The Puffer Forum

Hi all, I think I may have given up on my dreams of a seahorse tank.

I just can't keep the temps down in my setup without running an air conditioner constantly, and even then, it stays around 80 degrees which is a bit too warm for horses.

So my setup is two 29 gallon tanks, the top one is the display with live rock, some macro algae and everything is pretty well buried in hair algae at the moment *sigh*. The bottom tank is the sump, basically a fuge with a deep sand bed and chaeto. Everything has been running since early spring, with daily feedings. There are some small frags of polyps and a mushroom, but those could be moved or traded in at the store.

If I moved some of the live rock to the sump to make more swimming room, would the display 29 be big enough for a single GSP or Ceylon or is that too cramped? There's plenty of water volume, but I don't know about physical room. There are some Ceylons I've been eyeing up lately at a local store, gorgeous creatures, but I don't want them to get one and have it really be cramped.

I'm pretty sure the answer is "no" but I wanted to check to see if I'm being over cautious.. if so, I don't know what I'm going to do with this setup then...

You could buy a chiller... That works wonders... We sell em at work and they work perfectly...

I refuse to spend that much money to keep a tank at lower temps. That's just silly IMO. Otherwise I'd just blast the air conditioner all summer, it would probably use the same amount of electricity as a chiller, but it cost less to buy! Anyways, I'll adjust my intended occupants way before I'd buy a chiller for a tank this small and simple.

If I could I'd move the setup to the basement, but there isn't enough electricty down there to run another setup (boyfriend is remodeling and taking his good natured time about it), and then I would rarely see them.

What about a DIY chiller?

Well, I work long hours and there is no way I'm up for dumping loads of ice into a bucket or cooler or whatever all day. Plus the room it takes up.

A chiller is just not happening. The setup will be torn down and turned back into freshwater before that happens lol.

Time to move to a house with central air :p

Summer is almost over, if you could hold on for another month or so I would think you should be fine.

Nope.. because next summer will come and I'll have the same problem.

I'm trying to think ahead here... I even held off buying the horses so I could see just how bad temps would get, I'm glad I did.

I wouldn't keep a GSP or Ceylon in a 29. I used to have a GSP in a 30 gal long when it was a juvenile, and I don't think it was enough room.

*I repeat.. no chillers* lol

Okay, I guess I'll just keep it going as it is then, maybe I'll end up with some other fish eventually.

O, sorry, didn't see you said no chillers...