lowering fluctuation of temperature

At the moment i am cycling 4 bottles of frozen water but this causes flocculation in the temperature. This is bad as it may kill the axolotls with the temperature jumps. What are some other methods that i can use. I want to buy a chiller but i don't have the money and my parents won't buy it for me. I wish to keep it at a steady level, the water level with no bottle is 25degrees.
Mitch.

Re: lowering flocculation

Hi mitchell,

Hehe, i think the word you wanted is fluctuation. Flocculation is when particulate matter stick together causing a precipitate or a turbid appearance.

Yes 25 degrees is indeed on the high end and there is need for cooling. There are many other ways of cooling such as from here. http://www.caudata.org/cc/articles/cooling.shtml

I think the best thing to ensure a cool temperature without drastic fluctuations is to place the tank in the shadiest and coolest part of the house. Most houses tend to be cooler on the lower levels such as the basement rather than right at the top most floor such as the attic. You would be surprised the ambient room temperature from a top floor compared to a basement can differ as much as 2 or 3 degree celsius.

Also keep the tank away from direct sunlight or light/heat sources that can give rise to heat such as incandescent lamps, radiators, household appliances etc. If despite all that, your tank is still creeping up in temperature, you can try air conditioning the room. The air-con will keep the room a constant temperature setting.

Increasing evaporative rate can also cool the tank. You can replace your tank hood with a mesh netting instead. It would still prevent axies from jumping out but can also increase evaporation. The only main downside to this is that you have to be careful when using aerosols. Any air pollutants and dust can easily be introduced and settle into the tank's water.

If everything fails, ice bottles is the best way really. What you can do to minimise temperature fluctuation is to use smaller bottles at a time rather than a gigantic bottle. Others have suggested insulating the ice bottle itself. If you have bubble wrap, you can try wrapping your ice bottles with it. It would prevent the ice bottle from defrosting too quickly and thus ensure a more gradual temperature change.

Cheers

Re: lowering flocculation

mitchell, wrapping your bottles will help,

also, if you cant afford a chiller, and have a ice machine, or can get ice daily,

get a esky, and a length of hose long enough to coil up inside the esky, biger the esky, more hose, better cooling...

change the intake hose to the new longer one, and coil it up inside the esky and dump a bag of ice into the esky, and put the lid on.

this would only work if you use a canister filter...

and just remember to slowly turn the output on the filter up if you have a canister, as a sudden rush of cold water into the tank, is the last thing you need from a temp up that high, could send the lil guys into shock...

good luck mate, ps you have pm

Re: lowering flocculation

Fans can be very effective. I just reduced the temperature of one of my tanks from 15.7C down to 12.2C simply by funning a fan over it. See:
http://www.caudata.org/cc/articles/cooling.shtml

Thank you everyone, i will see if i can use a couple of these methods and get the water level lower.
Thanks again
Mitch.