Over Heating

[eggy5404]

Over the past couple of days b/c of a heat wave in NY my tank has risen to 86 degrees. This is not too much of an issue b/c I only have the lr in the tank however I need to figure out how to control the temp changes for the future. I tried to drop frozen bottles of water in the tank and it went down abotu 1 degree and then the ice melted..
The cheapest chiller I've seen online is around $450. I have no heaters in the tank and I didn't put the lights on.. The lighting is the original strip light that came with the tank so I don't think it's generating any additional heat..
Any suggestions would be helpful. Thanks.

 

[clownfish2]

Go to the DIY section and go to the 3rd page and look for a thread called Ultimate Ghetto Chiller by tgreene. It's a good idea that does not cost a lot of money. I hope this will help you out.

 

[jim672]

eggy5404,
You can get a small fan and attach it to the top of your tank. The air blowing over the tank will increase evaporation and that will cool your tank a couple degrees. Of course, increased evaporation means you'll do more top-offs.
If your house/apartment isn't air-conditioned, it sounds like a chiller is your best long term solution.
Jim

 

[zibnata]

I have 2- 55 watt blue and 2 -55w white lights.I had temps going up to 85. I went to linens and things and bought a Honeywell turbo fan for $10 . It comes in black or white and has 3 speeds.I have it plugged in with the light timer.It has a hole in the back and I mounted it to the wall blowing on the light canopy and also moved the top glass cover so it blows on the water too.Temps have stayed at 80 where I have the heater set .A lot of evaporation though. I have to add a half to a gallon of water everyday. Also when it gets real hot ,I have a large fan on the floor blowing towards the tank. Wife isn't too happy about the fans but thats all I can do untill I get some a/c in the room.

 

[birdy]

Be sure you do not have a glass cover on your tank and like everyone said run some fans over the top of the aquarium

 

[hondo]

Fan blowing accross the water is the best method of cooling either in the main tank or in the sump (or both).
Or get an air condition for the room as a room size AC unit is quite a bit cheaper than a chiller and youget to enjoy the cool air also.
Last but not least change the lighting cycle to light the tank in the middle of the night when the room temp is cooler