Freshwater temperatures?

Question

I just set up a freshwater tank and I've noticed my temperatures won't drop below 80 degrees.  At petco the little sign in front of the fish says they're all good for a range of 72-82 degrees, but then again I never really trust petco to begin with.  As of today I just added a red tail shark, a red wag platy, a sunset fire platy, and one of those little catfish cleaner guys that sit at the bottom of the tank (I forget their name).  My temperatures in my tank are sitting around 80-82 sometimes barely peaking into 83 and this is without a heater or anything; I ended up unplugging my heater completely.  It doesn't seem like my room is this hot and it's not in direct sunlight or near a lamp or anything; I guess I've just gotten used to it.  Is it harmful for my fish to have them in water at this temperature?  If so, is there anything I can do to cool off the water?  I'm really drawing a blank here as to how to do that other than making huge batches of treated ice cubes with water conditioner in it and that's not really practical.  I'm hoping it's not much of a problem, but if anybody knows any advice as to how to make a tank cooler then please let me know.

Gary C · Accepted Answer

If your room is cooler than 80 degrees, but your tank is consistently 80 to 83, then something is heating the water in the tank. Do you have a light on top of the tank? This can add a significant amount of heat. Some power filters, pumps, powerheads, and UV sterilizers also add measurable heat to the water.
Is your tank in an especially warm spot, such as a sunny window or near a room heater or air vent with heated air coming out?

Probably the most efficient way to cool the water in a tank, short of buying an aquarium chiller for several hundred dollars, is to set up an electric fan so it blows an air current across the top of the tank. This will be more effective if you switch a glass tank cover for a screen cover (look in the reptile section of the pet store, or make one yourself), to allow maximum air exchange.
Filters that expose water to a lot of air, like wet/dry trickle filters and "bio-wheel" filters, also tend to cool the water somewhat.
This cooling happens mainly through evaporation, so you may end up having to replace evaporated water and do more frequent water changes due to water loss from evaporation.

kelly · Answer

Your fish would prefer things stay under 78. You should be able to get away with a few extra degrees, but it could shorten the life of the fish.
I have over heating problems on the super hot days, which I use ice to bring down. Just get a few 1 gallon jugs of water and freeze them, then take some water out of the tank for displacement. I find the size of the jug allows the ice to last a little longer than smaller containers, thus does a better job.

troublewolf · Answer

I would be finding out why the room is so hot! Most households run around 72, not 82! 
All dropping ice cubes in the tank will do is for a second or so lower the temp..but it will go back up. Yo-yoing tempos are bad for fish. yours right now are at the top range, but keep the tank aerated and find out why the room is so hot!

Flipz · Answer

You could try adding cool water to the tank when you do your weekly water changes.

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Freshwater temperatures?

4 Answers