The Puffer Forum

Hi.

my puffer tank is around 82 degrees and the snail tank thats right next to it is 75 degrees. both have a heater that is turned off. i tested both tanks when the lights were off for several hours. the snail tank has a hydrosponge and the puffs tank has the eheim.... and ideas?

With the hydro sponge you are blowing air in through a tube and losing heat, kind of like a car's radiator, plus you are getting heat release from the breaking bubbles on the top. The Eheinem is trapping the heat because it is a closed system with very little radiation area. If you're not running a brackish or marine tank you should be able to drop dome of your heat by adding an air stone or agitating the surface of the water a little with the output of the Eheinem.

Dadof4 wrote:With the hydro sponge you are blowing air in through a tube and losing heat, kind of like a car's radiator, plus you are getting heat release from the breaking bubbles on the top. The Eheinem is trapping the heat because it is a closed system with very little radiation area. If you're not running a brackish or marine tank you should be able to drop dome of your heat by adding an air stone or agitating the surface of the water a little with the output of the Eheinem.

just that causes a 7 degrees difference? i actually had a bubble disc running in the puffs tank and the temp was around the same, i remove it because it caused too many micro bubbles floating around and made the tank look dirty

One way to look at it is that you have constant surface tension breaking that releases heat from the water. Stick your hand out of a car window and see how cool the convection from moving air can be. I'm assuming the Ehinem is a canister? If so you also have the heat from the motor in the filter wit little release of that heat. Give the output on the Ehinem a chance to break the surface a little or at least get it moving and see if that makes a difference. Another thing you could do is add a fan to the system if you cant cool it down.

Dadof4 wrote:One way to look at it is that you have constant surface tension breaking that releases heat from the water. Stick your hand out of a car window and see how cool the convection from moving air can be. I'm assuming the Ehinem is a canister? If so you also have the heat from the motor in the filter wit little release of that heat. Give the output on the Ehinem a chance to break the surface a little or at least get it moving and see if that makes a difference. Another thing you could do is add a fan to the system if you cant cool it down.

im using a cpu fan and just put it on top of my tank (on top of the light diffuser). it seems to help a little. its 81 degrees right now.

82 degrees really isn't that bad. I wouldn't be too concerned. I keep some of my tanks at 82 all the time.

LilGreenPuffer wrote:82 degrees really isn't that bad. I wouldn't be too concerned. I keep some of my tanks at 82 all the time.

sounds good. i left the fan on and it actually lowered it to 76 degrees. I think what Ill do is turn it on during the day and leave it off at night and in the am

Good to here the fan deal worked.

Light can also heat the water quite a lot. During summer I always cut down on the number of hours I keep the tank lights on. Besides keeping the heat down, it also helps on the electrisity bill and reduces the algae bloom I always get in the summer.

Another method I use to control the temp in the tank during summer time: Fill clean soda bottles with water and freeze them. You can float them in the tank for periods of time to drop the temp and then re-freeze them. Works wonders.

Dadof4 wrote:Another method I use to control the temp in the tank during summer time: Fill clean soda bottles with water and freeze them. You can float them in the tank for periods of time to drop the temp and then re-freeze them. Works wonders.

I sometimes keep a gallon of top off water in the refrigerator to add it directly to the tank.

Dadof4 wrote:Another method I use to control the temp in the tank during summer time: Fill clean soda bottles with water and freeze them. You can float them in the tank for periods of time to drop the temp and then re-freeze them. Works wonders.

Wouldnt this lower the temp drastically for them?

asianpuffer wrote:

Dadof4 wrote:Another method I use to control the temp in the tank during summer time: Fill clean soda bottles with water and freeze them. You can float them in the tank for periods of time to drop the temp and then re-freeze them. Works wonders.

Wouldnt this lower the temp drastically for them?

Obviously the tank would have to be larger and watched closely. Its a good idea for a sump. I would probably only do this as a last resort. Fans are a favorite of mine. Surface agitation( good for oxygenation too)is a good way too.

Rusty wrote:

asianpuffer wrote:

Dadof4 wrote:Another method I use to control the temp in the tank during summer time: Fill clean soda bottles with water and freeze them. You can float them in the tank for periods of time to drop the temp and then re-freeze them. Works wonders.

Wouldnt this lower the temp drastically for them?

Obviously the tank would have to be larger and watched closely. Its a good idea for a sump. I would probably only do this as a last resort. Fans are a favorite of mine. Surface agitation( good for oxygenation too)is a good way too.

how did you mount your fans?

depends. Most of my lights are DIY so on some i can fit cpu type fans like yourself. Others are on shelves with lighting built into the shelving undersides, there i use those little clip on fans. other times ive setup those window fans over the tanks. It just depends o the situation. I dont have to do it to many of my tanks though as most of them are in the basement.