Cooler Water

Question
Hello. I have a 12 gallon Eclipse System and I was wondering if there is a way to keep the tank cooler? Thank-you.

Sincerely,


Answer
Hi Dawn,

Unfortunately, getting an aquarium's water is probably one of the most trickiest things to do. There's no simple way to do this, and the best result may be to move the tank to a basement or another cooler location. this is the easiest way. make sure there's no direct sunlight, and perhaps move it to a place with a fan.

Also, another simple way is to buy an air conditioner for the room. chances are, if the room's too hot for fish, it's probably a bit too warm for your liking, too. An air-conditioning unit is fairly inexpensive these days.

A temporary fix for this problem would be to get ice cubes, and put them in a bottle of water. One 500 ml or 1L (1/4 gallon/quart) bottle would do. Make sure you monitor the tank's temperature, and make sure that it doesn't get TOO cold!

Another way would be to purchase an aquarium chiller. These things are like pumps, with a water 'air-conditioner'. It pumps water to the cooling unit, and back to your aquarium. however, these things are extremely expensive, even more than protein skimmers on saltwater tank! A model can range anywhere between $300 to thousands of dollars. personally, I don't think that these are necessary. They are fairly uncommon, and they are mainly used for saltwater aquariums. freshwater fish can usually tolerate periods of heat above their normal range.