Lucky The Weather Is Warm

[ShinySideUp]

I went away for five days leaving my wife to feed the fish -- which she did without any problems.
 
When I came back I did a water change and realised I had left my small filter and my heater switched off when I left. The FX5 was going so no problem with filtration, the U4 is only there to take out small particles. I was surprised that the water was still sitting at 24.5 degrees C and it makes me wonder if I even need a heater during the summer as the overnight change in an unheated tank might actually be beneficial to my fish so long as the temp doesn't get too low, say less than 22 degrees. The tank is 640 litres so temp changes will be very slow and would make it overnight without problems.
 
I might just switch the heater off for a while and see what happens.

 

[Ch4rlie]

Yes, thats fairly common for folks in warm climates or during a warm summer to have the heater off as the average room temp and the larger size of tank help keep the temperature steady.

 

[Akasha72]

my heater was off most of last summer. It's not really been as warm this year in Yorkshire so I've not turned it off this year but it's not been kicking in much.
 
I think it probably depends on what part of the country you live in. It's warmer in the South than the North so if you live down South switching it off is probably a good idea

 

[ShinySideUp]

Can't get much further South, I live in Cornwall which has recently been classified as sub-tropical as the average temp doesn't drop below 10 degrees C throughout the year.

 

[Akasha72]

there you go then Mr Shiny ... unplug the heaters in May through to September - ish and save on the leccy bill 

 
Not really an option in these colder parts though 

 

[eaglesaquarium]

It seems appropriate to post this in here to add to the discussion.
 
http/www.seriouslyfish.com/whaddaya-mean-too-hot/
 
Discuss.    

 

[Akasha72]

an interesting read there Eagles.
 
For my own part I have had to try and find a happy medium in my tank. I have my cories, who like it cool, and I have my angelfish, who supposedly like it warm. I can tell you that my main tank runs between 24 and 25 degrees (it warms up a bit more on an evening when the lights are on) The angels don't appear to care about the cooler temp - it's stops them from being in constant breeding mode. They havn't bred in over a year and I'm happy with that. I don't have the space for hundreds of angel babies and I'm really not up for the aggression that would come with a spawn right now. 
 
A couple of weeks ago when the outside temp hit 30 degrees and my tank reached 28 my angels started displaying breeding behaviour. Had the higher temps lasted more than the few days that it did I think I would have seen eggs from them. Meanwhile I have baby cories turning up weekly (I've picked out 3 in the last 2 weeks and I spied another hiding in the java fern just last night) so the 'guidelines' on cory temps isn't stopping them from spawning. 
 
I think as hobbyists we can get too hung up on keeping things 'perfect' for our fish and we forget that in their natural enviroment there is no 'perfect'.

 

[ShinySideUp]

"I think as hobbyists we can get too hung up on keeping things 'perfect' for our fish and we forget that in their natural enviroment there is no 'perfect'."
 
I agree, with a reservation.
 
I keep rabbits and guinea pigs and every day the GP's houses are cleaned out because they pee where they stand; the rabbits use a litter tray that is cleaned out every other day. Both species have good food, clean housing and are kept relatively warm in the winter and my guinea pigs live long and my rabbits are now over eight years old and still hopping around nicely. In the wild the GP's would probably last a year and the rabbits, if they were lucky, perhaps three years. While I could leave them in 'natural' conditions, the RSPCA would probably do me for cruelty. My point of course is that we prolong the natural lives of our creatures, including our fish, by idealising their conditions and we can only go so far in varying those conditions if we want them to do well for many years.
 
That said, I still have my heater turned off.

 

[Baccus]

Over where I am its pointless leaving the heater on through summer..... well technically anywhere from our supposid spring to what is jokingly called winter half the time. My tanks tend to get very hot during summer and that is with open tops, lights that dont tend to run the entire length of the tank, airstones bubbling to get extra water movement and the filters all flowing across the surface of the tank. In winter (and we have a proper one ) if I didnt have the heaters on I know my tanks could easily drop into the low Celsius possibly even dropping into the negatives. But my tanks are out in a car shed with no insulation like a house has, with your tanks being inside the house they probably would stay more constant in their temp any way. That said if running airconditioners in the house in summer I would keep an eye on the tanks for any excessive cooling taking place.

 

[ShinySideUp]

Over where I am its pointless leaving the heater on through summer..... well technically anywhere from our supposid spring to what is jokingly called winter half the time. My tanks tend to get very hot during summer and that is with open tops, lights that dont tend to run the entire length of the tank, airstones bubbling to get extra water movement and the filters all flowing across the surface of the tank. In winter (and we have a proper one ) if I didnt have the heaters on I know my tanks could easily drop into the low Celsius possibly even dropping into the negatives. But my tanks are out in a car shed with no insulation like a house has, with your tanks being inside the house they probably would stay more constant in their temp any way. That said if running airconditioners in the house in summer I would keep an eye on the tanks for any excessive cooling taking place.

 
I love the remark about air-conditioners. In England, air-conditioning is usually achieved by opening the window a bit more!

 

[Ch4rlie]

I love the remark about air-conditioners. In England, air-conditioning is usually achieved by opening the window a bit more!

 
 
Don't forget opening the fridge too to let cool air go around
 
So, open the windows and open the fridge, hey presto, air conditioning

 

[eaglesaquarium]

 

I love the remark about air-conditioners. In England, air-conditioning is usually achieved by opening the window a bit more!

 
 
Don't forget opening the fridge too to let cool air go around

 
So, open the windows and open the fridge, hey presto, air conditioning

 

 

  It doesn't work that way...

 

[Baccus]

Some days I could gladly climb into the fridge/ freezer.

 

 

[Ch4rlie]

This might work better .........
 

                        

 

[ShinySideUp]

 

 


I love the remark about air-conditioners. In England, air-conditioning is usually achieved by opening the window a bit more!

 
 
Don't forget opening the fridge too to let cool air go around

 
So, open the windows and open the fridge, hey presto, air conditioning

 

 

  It doesn't work that way...
 


It does in the UK because at very short notice you may have to close the window, shut the fridge and light the fire or put on the central heating -- British weather is like that.