A question about chillers and more!

After the brief but hot spell of weather we've had here I've been thinking about getting a chiller. I've been struggling to keep my tanks below 21 degrees and I'm thinking a constant 16 - 18 would be much better.

The problem is I have my four axies in separate tanks, the two boys in the four foot, the two girls in a 2 and a half foot. Obviously I can't afford to get two chillers so my two options are.......

Put all four axies in the four foot with a divider (with chiller)

or

Put all four in the four foot tank (with chiller) for the summer then separate them when the weather cools.

Would two foot of tank space be enough for two axies permenantly (or even temporarily)? I have lots of hidey places for them, but this subsequently reduces floor space. It's such a dilemma.

Help!

PS. please excuse my spelling!

Chillers can be very, very expensive...


I'm not sure if you have read this yet, but it may help you out.

http://www.caudata.org/cc/articles/cooling.shtml

Thanks for that Johnny. Though lucky, lucky me I should be coming into a bit of money soon, so my axolotls can have the benefit of some of it! I've been doing a look around online and found a small chiller for £265, so that's not tooooooo bad! Also on Ebay, there are some cheaper, but I will probably buy new if I can.

21 is fine. I've kept adults without problems for several days at 24. At 26 some animals succumb to heat stress faster than others, meaning that most axolotls can stick 26 for a day or two but it it risky.

Hi Kerry,

Another alternative to beat the hot spell is to temporarily house the axies in the fridge or wine chiller over the summer months. Do search around ebay and ask around aquarium shops. I bought both of mine at a really good price so they do exist. In the long run, chillers are a good investment and not only helps stabalise the temperature but also give you the peace of mind. Its worthwhile.

Cheers.

I have one for my adults and It was about 300 US dollars. I got it on sale at Doctor Foster and Smith's website. My house is very hot and since it is summer it is worse so the chiller is a life savor. I have four in a 20 long tank and so far they are doing great. If you really want to buy a chiller and you aquariums are close by each other You can figure out a way to connect the two to the chiller they would each need an intake and output for the water flow for it to work. That means Their water would be shared so there can be problems with that such as disease can travel from one tank to the other. Or you can have them together during the summer with the chiller and during the winter separate them.

Hope I helped