Cooling water in a tank

[shuhu]

Hi

As you can see in my sig, I have 2 Fantails within a tropical fish tank, now, this is not my fault since this tank and the fish were given to us because the previous owner couldn't keep them anymore so he gave them to us.

I've been thinking on getting 2 new tanks, one of these to be only for the goldfish, and my question is, how to cool down the water ??? the cheap or DIY way

It's summer and the room temp makes the water in my tanks excellent for tropical fish without requiring a heater (75-82 degrees F), but Fantails need 46 - 68 degrees F which is way lower than the room temp, so, does anyone here has any ideas

btw, I was thinking on maybe adding ice cubes inside a plastic bag but I'm not sure how practical that might be in the long run.

 

[Sandusky]

Hello there, best and cheapest way to cool down tanks are by taking a bottled water bottle, peeling off any wrapping, filling it up with water, pop it in your freezer, then stick itin your tank when the water inside the bottle has frozen. When the bottled water is half thawed the tank temp. should be ideal.

EDIT: To add, although goldfish are cold water fish they can be kept at room temp water during summer. Warmer water only shortens life span. If you DO keep them in warm water however, they need extra air stones as warm water does not hold O2 well and the fish will gasp at the surface which can lead to SBD (swim bladder disorder).

 

[shuhu]

thanks

ohh and btw yes I do have an Internal Power Filter made for 20Gal tank (inside a 10 Gal tank) wich does takes care of bringing enough O2 into the water, actually the fish looks perfect and haven't been in need of gasping for air at the surface but I was thinking on getting them a more switable place before they get bigger or start having actual problems

 

[Sandusky]

Good idea, we all learn, trust me. Before I knew anything I kept 3 fancies in a 10. If you're really interested in finding out more detailed goldfish specific information I'm apart of Koko's Goldfish forum ( www.Kokosgoldfish.com ) and we'd be happy to help you with anything goldfish related.

 

[shuhu]

alright, will stop by later

 

[BooRadley]

You can buy a chiller, but they're 300 to 400 bucks. I'm looking now for ideas to make a chiller from a used mini-fridge. I've seen some plans out there, but they're more complicated than I care for.

I'm planning to buy one of those 50 dollar desktop micro-fridges and coil thinwalled plastic tube through it, and use a power head to cycle water from, and back to, my sump, cooling it, slowly but surely, down a few degrees.

 

[shuhu]

thanks BooRadley, the thing about buying a chiller is that were I live there are like just 3-4 HOT months, the rest of the year the water won't need a chiller, so that is why spending that much won't work for me, I prefer getting other stuff instead.

I've also seen many DIY projects about making chillers out of freezers and stuff like that but, like you say, they are very complicated and you require to know electronic stuff and even some electric tools that are not commonly at home

that's why I needed a cheap and easy way