Tank Temps

[Melloola]

Please can someone give me some advice. Due to the very hot weather I am having trouble regulating the water temps in my tank. It's a Juwel 180 litre. I have removed the heater for now and kept the lights off. I have also removed the hood and I've got the pump facing up towards the surface to agitate it, but the water is still too warm. I have never lost any of my fish before, but I have lost 2 of my fish in the last 24 hours and I am certain the reason is the water temperature as everything else is as it should be. I have only been keeping fish for 8 months so this is the first time the weather has been this hot. Is there anything else I should be doing to try and reduce the temperature?

 

[nick1200]

Could i ask why remove the heater ? The heater will only kick in if the water gets to  cold ( if you have it set up correct )

 

[KirkyArcher]

Yes, my aquarium water temp was up when I arrived home from work last night, the fluval E unit I have was blinking away at 28.5°C, (ambient air temp was showing 31°C) as you have done I turned flow rates up to max until I could get 20 litres* of "normal" temperature water prepared, once done it was just a matter of removing 20 litres of the overly warm tank water and replacing it.  *based on my 125 litre tank  
I also switched off lights till water was replaced​ as they do contribute quite a bit of heat into warming up the water, unless you suspected your heater being faulty which I assume you did (thought crossed my mind that mine may have been) there is no need to remove it, switching off and leaving it in situ would have worked just as well, 

 

[Melloola]

Oh yes Nick - that was a bit dumb really, haha! I just panicked I guess and did anything I could think of. I will do what you've done Kirky and replace some of the water. I'm glad I'm thinking the right way though. I've just given my dad his fishkeeping books back so I had nothing to refer to off hand. I hope I don't lose any more of my fish. They all seem ok now. I had a chocolate gourami that was looking a bit dubious, but he seems to have perked up. Poor things.

 

[fluttermoth]

It probably won't have been the actual temperature that killed your fish; more likely lack of oxygen. Hotter water holds a lot less dissolved oxygen than cooler water.

Adding an air stone, if you have an air pump available, and either raising the filter outlet or lowering the water level so you get lots of extra surface movement are the best things you can do.

You can always add bottles of frozen water, or ice cubes in a bag to the tank which will gradually bring the temperature down. You could do a water change with straight cold water, but add it in gradually, if you do that, so as not to shock the fish.

Good luck; I hope the rest of your fishies stay well!

 

[Ny82]

I have been having problems too. My main tank has a temp of around 23-24 but yesterday I came home and it was 27/28 I have just been topping it up with cold water. The cories don't seem too bothered right enough. Today it's sitting at 25  

 

[Melloola]

Mine is reading 27 at the moment. I've got the air pump on pointing upwards to unsettle the water. I'm just preparing some water now to do a change. I'll keep an eye on it and if the temps rise again I will try the bottles of frozen water. I have plenty of those in my freezer at the moment! Thank you everyone for the advice!

 

[Ny82]

We're just not used to this abnormally hot weather, esp up here so make the most of it! Just a shame the tanks are affected, I just about had a panic attack when I saw the temp so high in mine, I frantically switched the heater off thinking it was faulty. It's obv the weather lol.

 

[Melloola]

It's not just my fish I'm worried about. I keep African Pygmy Hedgehogs too and they really aren't liking this weather. They're not wheeling much. Normally they run all night. but I don't think they ran at all last night. It's a bit too hot for my liking too. It's nice not to have the usual Manchester rain though!

 

[Sophie]

As long as the tank doesn't go over 30 degrees celcius I wouldn't worry - most fish are designed to withstand seasonal fluctuations in temperature, up and down - as long as it isn't permanent. If your fish aren't inclined to go carpet surfing you can try opening the lid off the top. I do with mine and have at least a degree in temperature drop.

 

[Arcticfox1977]

Just out of curiosity, I have my temp constantly set at 28oC. Is this too high? My temp has never climbed higher than this. It might drop a degree through the night.

 

[Shaddex]

• 2 liter Bottle of Frozen water in the tank twice a day.
• Lid off or sliders open.
• I have a room fan blowing over the tanks also.

My cory tanks usually sit at about 23.5, but with the weather they are all at 26-27.
Doing the above on a daily basis has bought it down to about 25ish.

 

[Sophie]

Just out of curiosity, I have my temp constantly set at 28oC. Is this too high? My temp has never climbed higher than this. It might drop a degree through the night.

All depends in the fish you keep. You want to keep most tropical fish at 25/26 ideally. Fish like Discus need temperatures at around 30 or so. As far as I am aware, the higher the temperature, the faster their metabolism is increased and the shorter their life span. Whether it's too detrimental at that temperature I don't know. I have mine at 26/27. My fish range from Angels to Corys to Clown Loaches and Cherry Barbs so a wide range of fish.