Help-- Need to get temperature down quick!

Does anyone know of a way to decrease temperature for an axolotl's tank without having to go to the extreme of refrigerating him? I need a quick solution, as I have less than no fridge space and two axolotls to tend to.

I've done some 10-20% water changes using refrigerated dechlorinated water but it hasn't been very effective, the temperature hasn't gone down very much.

Ice cubes would be a poor choice, correct? Any other ideas?

Thanks.

I'd check out the cooling article for some general ideas on cooling.

Ice cubes made from dechlorinated tap water work fine for dropping the temperature. You can also fill plastic bottle 2/3 to 3/4 full with dechlorinated tap water, freeze them and put them in the tank. If you fill them too full they will burst! Another good way to lower the temperature a few degrees is to get a small fan and have it blow over the aquarium surface. It will cause evaporation and cooling. If you use the fan you can use distilled or RO water ice cubes to replace the evaporated water.

Thank you so much! I hope this works!

I've used ice bottles and a shell of polystrene foam to wrap around the tank on three sides to control temperature. The foam slows down the rate as which to tank begins to warm again after the ice has melted, and hence you need few ice bottles in your freezer and less frequent changes. It definately helps, but you still need to be vigilant about replacing the bottles as a fluctuating temperature is as stressful as a high one. Good luck. It's a shame you don't have room in your fridge. I found the ice bottles took up half my freezer .

Hi Tash,

I agree with lisa, many of the Australian members use this method. If you hase some spare dollars you could look at cooling systems. Have a look at www.axolotl.org it has some great ideas too.

Hello Tasha,

Ice cubes would be a poor choice, correct? Any other ideas?

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Correct. Using ice cubes would result in too much of a drastic temperature change which will stress your axolotl. You're better off going with the ice bottle method. However, you will have to monitor these bottles vigilantly because as soon as they thaw out, you will have to replace them immediately or the tank temperature will fluctuate- once again, stressing the axolotl.

If you have a basement, you could definitely move your axolotl there because heat rises. Also, by reducing the amount of light directed on the tank will definitely reduce the temperature. If you have an internal filter, you might want to consider replacing it with an external filter. Internal filters are known to increase tank temperature by up to ~5 degree celsius. And if you want to get really hardcore about it, you can just tell everybody in the household to stop breathing

Goodluck with everything :happy:

Jay.

When I first started out I was doing the ole iced water bottle trick, works for some but I found they thawed out too quick & I didn't really have the time to run back & forth to the freezer especially with work & just going out & about. Depending on the size of your tank & your wallet it's worth the piece of mind of setting up a chiller in my experience.