Temperature fluctuating

[Fatmantechno]

So many questions being asked I don't know whats really the problem but...what I know is anything over 2 degrees fluctuation within 24 hours can cause lower survival rates and increases changes for disease out breaks. Of course thats from my aquaculture science book where they're talking about 1 acre ponds with thousands of gallons. BTU = Measurement of heat. 1 BTU = amount of heat to change 1 lb of water 1 degree F. 1 BTU is about the heat generated by a single match stick. 1 gallon of water I believe is over 6lbs. So for 10 gallons you would need over 60 BTU's to change the temp of the water 1 degree idk how big your tanks are. To change water to vapor takes 460 BTU's so water evaporation also known as latent heat of vaporization is the most optimal way of heat removal. Read up on how cooling towers work. You can make a mini cooling tower using some type of water pump to pump water over a honeycomb type coil while blowing a low velocity fan through it. Lots of cooling. Without forced vaporization you will never get the water cooler than the ambient temp. Meaning you have to use the "wind chill" factor to cool your water lower than the ambient temp. Also the pipe through the refrigerator works but the small refrigerator system can only handle a few hundred to maybe 1000 BTU's so if you were to do that your refrigerator would be running constantly or above parameters which will use a lot of electricity and probably break your refrigerator unit. If there are large bodies of water around or you can easily dig 100+ feet down you can run pipes into the ground or through the water which will cool also. Hope that helps alittle if any. I"m a HVACR technician so cooling is my job and I guess and now part of my hobby

 

[velanarris]

Could always run your lights at night rather than during the day, that should do you for a degree or two, but it all depends on your stock, some stock doesn't mind multidegree swings as their natural habitat has a far larger swing normally.

Especially if they're big saltwater fish.

 

[tcarswell]

So many questions being asked I don't know whats really the problem but...what I know is anything over 2 degrees fluctuation within 24 hours can cause lower survival rates and increases changes for disease out breaks. Of course thats from my aquaculture science book where they're talking about 1 acre ponds with thousands of gallons. BTU = Measurement of heat. 1 BTU = amount of heat to change 1 lb of water 1 degree F. 1 BTU is about the heat generated by a single match stick. 1 gallon of water I believe is over 6lbs. So for 10 gallons you would need over 60 BTU's to change the temp of the water 1 degree idk how big your tanks are. To change water to vapor takes 460 BTU's so water evaporation also known as latent heat of vaporization is the most optimal way of heat removal. Read up on how cooling towers work. You can make a mini cooling tower using some type of water pump to pump water over a honeycomb type coil while blowing a low velocity fan through it. Lots of cooling. Without forced vaporization you will never get the water cooler than the ambient temp. Meaning you have to use the "wind chill" factor to cool your water lower than the ambient temp. Also the pipe through the refrigerator works but the small refrigerator system can only handle a few hundred to maybe 1000 BTU's so if you were to do that your refrigerator would be running constantly or above parameters which will use a lot of electricity and probably break your refrigerator unit. If there are large bodies of water around or you can easily dig 100+ feet down you can run pipes into the ground or through the water which will cool also. Hope that helps alittle if any. I"m a HVACR technician so cooling is my job and I guess and now part of my hobby

I am an HVAC R and sheet metal technician as well. Your post is very agreeable. I would not really hook up a refrigerator to my aquarium = bad things and big bills. I misunderstood his post. Thank you for your post you seem to be well informed sir.

 

[brianp]

I am in the process of putting a new AC/heat pack on my roof and am without AC until I can get a crane here to put the thing on the roof. The problem is the temperature in all my tanks reaches 86 during the day and goes to about 80 at night. How detrimental is this to the fish? I already made metal screen tops for all the tanks and have fans blowing across the surface for good cooling / evaporation but the temperature swing of up to 8 degrees in 18 hours worries me.


Should I be worried? I added tons of air to all the tanks and the lights are off obviously because of the screen tops. Any info is appreciated.

I face the same issue during the Summer with my tanks, which are located in my garage. There are two issues:
1. Is a temperature swing of 6 degress over a 24 hour period injurious (either short-term or long-term) to the fish.
2. Is a terminal temperature of 86F injurious to the fish, in terms of either oxygen deprivation or effect upon metabolism?

With respect to issue #1, while stable temperatures are probably the safest bet, I don't think that 6 degrees spread out over a 24 hour period is likely to cross any kind of tipping point (in general). This is based largely upon my own observations with my Dats. During he Summer, I observe my fish very closely and have seen no manifestation to indicate that they were stressed. Furthermore, I'd be willing to bet that these fish encounter daily temperature swings in their native habitat or when moving vertically within the water column. Certainly, reptiles (another cold-blooded animal type) can shift their body temp by more than 6 degress F over a much shorter period of time with no apparent ill effect.

Regarding, Issue #2, I try really hard not to let my tank temp go beyond 84F. To accomplish this, I invoke a number of measures that I will not go into at this time. You have already addressed this by adding additional equipment to oxygenate the water and this should be sufficient. You may want to lower the setting on your heater to maybe 74. This will allow the tank to cool off more at night, so the additional 6 degree increase is not sufficient to reach 85-86.

I think you have done everything that is reasonable to handle this short term problem. Just keep an eye on your fish...if they appear not to be stressed (gasping, not eating, etc.) then they are probably ok.