Dangerous temperatures

[wheelsdeal]

Hello.So i am running my first aquarium for 2 months now and my current fish are one gold nugget L-18,one L-168,13cm Gibbiceps,10 corys and 7 discus.I might actually give the gibbi to avoid stressing the discus and i have in mind adding some more small size plecos.The aquarium is 400 liters ph-7,3 , kh-4 , gh-8 , no2-0 , no3-10 water changes 35% every week.The problem i have is that i live in Greece and due to high ambient temperatures at this time i have 31'c in the aquarium and it will get worse till august.I can maintain a 27-28c the rest of the year but i will be having 30+ at summer.How dangerous you think these temperatures are for my plecos and corys at least for like 4 months per year?

PS:The corys are albino,aeneus pepper,trilineatus,sterbai,panta and i am thinking of give away the rest and keep only sterbai as i heard that they are the most resilient to high temps

 

[Doodles]

The main problem is, higher temps mean less dissolved oxygen but also the fishes metabolism increases which mean the fish require even more oxygen than normal and eat more, plus the fish will be stressed which could make them more susceptible to diseases and other problems. You need to make sure there is plenty of aeration in the tank.

Have you tried using fans to blow across the surface of the water?

 

[foti]

well said doodles

increase oxygen
take off lides
have a fan blowing air over the top of the water
turn off your heater
when your doing water changes make sure you let the water run cause it would be very hot then add the cooler water

you will have alot of evaporation so keep adding water

p,s i miss summer in greece

 

[Doodles]

you will have alot of evaporation so keep adding water

:yes:
Always try to use water like RO for top ups, when water evaporates it leaves behind all the 'solids' and you will find your TDS rising if using tap water, but still make sure you do your normal waterchanges too.

 

[wheelsdeal]

When doing water changes 35% temperatures drop from 31 to 28 and in one hour it goes back to 31.For aeration i use the eheim airpump 400 you think i need one more?About fans i have thought of it but i will have to make some adjustments to the lides or remove them completely which means more evaporation.The water changes is being made with tap water,RO is in my future plans but atm i am working to add some more filtration what i can do is maybe a smaller water change at wednesday and my regular 35% at sunday.Mostly is the plecs that i am worried cause discus like those temperatures

 

[Irene0100]

yes it must be difficult in a hot climate. how do you cope without air conditioning?
I think the fish will be ok at 30 but much higher and could get in trouble.
turn lights off during day and just put on a bit in eve when cooler for any plants you have.
keep a couple of plastic bottles (like old coke or lemonade bottles) in the fridge with some Ro and some air in. then you can add a little to w/c or float the bottle on top of the tank water.

 

[wheelsdeal]

Unfortunately the room where the aquarium is is the only one with no air condition.I have 30,8'c right now with an ambient 33'c and it can get till 42'c on august so simple maths i would expect maybe at least 34'c in the aquarium.Does the fans work?

 

[Irene0100]

fans blowing accross the surface water will help but no idea how much, hence floating cold bottles might help and will last for a while. try everything.

 

[Doodles]

The fan idea works for my tanks but then we don't normally have temps that high, also the lids being on will aggravate the heat problem. The problem with bottles would be you will always have to keep adding and removing them plus you won't be maintaining a stable temp, not good if you are away from home for even the day.

We had a member on another forum from Greece who ended up losing a lot of fish during a heat wave, he ended up investing in an aquarium cooler.

Theres a thread here from elsewhere that has info

http://www.refrigeration-engineer.com/forums/showthread.php?t=4273

Also a link to a ready built cooler

http://www.aquastealth.com/polarbear15hpaquariumchiller.aspx

I would definitely increase the aeration in the tank, maybe an additional powerhead which breaks the water surface.

 

[Breamlegend]

I saw someone, somewhere put a canister inside an old refrigerator. Sort of a cheap chiller.

 

[wheelsdeal]

Those chillers are way expensive and i cant afford something like this atm.I have found a 6-fan cooler from Grotech for 57 euro which i think i am gonna buy and with open lid,very low lighting and water changes i will try to keep my temps at least 30'c.Thanks for the advice guys when i get the fans i will post if it works and what was the temperature drop.

 

[Doodles]

Unfortunately they are quite expensive
Will wait on feedback on how you get on with the fans

 

[wheelsdeal]

Will do.I spend my money on fish today so i expect to buy the fans in like 10 days.Will post results then.

 

[foti]

weelsdeal
greece gets hot yes and so does australia in summer take your lids off run the fan leave heater off do your normal water changes the frozen bottle trick sound good for those hot miday peaks but you dont want water temps rising and falling the fan works wonders

fan in my experiance needs to be close to the tank other wise it blows really hot air over the tank

if the rest of your house has air con and your really worried about the temp have a think about moving the tank ? "just a thought" empty some water get some friends over

if i was you that is what i would do ! it would give you the chance to enjoy your summer maybe even go to an island or 2 !

 

[wheelsdeal]

Moving the tank is hard and even if i could i dont have the space to relocate it somewhere else but i will do all the above.I have a house on an island so i will be gone for 2 weeks but i will have someone to take care of my fish.