Question: How to cool the tank down

[Bethanysb]

At the moment i'm struggling to keep the water at a good temperature, it keeps rising to around 20-22 degrees and I know this isn't good for them. I add ice blocks and keep the sun off the tank but when the ice blocks melt and i'm out the temperature raises again.
I've been thinking about getting a tank cooler but the only ones i've found are the fan type ones which would move the water too much for the axolotls to feel comfortable.
Can anyone suggest anything I could do?

Thanks :)

[Leanne]

You can get a chiller, which are expensive but well worth it.

[emz]

It has been nice and hot here in the uk!
You could get a fan to aim across the water or some aquarium fans that attach to the lid which could take it down abit.
I never found ice cubes worked that well and chillers are usually over the hundred pound mark which i didnt feel i could justify seeing as though the heat never lasts long here .
I personally use a portable air conditioning unit for the room my axolotl is in when the warm weather comes which seems to work really well and cost around seventy pounds on ebay.
Hope that has given you some ideas.

[Jennewt]

This page has a variety of suggestions:
Caudata Culture Articles - Cooling

I think the best low-cost solution is a fan that blows air across the surface of the water. A screen lid (rather than a hood) will help quite a bit. Beyond that, you are looking at a chiller or a whole-room AC. Obviously if you have a basement or cooler (north-facing) part of the house, that will help too.

[Michel]

Try to fill a bottle with water (make sure to keep some air in it) and freeze it in, you then put it on the water (when it is frozen) and it will float thanks to the air, distributing cool water. When it is unfrozen, just freeze it again. It is very effective, it will cool your aquarium from 23 to 20 in under 20 minutes!

[Mandi]

I currently have a young Axolotl in a ten gallon tank and I just purchased this fan/LED light combo (meant for desks, lol) and put it on my tank!

Walmart.com: Trademark Global 2 in 1 Laptop Desk LED Lamp and Fan in Black: Decor

I use a USB to wall outlet converter to plug it in next to the tank. I left the fan running pointed at the tank (sitting on the screen cover) all night. I had sustained the tank temp before adding the fan at around 72 degrees F. When I woke up this morning the tank was a cool 63 degrees F!!!! I'm excited. I was beginning to worry that the tank wasn't going to be cool enough and I would need a chiller. The fan is tiny but works AWESOME! I highly recommend screen tops with a fan angled at the water surface for anyone who is having trouble cooling their tank. I should mention we also run an AC in the room he is in 24/7. Thanks~

Here is the tank with the light on and the fan running

[jhonny]

here is how i keep my temperature down.
it costed me about €60 .. which is quite expensive. plus its rather noisy
.. actually, it sounds like a jetplane taking of in my bedroom
but, it does get my water temperature down from 22°c to 18°C

edit: i use the flap which is normally used to feed your fish as "open" part for water to evaporate.
but opening the lid completely does give the best result.
however that just looks sloppy.. so i tend not to do that.

[RichsBallPython]

IM not a Huge Fish guy, but When I kept odd and ends i used a Computer Water Cooling System to cool water down.

You can use Chillers on ebay under 200$.

My method was using a Radiator, that will have the pump, reservoir built in and a inlet/outlet hook up. One tube on one side of tank, other tube on other side. Turn it on and itll cool the water down to room temp. These setups are designed to keep CPUs cool and can handle some intense heat.

Below is a link to the ones i would recommend for anything under 50gallons.
Swiftech H20-320 EDGE Liquid Cooling Kit at Xoxide!
Zalman Reserator 1 V2 Fanless Water Cooling System at Xoxide!

The CPU block you would just disconnect the tubes on it and sell it or put it aside. And run your tubes how you want them. This will keep the water flowing in and out cooling off, while not disturbing the animals.

[chosen2030]

I just ordered this product: Aqua Cool Aquarium Cooling Fan= (there is a youtube video embedded to see how it works). I'll let everyone know if it works any better than the desk fan I am using now.

[Mandi]

Chosen that product looks awesome. I wonder how noisy it is? That is my biggest problem is finding a small desk fan that will do the trick that my husband doesn't complain is too noisy :P I am very interested to see how well it works. I might even convince my boss to carry them because we have a couple axolotls in stock! Thank you for posting that!