chiller. Last year before moving my tanks into my basement I was hitting 92+ all day for days and days in a row. Tried floating a couple gallon jugs of Ice but in a 200+ gallon tank that didn't do much when the room was over 90+ even tried fans over the top of the tank fans on the tank.

In the end if you can't get the room down you wont get the tank temp down. But like I said it was a week or so of 92+ I just kept lots of water movement and slowed feeding down and all my fish made it. I was going get a chiller and then decided to move it to my basement.

As fare as cutting a hole depends on how you did it. If you did it where it could also be used to vent car exhaust then a car mechanic might like that so they can work in the warmth in the winter for those times when you need to turn the car on. However you could also depending on how big the garage door simply life it up, run a board across the now open space, and cut the hole in the board. So it would still be shut and no critters would get in but you could now vent the ac.
 
Evaporation from putting a fan across the surface of the water can be as much as two gallons a day. Not a lot for a large tank but could be for a smaller one. If you have a sump, the water loss will be in the sump and to low water level can be an issue with return pumps running dry.
Replace evaporated water with treated water just like a water change. Again, not a big deal with bigger set-ups but could be in smaller ones. BTW, temps into the high 80s are better tolerated with proper aeration as mentioned before, but dont hesitate on water changes. Cheap insurance.
 
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