Is chiller necessary for my plants?shrimps and sae dying.

[zarkre]

Hi all, been wanting to have a lush aquascape of x'mas moss and hair grass but was told that these plants require a rather cool temperature in order to flourish.

My current 2ft tank has a fan installed to bring down the temperature to about 28 degrees during the day when my lights are on,but when it is off for the night,the temperature would usually soar to about 31 degrees the next morning.
With my current range of temperature, would it be advisable to get a chiller instead to keep the temperature constant at around 25-26 degrees.i have no xmas moss or hair grass in my tank now, only blyxa japonica, e.tenellus and eusteralis stellata.

Besides my malayan shrimps and yamatoes haven't been able to survive more than a couple of days, could my temperature be a source of concern?
I have a DIY CO2 reactor without any regulator. My SAEs have been perishing too, could the excessive CO2 during the night be a cause for their demise?

On the other hand, i have 12 rummy nose and 2 angels that are doing well. So how issit that a SAE commonly regarded as an 'easy'fish be so vulnerable in my tank?

[renrub]

maybe u can try leaving the fan on for 24hrs

I'm doing that and my temperature ranges between 25-27 degrees. Hope it helps

[xxdivinityxx]

Are your rummy noses looking good? Their nose's deep red or very faded?
I seriously suspect its ur CO2? My tank's temp is exactly the same as yours, everything's doing pretty well!

[kadios]

IMO, fans should be able to bring down the temp to below 30 degree celsius. I have grown my hairgrass and xmas moss at this temp range for the past year. Unless you are talking about huge tanks like 5 ft and above, a chiller is most likely indispensable due to the high wattage of lights used. The addition of more fans or usage of a more powerful fan should suffice. Afterall, plants are able to adapt to its surroundings given the right conditions and time.

Cheers!

[neon]

Recently I have put in a DC fan and my tank 36" x 18" x 18" used to be 28-29.5 deg c , now drops to 25 over night on cold day, 26 overnight on hot day.

Problem I had to keep the temp of water at a constant temperature so that the fishes won't be stressed by the up-and down temp. I noticed that if the temperature drop below 26 deg c , my black tetra are started turning white/pale, and lose their black stripe. If I off the fan the temp starts to go up to 26.5, their color are back to normal and they become very lively again.

Is there any thermostat / temperature control circuit (not chiller), for controller any device like a fan. If the temp rises to a set temp, the circuit will activate , assuming a fan is connected to it and the fan will start cooling the tank. Once it reaches certain low temp, it will cut the power again.

[theodore]

neon,

Are you running your fans 24hrs? If so, try connecting them to the timer you are using for your lights.

zarkre,

Is your light-hood enclosed or open? How many fans (specify type as well) are you using? Is your room well-ventilated?

DIY CO2 is unlikely to be efficient enough to cause CO2 poisoning (you need >3 bubbles per sec with a good reactor for a 2ft tank).

[sherchoo]

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On 10/13/2003 10:15:43 AM

Is there any thermostat / temperature control circuit (not chiller), for controller any device like a fan. If the temp rises to a set temp, the circuit will activate , assuming a fan is connected to it and the fan will start cooling the tank. Once it reaches certain low temp, it will cut the power again.


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Neon,
Yes, You can easily source for such a thermostat at Sim Lim Tower. Price not too sure. Get one that can measure liquid.

[sherchoo]

Zarkre,
A chiller is not the only answer to growing moss. If you can achieve 28deg C during lights on period you'll be able to get even a lower temp during lightsoff period. Just leave the fan on 24/7. I'm sure there no harm to your plants or your fishes.

I really don't know why your fish and shrimps are dying. Maybe you can tell us more like your pH, kH, NO3, NO2 etc. A good guide would be this questionaire.

Good Luck!

[tawauboy]

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My current 2ft tank has a fan installed to bring down the temperature to about 28 degrees during the day when my lights are on,but when it is off for the night,the temperature would usually soar to about 31 degrees the next morning.
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what equipment do you have in your tank?
is there any heat source near your tank?
during the night, your tank temperature should not soar to 31 deg c as the ambient air temperature should be around 27-28 deg c.

[zarkre]

Basically there are no other heat sources except for my 55w pl light,i'm using a canister filter. With the fan on,temperature is bearable,ranging from 27-28degrees.The reason why the night temperature soared is because my living rm gets pretty stuffy during the night as the windows are closed and my installed fan is switched off. i started my present 2ft tank about 2months back,however the gravel and canister are couple of years old. As mentioned before, my rummies and angels are doing well but my shrimps, saes and otos have been perishing. Could their death be attributed to my gravel? Could it be bacteria infested...just a wild guess.
By the way,i've got a new problem,got a pair of apistogramma caca. from eco culture yesterday(donated my marble angels to a lfs to grant sovereign status to my new inhabitants)this pair of cacas seem to be rather reclusive and as a result not really eating my tetra bits.Or do i have to adhere by the recommended diet of bloodworms,brine shrimps,sliced beefheart,letteuce and stuff like that? or should i just force feed them my usual tetra bits given to my rummies?