willyp123 Posted October 15, 2014 Report Share Posted October 15, 2014 Hey guys, I was just wondering how you guys keep your tanks cool without chillers over summer (I have 2x 50L tanks with koura, crans bullies and inanga). I can't afford a chiller - i've heard slicker pads and frozen water bottles work really well, as well as fans. I've started doing both and found fans keep the tank coolest (generally about 16 degrees, rather than the 20ish it is without a fan). I ordered a cling on fan like: It arrived today and worked really well, but had to ship from Hong Kong, anyone know of a source closer to home? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Adrienne Posted October 15, 2014 Report Share Posted October 15, 2014 Can't see the image but unless you either live in a really cold part of the country or a very cold house in summer, or are home 24/7 to keep up the supply of ice packs you will need to invest in a chiller. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Adrienne Posted October 15, 2014 Report Share Posted October 15, 2014 Lotofish in the commercial section sells clip ons similar to that. He's in Auckland. If you go to user control panel and put in your location we would know where you live. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
willyp123 Posted October 15, 2014 Author Report Share Posted October 15, 2014 Lotofish in the commercial section sells clip ons similar to that. He's in Auckland. If you go to user control panel and put in your location we would know where you live. Sorry, about that - reasonably new to the forums Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kiwiraka Posted October 15, 2014 Report Share Posted October 15, 2014 Maybe trademe? Im definitely aiming for a chiller before the peak of summer. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Caryl Posted October 15, 2014 Report Share Posted October 15, 2014 Fans, Slikka pads or frozen water bottles won't have a hope in summer. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hovmoller Posted October 15, 2014 Report Share Posted October 15, 2014 Fans, Slikka pads or frozen water bottles won't have a hope in summer. +1 Gotta figure out another way to keep your tank cool. Say you put in a 2L bottle of frozen water. I reckon that would lower the temp in your 50L tank by around 1degree and you would have to do that repeatedly throughout the day to keep it down... And the fan you have there says on the box can only do max 4 degrees (depending on circumstances, humidity, temperature, etc.) So, it won't be enough for middle of summer in auckland. Gotta get a chiller. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
blueether Posted October 15, 2014 Report Share Posted October 15, 2014 I struggled to keep my 400 l below 21 - 22 untill I got the chiller Fans will help a lot and my be enough on a smaller tank, keep the lights off, minimal pumps etc will help alot Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dr A Posted October 15, 2014 Report Share Posted October 15, 2014 This maybe a bit of a long shot, but have a read of this website. The guy lives in Wisconsin which gets cold. He's some sort of engineer who does the whole aquaponics thing in his spare time so the problem he faces is the opposite of the one you face (he needs to keep his fish warm in winter). Along with several articles about thermal mass, entropy etc etc, he's basically come up with a plan to keep his fish warm: convert old unused/dead chest freezers into fish-tanks. The idea being they're free or very cheap, already watertight and very well insulated. Because he eats the fish he coats them in something on the inside, but it's not too big of a stretch to maybe do the same thing to keep a body of water cold rather than warm. Food for thought anyway. I appreciate a chest freezer doesn't look as pretty as a glass sided fish tank, but one stuck under your house, or a shady spot in general may work perfectly to prevent your water getting warm. Since you only have small tanks you could maybe turn a bar fridge/freezer into a mini summer home for your guys? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hovmoller Posted October 15, 2014 Report Share Posted October 15, 2014 You could dig down say 50m of PE pipe into your garden and pump water through it.. would help quite a lot. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
livingart Posted October 15, 2014 Report Share Posted October 15, 2014 Tried most of the above methods, in ground pipe and 200 litre container was the best now i run chillers Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Adrienne Posted October 15, 2014 Report Share Posted October 15, 2014 Theres some relatively cheap chillers on both ™ and some of the Facebook pages atm. My chiller comes on when the temp reaches 28 and yesterday from mid morning it was on until late last evening. Thats with the fans working. This morning my tank was 27.3 at 6.45am. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kiwiraka Posted October 16, 2014 Report Share Posted October 16, 2014 You could dig down say 50m of PE pipe into your garden and pump water through it.. would help quite a lot. But how strong would the pump need to be? And open windows + summer = mosquitos.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Silverdollarboy2 Posted October 16, 2014 Report Share Posted October 16, 2014 Fans, Slikka pads or frozen water bottles won't have a hope in summer. Better start saving :nilly: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hovmoller Posted October 16, 2014 Report Share Posted October 16, 2014 But how strong would the pump need to be? And open windows + summer = mosquitos.... You don't need to open the windows if you either drill through the wall or floor (suspended floor) :slfg: I had a 25mm line from sump going down through the floor, then split into 4 x 15m of 13mm garden irrigation pipe, then back in a 25mm line up through the floor again and back in the sump. The 4 x 15m line was not burried (lots of clay = too difficult) but was under the house when it is quite cool. I used a 5000L/hr pump for this and water was shooting out the end so a smaller pump could do it as well. This system was absolutely great at keeping my local marine tank (inside a warm house) cold for around 75% of the year but during summer I had to switch it off and use a chiller instead. The idea being that I would save lots of power during 75% of the year. Edit: Also important to mention here is that my tank and sump was insulated with 25mm poly on 3 sides (and under) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kiwiraka Posted October 16, 2014 Report Share Posted October 16, 2014 Better start saving :nilly: Lol, i think youd be better off asking for one for christmas, theyre pretty expensive. Sigh.... I guess im going to be getting a job these holidays.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kiwiraka Posted October 16, 2014 Report Share Posted October 16, 2014 You don't need to open the windows if you either drill through the wall or floor (suspended floor) :slfg: I had a 25mm line from sump going down through the floor, then split into 4 x 15m of 13mm garden irrigation pipe, then back in a 25mm line up through the floor again and back in the sump. The 4 x 15m line was not burried (lots of clay = too difficult) but was under the house when it is quite cool. I used a 5000L/hr pump for this and water was shooting out the end so a smaller pump could do it as well. This system was absolutely great at keeping my local marine tank (inside a warm house) cold for around 75% of the year but during summer I had to switch it off and use a chiller instead. The idea being that I would save lots of power during 75% of the year. Edit: Also important to mention here is that my tank and sump was insulated with 25mm poly on 3 sides (and under) Sounds good except for the fact that we want to sell our house this summer and my parents might not appreciate a hole in the wall... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Silverdollarboy2 Posted October 16, 2014 Report Share Posted October 16, 2014 Lol, i think youd be better off asking for one for christmas, theyre pretty expensive. Sigh.... I guess im going to be getting a job these holidays.... I'm already getting a canister filter for xmas so the ruins that idea. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Silverdollarboy2 Posted October 16, 2014 Report Share Posted October 16, 2014 Can common bullies survive a summer in a cold water tank without a fan and slika pads Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
blueether Posted October 16, 2014 Report Share Posted October 16, 2014 Common bullies are probably bore tolerant, but will need good O2 levels at wormer temps. I have seen them die in the wild when water temps got to about 24 - 25? but the O2 probably dropped as well Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Godly3vil Posted October 16, 2014 Report Share Posted October 16, 2014 It's really something all you new native keepers need to consider before removing the fish from the wild, seems kind of cruel if you can't supply them with the proper conditions because of money issues. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kiwiraka Posted October 16, 2014 Report Share Posted October 16, 2014 It's really something all you new native keepers need to consider before removing the fish from the wild, seems kind of cruel if you can't supply them with the proper conditions because of money issues. I did consider it, thats why i have 48 litres of ice (in 3 litre milk bottles) on standby, its currently taking 27 litres per dayto drop the tempeature from 18 degrees down to about 15 degrees. So its goingbto be time consuming but i feel confident i can keep the temp below 20. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Silverdollarboy2 Posted October 16, 2014 Report Share Posted October 16, 2014 I can do a cold water change once or twice a day plus cooling fans and slicker pads. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Silverdollarboy2 Posted October 16, 2014 Report Share Posted October 16, 2014 Does this look any good? I'd be running it in conjunction with slicker pads and 1-2 cold water changes a day. http://www.trademe.co.nz/pets-animals/f ... 081968.htm Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kiwiraka Posted October 16, 2014 Report Share Posted October 16, 2014 Does this look any good? I'd be running it in conjunction with slicker pads and 1-2 cold water changes a day. http://www.trademe.co.nz/pets-animals/f ... 081968.htm Looks good, just keep an eye on how much water evaporates.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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