[sciencebuff93]

I'm not sure about everyone else, but my area has been hit by three 85 and today 95 degree weather. Yesterday night I looked at my tank (10g) by chance and it was above 84 and I a couple of ice cubes in. We have AC but my room is always the warmest. How should I keep my fishes and inverts cool?

 

[djrichie]

First don't add Ice cubes to the tank. as the cube melt the chemicels in the water are in the tank..also it will cause cold spots and stress the fish..... to cool you tank down the best way is to add a fan and open the lid and let the breeze blow across the water surface, evaporation will keep the tank cooler. they sell fans that you attach to the tank itself, best to find them online, I have never seen on in a chain LFS not to sya they are no there. but a big fan blowing at the tank will work as will. Also there is a exspensive route of buying a chiller for your tank, but they start at about 250.00 for small units and go up from there.

 

[MediaHound]

Also, there's some nano reef chillers / heat sinks on the market that you can install on the tank.
Like this one from MarineDepot -
CoolWorks Ice Probe with Power Supply (Saltwater Aquarium Supplies > Chillers > Micro )

Description

* Efficient: converts electricity directly into cooling power
* Reliable: the fan is the only moving part
* Easy to Install: one hole, one nut
* Safe low voltage operation
* Environmentally Friendly: no gasses or chemicals
* 1-year manufacturer`s warranty from purchase date

The IceProbe is the ideal cooling solution for small aquariums. This quiet, reliable, and efficient chiller uses advanced thermoelectric technology to directly covert electricity into cooling power.
With its threaded probe, nylon nut, and silicon washer, the IceProbe, can be easily bulkheaded through a 1.25" hole into siphon overflows, prefilters, sumps, or even directly into acrylic aquariums.
A single IceProbe can cool 10 gallons of water 6-8F below ambient air temperature in a standard aquarium. Multiple IceProbes can be used in a single aquarium to achieve higher temperature differentials.
The IceProbe provides continuous chilling power. A separate temperature controller must be used to turn the the device on or off at predetermined temperatures.
Weighing in at only 2 pounds, the IceProbe® is powered by a separate 12 volt D.C. power supply and draws less than 50 watts.

Something else to consider... not cheap at $105 + the cost of a controller to plug it into, but its a solution...
Kind regards

 

[goldenmacman]

turn the heater off or down is the simplest... you will learn that with a small tank comes certain challenges, with the weather temp outside effecting you tank so much i would change the heater temp once a month to counter act the outside weather..

 

[sciencebuff93]

PHP]turn the heater off or down is the simplest... [/PHP]
That would mean my tank would still be hot; its not actually my heater that's doing it. I found out using a fan with the lights taken off works great (and is the least expensive, as djrichie said).

 

[djrichie]

sometimes the simplist things works the best........it not that the heater was heating up the water, its the air round the tank heating hot the water. So a nice cool breese over the surface of the water cools is down.

 

[maqo.org]

a small clip on fan works great for nano tanks. I wouldn't get one that is too big though as you can cause a drastic change with small water volumes

 

[RickM61]

i put mine on a timer and cycle the lighting 2 times a day on my 3 gal..we have been getting hot here too and this seems to work for me..tanks hightest temp has been 82.7..now after changing photo period it gets around 80..corals are happy..

 

[wouhou25]

air conditioner is the best solution, expensive but so efficient...