[TailorO]

it is summer here and we are going though a heat wave. all of my tanks are at about 80 degrees right now...is that too hot? should i unplug all my heaters? is there anything else i should do?

 

[Toby_H]

This depends on what species of fish you are keeping... but in general Cichlids thrive in the high 70s to low 80s... I keep my SA/CA Cichlid tanks at 80~81*F...

 

[TailorO]

one tank with mbuna and one tank with tetras, gouramis and corys...

 

[Toby_H]

Mbuna are fine well into the low 80s...

Most Tetras and Gouramis are fine up to about 80...

Some cories prefer slightly cooler, but shuold still have no problems 'surviving' the heat...

Chillers are quite expensive, I would change species before I invested in one...

For now I think your fine but it is early in the summer...

 

[F8LBITEva]

I run 80F all year long in my tanks

 

[TailorO]

ok, should be ok for now. a couple years ago i lost a bunch of guppies, plattys and tetras from the heat...don't want that to happen again

 

[Hoosier Tank]

... should i unplug all my heaters? ....

Like all thermostatically controled devises, if you have it set at 79 deg or lower and your tank is 80, it should not turn on. Of course you may have a calibration issue by a couple of degrees (set at 78 may actually be 80). Unplugging it would not help unless it is malfunctioning and still turning on above its setpoint. In that case, replace it. Actually, I think it could be more harmfull if your house cools off one night and the heater is unplugged....

 

[dwschacht]

What is the ambient temp in the house? If your house is a 74 degrees or warmer than unplug the heaters, they are wasting money. Your tanks will be a little warmer than ambient due to heat losses of the pumps in the filters and lights. @74 in the house your tanks should be no lower than 75 degrees which is fine for fish.

(Actually my fish are fine down to 70 degrees in the winter)

Say no to excess electrical usage (aka Heaters)

 

[Fish_Time]

You could also try blowing a fan across the surface of the water (tank or sump) that should help you cool off a couple of degrees on the hottest days. Another idea is to turn off your lights during the peak heat of the day.

 

[TailorO]

right now it is 10am and about 85 degrees in my house....as for the thermostat in the heaters, only one of my heaters has one that you can set at a specific degree. the other two just have a dial that reads high and low

 

[misplacedsooner]

im gonna unplug most of my heaters for the summer. i have one tank under a vent that i will keep one in and 1 tank of juvies that i need to keep around 89-90....haits, gotta love em.
mike

 

[Hoosier Tank]

right now it is 10am and about 85 degrees in my house....as for the thermostat in the heaters, only one of my heaters has one that you can set at a specific degree. the other two just have a dial that reads high and low

Thats fine, do they have LEDs that tell you they are turning "ON", if so are they?

 

[TailorO]

yeah, they do light up when they turn on. i just unplugged them all for now