Question: Good ways to cool down and maintain tank temp?

[Xedar]

Hi. New Lotl owner here.
I got my little guy this last Friday on the 1st.
I ordered and am waiting on an aquarium chiller at the moment.
So I was wondering what may be a good way to get his temperature down to where I want it to be while I wait on the chiller?
I've been keeping the shades closed and blowing cool air on the tank with a fan yet it doesn't seem to be helping all that much. It's a tad too high today at around 22 C.
Any suggestions?
Thanks!

 

[suitable4frank]

I use ice cubes if it's just an oddly hot day. Like I put dechlorinated water in the freezer and plop them in there. It's not something you should do if your tank is naturally sitting like that though.
Is it a good quality fan? Because fans are always the way to go, but not if they only cost you £10 or whatever.
If you can't do anything to keep it down I would move him temporarily to a cooler place. Like a basement or the coldest room in the house.

 

[allied123]

I use frozen water bottles...again it should probably be dechlorinated water in case it leeks into the tank, I have also used giant 2 liter bottles but don't recommend this as it cools several degrees very quickly and then the water just heats back up (large fluctuations are never good!), smaller bottles seem to be a little more consistent.

 

[BabySinclair]

If you can get some of the house insulating styrofoam sheets from lowes or homedepot. I use the 1" and 3/4" thick foam sheet. They come in 4x8 sheets, about 20.00 a sheet.
Anyways, I wrap the outside of the tank, the bottom, sides and the back. On really hot days, I will enclose the front as well. But if you use the foam, use a fan at the same time. Between the two, I can drop my tank about 12 degrees, and even lower with ice bottles. I also picked up plastic ice cubes that are filled with water, from the local dollar tree.
I've tried the water bottle method with and without the styrofoam, and it works far better with the styrofoam and seems to offer less tempature fluctuations.

 

[melgado22]

ARCTIC Breeze Mobile USB-Powered 92mm Portable Fan, Portable Cooling Solution, Quiet Fan

(^^^type that into amazon)

that is what i use, i have it taped at one end of my tank using the sticky velcro tape. works like a charm! not to mention its quiet and durable, it has fallen completely into my tank before i thought of using velcro tape and when i pulled it out, it immediately started propelling again like nothing happened.

oh and i don't keep a lid on my aquarium, seems to help with the evaporation which keeps the tank cool. that is all i do. my tank sits right near a window that receives a lot of hot afternoon sun but my tank never gets over 20 C

 

[NaterPotater]

If that thing really works, that's fantastic for the price. What do you plug it into though, since it's USB? I wouldn't want to keep it plugged into a computer or tablet or anything. Do you use a USB to wall outlet adapter?

 

[melgado22]

yes it really works! i love mine. i ended up gluing my fans to the velcro, shortly after i moved they wouldn't stay on the tape.. Not sure if this had to do with the humidity change. i found a power strip that has a usb adapter so i plug it into that, all my other tank plugs can go into it too. perfecto!

 

[AussieLux]

ARCTIC Breeze Mobile USB-Powered 92mm Portable Fan, Portable Cooling Solution, Quiet Fan

Just brought one after seeing a guy do this for his aquarium on youtube too. Seems they are as silent then as the advertising claims hehe.

I hope it keeps my tank cool enough in spring as it gets warm in my room enough in spring alone (24-25 degrees Celsius).

I do worry about summer and in Australia it can get really hot here. 37s -40 are quite normal in recent years. Might have to just keep him in the fridge if it gets too hot, regardless of how much he hates the small fridge tubs.

My brother said he has experience with peliter coolers as they use them a lot for cooling- in Radio Controlled stuff of all things, and that would be something to look at, but I haven't a clue about those and really need to do some research soon as to what other people with aquariums finds work in Aussie summers before it starts to warm up.

 

[allied123]

The peltier chiller (or ice probe) methods aren't really suitable for any tank over 10 gallons and since axies need a minimum of 20 gallons they really aren't a good investment. They are really misleading though on amazon and what not, I was looking into one before people informed me they only worked well for small tanks.