[jay]

With the higher temperatures lately how do you guys normally lower the temperatures of your tanks.
in the past i have used the frozen water bottles.

just seeing what other options there are.

 

[hi-revs]

In the past I've taken off the canopy/lids, unplugging the heaters (I hear that they pass on some heat even tho its set at desired temps), and investing in led lights.

I'd like to hear what others do as well.

 

[SeaHorse_Fanatic]

Switch to reverse photoperiod. Have lights on in the evening/night when you are home and can have your windows open for air circulation.

Remove glass lids. Full switch to LEDs. Unplug heater till October. Worse comes to worse, I plug in my 12000 btu portable AC unit and cool myself & the tanks off at the same time. On the hottest nights, I stay up really late so I can have doors open as long as possible to cool off the room and then lock everything up before I go to sleep.

 

[davefrombc]

I really would like someone to explain to me how an aquarium heater heats the tank when the tank temperature is above the heater's set point.. Just like your furnace , when the house (aquarium) is at the thermostat's set point or above the heat does not turn on.. You can lower the heater set point a couple of degrees if you wish , but it is entirely unnecessary to unplug it , and risk forgetting to plug it back in when it is needed again .
Besides the steps Anthony and others have mentioned, you can increase aeration and water movement in the aquarium to help keep it well oxygenated for the fish. The warmer the water , the less oxygen it holds, so you want to make sure the levels stay as high as possible.

 

[SeaHorse_Fanatic]

Dave, for me, it's the fact that I've known several reefers who have lost their livestock as a result of heater malfunctions (which based on Murphy's Law will always malfunction with the thermostat stuck on high heat output). I have my heaters plugged in as little as possible (only for the winter months usually) as my place stays reasonably stable temperature-wise.

 

[jay]

thanks for all the great tips guys!!

yea i'm with anthony as well. i've had a heater malfunction in the past and use them as little as possible.

 

[smccleme]

All of my 883 gallons are on automatic water change systems which I can feed with either hot, cold or a blend (controllable by ball valve). As the outdoor temps rise, I change the mix to more cold water. Also, as of today (thanks to the incredible weather) all of the waste water now feeds the flowerbeds/gardens/lawn.

 

[cichlid]

I live in a basement suite, temps usually rise 3 degrees max, so I stay around even year round.

 

[davefrombc]

I also have had heaters malfunction and fail on. I lost a tank full of angelfish to them.. I also lost another tank with a mix of fish to one. Over the 60 years I've kept fish , I don't think I've had more than a half dozen heaters fail on .. I don't recall ever having failures in summer though. When they fail on, it is always full on.. Heaters are always at their rated output when on .. They regulate heat by turning on and off as necessary to maintain the set point. Way back when, a lot of heaters and thermostats used to be separate, and virtually all were serviceable. Now they are a sealed unit that either works or fails, and yes, most failures are in the on part of the cycle...It is seldom the heating element burns out so the heater will not heat. The only thing I take exception to is the idea that unplugging the heater in summer will somehow keep a tank cooler. It doesn't. A properly functioning heater should never come on if the tank is above its set point. A heater can't fail on unless it is already on .. What happens is over time, the points in a heaters thermostat arc slightly every time they make or break. That causes them to pit and build up with metal from the pitting. Ones that have had that crud build up too long and too much can actually fuse closed keeping the heater on.

 

[SeaHorse_Fanatic]

I generally unplug any equipment I am not using since they claim anything left plugged in will continue to draw some small trickle of electricity (not sure if true but I've been unplugging my heaters for the warmer months for years anyways). It's part of my late spring routine. Put it's the same with any unnecessary equipment. I have far too many things plugged in for my tanks as it is, so anything I can unplug is a good thing (in my books).

smccleme,

I routinely use water from my koi pond/aquaponics system to water my garden as a natural fertilizer. I'll be doing the same with the goldfish tank when I upgrade over next couple of weeks from a 60g cube to a 93g cube. Most of my other tanks are sw so that changewater goes down the drain. Just finished doing an 80g change on my main display and a 30g on my 93g reef cube at 2 am last night.

Anthony

 

[The Guy]

I really would like someone to explain to me how an aquarium heater heats the tank when the tank temperature is above the heater's set point.. Just like your furnace , when the house (aquarium) is at the thermostat's set point or above the heat does not turn on.. You can lower the heater set point a couple of degrees if you wish , but it is entirely unnecessary to unplug it , and risk forgetting to plug it back in when it is needed again .
Besides the steps Anthony and others have mentioned, you can increase aeration and water movement in the aquarium to help keep it well oxygenated for the fish. The warmer the water , the less oxygen it holds, so you want to make sure the levels stay as high as possible.

I like the Finnex temperature controller, keeps the temperature bang on and you don't have to depend on the on board mechanical heater control at all.

 

[davefrombc]

Electronics like tv's, computers and radios draw a trickle current even when "off"... It is needed to maintain basic functions of their "brains" so they can come back on quickly and "remember" where they were when shut down.. Power bricks for recharging your phones or other electronics also draw a trickle when plugged in and nothing is plugged into them. If it has a transformer or depends on a program to operate, it draws a trickle when off.. "Dumb" appliances, like older stoves, fridges, heaters and any other that require manual switches and timers draw no current at all when switched off. New appliances that have digital displays and controls do.
I don't fault anyone for unplugging heaters when they are not needed, or for unplugging anything for that matter .. I just say the reality is unplugging an aquarium heater will not help cool a tank in summer. Plugged in or unplugged, it makes no difference when the tank is above the thermostat's set point.