# Cooling water?



## PotteryWalrus (26 Jun 2020)

Please forgive me if this is in the totally wrong place, I stared at the forum for like 10 minutes trying to figure out where this probably basic question might go. 

I know how to keep the water in the tank warm enough with a heater, but with this current heatwave my heater has been unplugged all week and the temperature is STILL around 27-28 degrees at both ends. I'm worried about what that would mean for future tank fauna, so I was wondering how I'd go about cooling things down safely in the event of another spike? 

The only thing running in there right now is a little sponge filter from amazon and I'm planning on equipping an air pump this week after payday. What else could I use? I was thinking maybe a clip on fan to further disturb the water's surface, but idk how well that will work once I've got the mesh lid on...


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## milla (26 Jun 2020)

Yes a fan accross surface of open top tank helps,  you will need to top off more though.

To quickly reduce the temp do a cold water change and to keep down float bottles of frozen water in tank
You can if your made of money also buy aquarium chillers.


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## PotteryWalrus (26 Jun 2020)

Are bottles of ice really okay, or do I need some kind of barrier to insulate it? I'm just worried that if I've got animals in there it might shock them


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## hypnogogia (26 Jun 2020)

I don’t think the cooling effect of a bottle of ice is a y more of a shock than the heat from an intank glass heater - at night you can see how the heating element actually glows red.


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## Classicdriller (26 Jun 2020)

You don’t have to unplug your heater it should have a thermostat and will turn off automatically


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## PotteryWalrus (26 Jun 2020)

Classicdriller said:


> You don’t have to unplug your heater it should have a thermostat and will turn off automatically


 
I think logically I knew that, but I think I kinda panicked lol XD


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## Classicdriller (26 Jun 2020)

We’ve all been there.. I run a temperate tank and during the winter while I was away for a weekend the boiler went off, it was sat at 13 degrees. Safe to say I had a panic


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## dino21 (26 Jun 2020)

Hi,

Depends on the size of your tank, but our 50lt 40cm cube is kept  at 24c but even the last few days has not gone above 25c thanks to a little 120mm 12vdc PC type of fan perched on the rim of the tank and angled around 45deg down onto the surface.

Many  fans are in black plastic, but with ours being open topped we found one made in clear plastic so its not as obtrusive.  Smaller fans might seem better, but often noisier.


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## mort (27 Jun 2020)

Fluctuating temperatures is worse for our inhabitants than a slightly raised temp ime. My tank is normally set to 22c but has gone up to 27c over the last few days and I'll just let it cool down naturally. High temeratures aren't a huge problem if you have enough aeration, so I wouldn't worry too much tbh.
Most fish/shrimp are used to seasonal temperature changes and where they are bred they tend to get pretty warm.


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## Simon Cole (27 Jun 2020)

We just stick cold water in the tank. Simples.


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