Re: How Hot is Too Hot?

[Wright Huntley <jwwiii at pacbell_net>]

Great question, Kris.

Many of us face similar problems, and the solutions are not always trivial.

It was still 104 degrees at Bishop airport at 8 PM. yesterday. :-)

The Kris wrote:
> I'm setting up a rack with (15) 5.5's and (4) 10's.

Since that is over 900 lbs for the water, alone, I hope you have planned 
to distribute the loading over the correct part of the floor. ;-) As with 
waterbeds, consulting with a structural engineer or architect is a good 
idea, when above the ground floor.

> I have just about
> rounded up everything I need, but I'm starting to worry about the
> temperatures.  I live in a 2nd floor apartment, and the temperature
> frequently hits 80 during the hot summer days and even got to over 90
> about a month back.  Does this doom me to fail?

Not at all. My experiernce is that it restricts the species that will do 
well for you to those from hot lowlands. Chromaphyos and coastal annuals 
from Brazil are typical.

Many folks can keep fish from the Gabon highlands, like *Diapterons* and 
*jorgenscheeli* but only can breed them in the winter months. Since there 
are a lot of lowland fish that are as interesting, I finally decided to 
stick with ANN EPIs and Chromaphyos, mostly.

Fine airstones with a mist of tiny bubbles can go a long way toward 
keeping tanks cooler and - more important - oxygen saturated. More fish 
are harmed by the lowered solubility of oxygen than the heat per se. That 
usually means a reliable pump with adequate pressure to drive the wooden 
or scintered-glass airstones. You have to hunt for, or get your LFS to 
order, the right kind to get the mist-like bubbles. Regular, coarse air 
stones are good for moving the water and should be used if you can't find 
(or afford) the other kind.

Underpopulate your tanks in the summer (sell a lot at WCW and convention?) 
to keep the stress lower when it gets hot, too.

>
> All my tanks are run seperate, so a chiller is not an option.  I also
> thought I could open the lids and run a fan across the surface of the
> water, but I'd be worried about jumpers.  Any ideas?

Evaporative cooling certainly helps, but the airstone approach is the 
easiest way to get it. Open top tanks can be covered by plastic window 
screen in a frame or even the plastic canvas used for stitchery can be 
laid across smaller ones. Then, a fan is a great help. Provide good 
exhaust or the room humidity will defeat the purpose.

Reduce heating from lamps. Efficient lighting, like power-compact 
flourescents in really efficient reflectors are a great help, here. Check 
out AH Supply for the best-supported kits for retrofitting hoods or DIY 
hoods. <http://ahsupply.com/> Plants produce oxygen and I usually have 
them in all tanks for that and several other reasons. They need light to 
do the photosynthesis that releases the oxygen, so my tanks are usually 
brighter than average, but I think my fish are healthier for it.

Last, but not least, small room air conditioners are not terribly 
expensive these days. In Fremont, I used to run one that wasn't adequate 
to cool the fish room, much less the whole house. Nevertheless, it gave me 
a cool blast on a few nearby tanks that let *Diapterons* be happy in CA 
heat. It made the room more comfortable for me, and reduced the humidity 
to increase the effectiveness of the airstones. No question, it did raise 
my electric bill.

HTH

Wright

--
Wright Huntley -- 760 872-3995 -- Rt. 001 Box K36, Bishop CA 93514




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