Temperature of water

[Sidney]

With the weather getting hot these days , could you bros out there share what have you done to lower the temperature of the water ? My tank is getting EXTREMELY hot . with 31degrees Celsius.

[Mystikboy]

Shade, fan, use cooler lights, leave the tank lid open for ventilation. I think 28-30 is going to be the norm for quite a while

[stormhawk]

31 degrees Celsius is normal for myself. Ventilation is key during this warm period. My fish are doing fine even in this weather.

If you can afford it, just get a chiller if keeping the tank cooler is a must. Fans can only do so much and they cause water to evaporate faster, so you need to constantly top-up the water.

[Sidney]

i guess my fish can handle the temperature as they are all hardy fishes haha

[stormhawk]

That depends on the species too, because some do not like it very warm.

[Sidney]

actually im worried about my pleco L183 as there are not much information about them online .. i wonder if you could help

[stormhawk]

Ah, the Starlight Bristlenose. They are rather hardy. I think all you need to do during this warm phase is to increase aeration in the tank. I did that for my warm community tank, the fishes are not showing any signs of problems so far. My pair of Peckoltia brevis are still doing fine, along with my group of Red Lizards.

[Navanod]

Warm temperature causes mainly 2 problems. Reduction of dissolved gasses in the water (of primary concern oxygen), so Stormhawk is very right to suggest increasing aeration.
The other is the increased in ammonia toxicity, or rather, the increase in the ratio of the more toxic form of ammonia, NH3, vs the less toxic form NH4+.
May be good to control feeding, remove uneaten food dutifully and if the bioload is high, consider increasing filtration (air sponges would help hit 2 birds with one stone).

Oh, are there plants in the tank?

[Sidney]

I am running a eden 501 in a 36cm Gex tank .so how can i increase aeration ? at air stones ?
@Navanod with just java fern and some rocks inside .

[gyjd]

Maybe can add on another hof


Tapatalk

[stormhawk]

Sidney, since your tank is rather small, a small airpump connected to an airstone or a small sponge filter will do to help to increase the aeration. I use an Eheim air pump for this, since they are silent. You can get by with a cheap $5 air pump from any LFS. Your tank is rather small though, for the bristlenose plecos. If you have just 1, that tank should be alright. However, as Nava has pointed out, ammonia becomes a problem at higher temperatures, so make sure you are not overstocking your tank.

[Urban Aquaria]

I am running a eden 501 in a 36cm Gex tank .so how can i increase aeration ? at air stones ?

You could just position the spray bars (or lily pipe if you bought those) just halfway above the water line, the splashing and churning of the water output would also provide additional aeration through increased surface agitation.

[Sidney]

So basically this is my current setup , not very fantastic ..

[Urban Aquaria]

Thats an interesting way to position a spray bar... usually people position them horizontally (and then adjust the height accordingly), i've not seen anyone position them vertically before.

[Sidney]

Haha , creating a circular movement from the top to the bottom of the tank . my cories love to swim against the current haha . if i put it as a rain bar it's quite noisy :X

[Neptune, the Mystic]

My experience with the use of a 10-hole spray directing water above the water level and adjusting its angle of hitting the water surface is that the fishes love it, contrary to what may have been written that some species prefer slow moving water.

Guppies, in particular, love to frolic under the spray, swimming against it and letting themselves be swept away with the wave only to begin all over again. It is just too 'human-like'.. wind-surfing.

Admittedly, the sound of water splashing is noisy especially in the still of the night. But it is no different from sound of a waterfall and it can be therapeutic. I wouldn't have it in the bedroom though.

[Navanod]

Thats an interesting way to position a spray bar... usually people position them horizontally (and then adjust the height accordingly), i've not seen anyone position them vertically before.

Its not as uncommon as you may think. I used to do that for my planted tank so as to create a circular waterflow from left to right instead of top to bottom. Not entirely convinced that there was any benefits eventually, but nothing really wrong either

[Sidney]

Besides the using the rainbar for aeration what other benefit does it have ?

[stormhawk]

Water circulation basically, which is a necessity to prevent "dead spots" from forming in the tank. Looking at your tank, all your need is one or two air stones. It is not overstocked from what I can see, so that's a good start.