jasper the fish Posted March 15, 2014 Report Share Posted March 15, 2014 My betta seems okay with his tank usually being at a constant 29*c -> 31*c. From what I've read this is a bit warmer than the recommended temp range; but the water is naturally like this just sitting in the bowl with no heater. The weather is pretty mild up in Cairns, the temps are usually the same all year around except for when the solstice comes. There's a heat spike and then a cold spike so I'm thinking that maybe when true summer comes along, my tank will get higher than probably 35*c. I know I shouldn't worry about it too much yet but I was wondering how should I keep my tank cool in the future? Even if it is just for two weeks. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
forever_and_a_day Posted March 15, 2014 Report Share Posted March 15, 2014 Frozen pop top bottle or the like and Fan or air stone to dissipate heat :) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
afr3178 Posted March 15, 2014 Report Share Posted March 15, 2014 For a few weeks it might be pretty difficult to manually keep it cool. I reckon your best bet would be to start looking for somewhere cooler. So when summer comes you can move him there and he'll be chilled all day without you having to check on him. If worse comes to worse, and you have the time to do what MT said then that will be fine. If you're willing to spend some money then you could buy a cooler but that's a bit expensive. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brenton Posted March 18, 2014 Report Share Posted March 18, 2014 I take it you don't have air-con then... Do you have a pedestal fan? If yes, you could place a damp towel of the bowl and direct the fan flow onto that. If not - Aeration will be important as the temp rises - you need to keep the oxygen levels up as it gets warmer, particularly when it gets up around 35 or above. Get some zip lock sandwich bags and freeze some treated water now so you're ready when the time comes. Then, when it heats up, you can float one in the tank, and if it leaks, it wont matter because it's your normal treated water. If you do use a bottle - make sure you wash it thoroughly so all the gum from the labels are well and truly gone. WD40 is good for getting that stuff off, but make sure you rinse well after. Good idea to be prepared - no point trying to freeze stuff when you have a power outage because it's too hot! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jasper the fish Posted March 18, 2014 Author Report Share Posted March 18, 2014 (edited) Thanks You're right, I don't have air con.. I've lived in Cairns all my life so anything below 25*c in my room temperature feels like frostbite to me I never thought about our tropical differences. funny actually, on the way home I bought a heater mat for my bowl because I was worried it was too cold for him, and before I opened the box, I put in the tank thermometer, googled the recommended temps, and found that my water was wayyy too warm already. haha.. I did notice the internal thermometer going up to 32 after I moved the bubbles further away from it. I didn't know my air stone could cool a tank so thanks so much for pointing that out. I'll take the sandwich bag idea because I have tons of those I can use and discard. I might test it out with a half-frozen bag first to see how sensitive the temps changes are. Does it hurt the fish at all if they decide to swim near the frozen bag? Originally I came up with the idea that I could freeze tank water into ice cubes but I thought maybe it would kill my fish Edited March 18, 2014 by jasper the fish Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brenton Posted March 18, 2014 Report Share Posted March 18, 2014 When you take the frozen bag from the freezer, rinse it with some treated water and then place in the tank. The fish will be curious and come over for a look, but as you've rinsed it already, there will be nothing on the outside to affect them, and as soon as it's in the water, it will begin to melt, so your fish should have any issues when brushing against the bag. With the current in the tank provided by your sponge filter (or equivalent), then it wont take long for the cooler water around the bag to be dispersed...so it should all be fine. As for air - transference at the water surface by bubbling, or from the filter, or from a breeze being blown over it all help immensely in keeping the water cooler, but as the water heats up, your fishes metabolism will increase and they'll use more energy, which will require them to draw more oxygen, both from the water, and, because Betta have a labyrinth organ, from the water surface - so increasing the amount of interaction between the water and the air, increases the transference of oxygen in and heat out - so win/win - so increase heat = increase oxygenation requirement 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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