how to cool down your fish tank: Temp control!

We all love our fish tanks and of course, want the very best for our little fish friends but what if the water gets too darn hot?. How can we rectify the situation without harming the fish and do so quick enough but not so quick as to shock or kill them?.

Take the hood/lid off the tank let air into the tank turn a fan on! place ice packs into the water keeping a close eye on the temperature all the time.

REASONS YOUR TANK WATER IS GETTING TOO HOT!

Some of the main reasons for fish waters being too hot are lighting too close to the water and maybe just maybe too much power for the size of your tank. Also these days with technology the way it is you can now get submersible lights.

Lol, amazing but no doubt another thing we as hobbyists need to be aware of!.

Tank placement is always important for a lot of reasons but also in this instance if placed by windows where direct sunlight comes through especially in summer it will obviously have an effect on the heat of the tank’s waters!.

One of the big no-nos is the radiator. Not sure why but people will place their tanks by or too darn close to radiators boilers pipes etc and then wonder why the tank water keeps rising!.

Another problem we have seen and heard of over the years is people using two heaters with two different thermometers on each end.

Mainly on big tanks, this can be really tricky in the first place but why two thermometers?. You will be getting the wrong readings and more than likely overheating the water!.

Please people if you have a big enough tank it’s reasonable to have two heaters although you should be looking at an external heater running via your filter. As will give better results if you do use two heaters then please have only one thermometer to provide the correct water temp!.

Probably the biggest culprit and the main reason for tank water to rise is faulty equipment. Either your filter mainly if submersible and of course your heater and or heating system!.

Heaters & Evaporation Issues

Heaters these days are very good and have fail-safes etc but they can break if left unchecked. Could be dangerous to both the fish and maybe even you there are good two-in-one thermometers you can use and they alert you when the water is heating and when it’s getting too hot!.

All the above reasons will lead to your tank’s waters getting too hot. This will cause another side effect of the dreaded evaporating water.

Although a side effect of rising temperatures evaporation of our fish water has major problems of its own Why is my Fish Tank Water Evaporating?. Check out this post as evaporation is a side effect of rising temperatures as already stated but not always.

 WAYS TO COOL YOUR FISH TANKS WATERS!

Ok, let us have a look-see and give you some of the main preventable measures first to ensure your tank won’t overheat. Firstly as always, tank placement is easy don’t place your little friends by radiators and boilers over tumble dryers seen that enough times geez!.

Try to make sure enough air is coming through where you want your tank to be placed. Circulation is good yes there may be a draft but you can always heat the water up a bit gently of course.

As stated above try not to place in direct sunlight definitely avoid this in the summer months and in heatwaves etc (not that we get those over here in the UK lol.)

Make sure to turn your tank lights off for at least 12 hours and usually more if possible fish need to sleep too hay!.

The biggest preventative measure we could give you is to keep a regular daily check maybe even periodically a few times a day on the tank and the tank readings. Via a good thermometer and also check your heater!.

Heaters can and eventually do break and or stop working as well as they once did. On that bombshell maybe have a look at How Long Do Aquarium Heaters Last?.

Hopefully, the above post will rectify if it is indeed heater trouble. Also, check the filter and other appliances regularly weekly.

For instance, we have backups ready just in case you never know when something is gonna break it just breaks you know!.

 WATERS TOO HOT WHAT TO DO!

So your tank’s water has already started to rise it’s getting too hot what do you do well first things first let’s turn those tank lights off and unplug the heater.

Take the hood or lid of the tank to let as much air into the tank as possible. If you have a fan or a couple of fans get those on asap. Then place a few well-placed ice packs into the water keeping a close eye on the temperature.

All the time while doing these steps as you may have already brought the temperature down, we also want to do this with as little stress to the fish.

If the water has returned to normal and or if it’s only been a matter of minutes you should be fine but we would suggest if things need to be taken further and the fish are starting to look stressed by all means take them out.

Hope you have a backup tank or a safe place to place them if not it’s time for a water change we need to do a 50% water change as this will bring the water temp back down slightly faster!.

IN CLOSING OUR LITTLE TRICKS THAT WORK!

In closing, we would say that these are all good measures and if you are proactive and take precautions most things can be saved with a water change.

Last summer we did have a heatwave I know amazing but our main tank suffered a little we solved this easily in the end. By placing two 500ml coke bottles pretty sure you could use Pepsi or sprite, in fact, use any 500ml bottle.

Although I hate Pepsi lol but anyway place those into the tank and hay presto water temp regulated amazing!.

Hope you have learned something here and hope you read some more of our posts. As we think they are pretty good if you have any concerns with fish and or tanks, in general, give us a shout thanks again the Tan0fish team!.