Red alert weather warnings

[AquaBarb]

A national emergency has been declared here in the Uk after a red extreme heat warning was issued for the first time. Temps could hit 40C+ which is unheard of for us

My first thought was how to keep our animals safe and ways to keep them cool in these tropical temps.

My biggest worry would be the tanks as im at work durning the day so wont be able to keep a close eye on them myself .Someone will be home to have the doors open and blinds closed. I thought ice packs might be worth ago, maybe try and lift the lids slighty so it can release heat but stop the fish jumping still and fans where possible.

Was wondering if you folks have any ideas or ways to keep tanks from overheating?

 

[Oblio]

Increase water flow if you can to increase oxygen levels at higher temps. This might also help heat transfer a bit, though cooler water from evaporation should sink and bring warmer water to the top. What do you anticipate your room temperature to reach during the day?

 

[Wills]

I've been wondering when this thread was coming

Hows your house through the day? Last week was quite hot but not as hot as next week will be, mine is quite cool so not worried about the main tank but my office room is super hot, to the point where I was tempted to add livestock this weekend but going to leave it.

A few things I've heard of in the past that might be useful, lift the filter outlets out the water so they splash onto the surface, this will increase oxygen. Add airstones, or turn them up to max if you can, point desk fans at the surface of the water which will help again and an other I've liked in the past, get 2 litre drinks bottles and freeze them overnight and add them to the tank in the morning, they wont be frozen through so should still float but will last nearly all day and combat the heat a bit - kind of like a reverse heater.

Wills

 

[AquaBarb]

To be honest i not sure what room temps to expect as this kind of weather is unknown here. We would normal only hit 18 to 21c on average in summer months.

 

[Oblio]

I've always wondered if a micro fountain with fine jets would help to increase evaporative cooling. Of course, this would work best in a desert environment. Even a fine spray bar, with an open top, with lower water levels to allow more air contact.

 

[AquaBarb]

I've been wondering when this thread was coming

Hows your house through the day? Last week was quite hot but not as hot as next week will be, mine is quite cool so not worried about the main tank but my office room is super hot, to the point where I was tempted to add livestock this weekend but going to leave it.

A few things I've heard of in the past that might be useful, lift the filter outlets out the water so they splash onto the surface, this will increase oxygen. Add airstones, or turn them up to max if you can, point desk fans at the surface of the water which will help again and an other I've liked in the past, get 2 litre drinks bottles and freeze them overnight and add them to the tank in the morning, they wont be frozen through so should still float but will last nearly all day and combat the heat a bit - kind of like a reverse heater.

Wills

Our house is pretty cool as a rule downstairs. Luckily i shut a 29g down last week which was upstairs so thats something less to worry about.

Think my fry tank will be my biggest concern. I may set the 29g back up temporarily somewhere cooler and move them over till this weather passes.

May try the bottle idea in the big tanks

 

[Wills]

Our house is pretty cool as a rule downstairs. Luckily i shut a 29g down last week which was upstairs so thats something less to worry about.

Think my fry tank will be my biggest concern. I may set the 29g back up temporarily somewhere cooler and move them over till this weather passes.

May try the bottle idea in the big tanks

The fry tank would probably be the biggest concern as there will be a high oxygen demand on that tank so make sure surface agitation is at is max. Watch your big fish too, especially thinking of your boucourti but should be ok, Central America must hit these kind of temperatures a few days a year?? But that is said from a point of ignorance.

 

[AdoraBelle Dearheart]

I have a fan running in the room with tanks, and it tends to be the coolest room in the house, so hoping that'll help, and adding a cool damp towel hanging over the fan helps cool the room.

Have already got the airstones running on all tanks for extra oxygen, but I'm hoping that the fish will be okay with the temps, given that they'd experience heatwaves in the wild too, and it's unlikely to last for very long. I get nervous about the idea of adding cold water or cool bottles of water to the tank itself? @Colin_T and @Byron , what do you guys think?

 

[Byron]

Any cooling must be permanent. In other words, if you run an air conditioner, fine, it will keep the room temperature at "x." But putting bags of ice cubes or cold water, or doing water changes with cooler water, is more harm than good, so don't. If the tank water temp increases during the day, it may deline at night, depending. But a few days of a heat wave will not kill fish if there are no back-and-forth swings.

Leaving the tank cover open--but not if fish may jump, and you'd be surprised at how many species will--is fine if safe. Fans to move the air, fine. Increase water surface disturbance. Leave the tank light off (a few days should not harm most plants), do not feed the fish. Avoid any further stress around the fish tank.

 

[GaryE]

It's funny for a Canadian to fear hot weather for tanks more than cold, but we aren't all equipped to deal with high temps.

The Texans will know as their climate seems like an afterlife for people who don't change water or feed their fish, but I also imagine they have tech to deal with the heat.

 

[AdoraBelle Dearheart]

It's funny for a Canadian to fear hot weather for tanks more than cold, but we aren't all equipped to deal with high temps.

The Texans will know as their climate seems like an afterlife for people who don't change water or feed their fish, but I also imagine they have tech to deal with the heat.

Yep. Talked to a Californian who was sneering at the dumb Brits complaining about 40 degree heat, but I'd bet that Californian has air con in their home and place of work! In the UK our houses are built to keep the heat inside and the cold and damp out, and very few people have air con since we don't usually need it (well, we hadn't, I can see that it's changing and more of us are gonna need air con...)

 

[JuiceBox52]

Yep. Talked to a Californian who was sneering at the dumb Brits complaining about 40 degree heat, but I'd bet that Californian has air con in their home and place of work! In the UK our houses are built to keep the heat inside and the cold and damp out, and very few people have air con since we don't usually need it (well, we hadn't, I can see that it's changing and more of us are gonna need air con...)

Yeah we never needed air conditioning in our part of western WA until last summer it hit 115°f (46°c)
In western WA, BC and upper western oregon hundreds of people died because we are not equipped to handle the heat. Buildings with AC opened up community cooling centers and people died. Pets died, we lost 2 chickens. I lost about 8 fish despite cooling measures

(And yet this year the same time was not above 50-60° (10-15°) until this week when it finally started to warm up. )

 

[Rocky998]

And I thought it was hot here...

Jeez... I guess the world is kinda going through a heatwave right now.

 

[JuiceBox52]

And I thought it was hot here...

Jeez... I guess the world is kinda going through a heatwave right now.

Last summer was hot for us, this summer has been so cold!

 

[Rocky998]

Last summer was hot for us, this summer has been so cold!

Oh I missed that was last summer! Oops...
Lucky you! (Depending on how cold I suppose )