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hey guys,lately where i live the weather has been warming up fast.
just over the last week,we have had over 3 days that hit 40 degress,and 2morro is going to be 38-41!
now what worries me is my 55gal,mixed cichlid tank in the spare room,now this is the only room that does not have a air conditioner in it,and today the tank temp hit 31.when i put my hand in it was like a warm bath,i dont even have my showers that warm,!
anyway whats the max b4 its time to start getting the temp down.
normall this tank is always 26.5 degress!
but over the past few weeks,it hasnt fallen below 28,even at night!
with the hot weather its just not getting a break to cool back down.
i have 2 2 liter coke bottles full of water that i froze yesterday,do yous think i should start putting them in,
i also have those frozen packs that you put in luchboxes to keep drinks/food cool,i could use them too.
it didnt seem to bother my fish,i think untill today they seemed a bit lethargic,and they didnt eat as much as they normally do.
what dp you guys think?

I'd try floating them around midday if you are home, one at a time. They don't really do much to drop the temp, but they do stop it climbing.I've never had them cause such a dramatic shift that it adversely affected the fish.

Don't use the ice packs for lunches, if they leak you'll have a bigger problem.

It is quite bad this year, I've had to reshuffle all the tropical stuff to the outdoor tanks and bring the rest inside where the a/c is. Even then it still climbs rather alarmingly.

Hotter water doesn't hold as much O2, so increasing the surface agitation a little could help with both temperature and oxygen levels.

For animals, the entire universe has been neatly divided into things to (a) mate with, (b) eat, (c) run away from, and (d) rocks. - Terry Pratchett

Lethargy and eating less make sense with decreased metabolism that would come from lower temperatures. I wouldn't be worried.

Some people have a fan blow across the surface; this is sometimes used by all those rich marine fishkeepers who have hot lights. The increased surface agitation will allow for the water to cool a little, but it will also increase evaporation so make sure you keep pace.

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or u could go get a chiller that some people get for native fish or cold water fish.... they are pricy if u can find them.

i mite throw the 2 liter bottles in there.i have plenty of air pumping in ,and good surface movement.but yeah i was just a bit concerned.;.

Can you completely remove all the top coverings and leave it open and let the heat escape?
What ever you do dont cover it with Shade Cloth some of then reflect the heat back and can make it worse.
Floating 2lt frozen bottles helps a lot, Plenty of air movement also helps. Also a fan in the room can cook it down a little especially if it is directed towards the tank.

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ok i got a fan and placed it in front of the tank blowing in that direction!
ive taken the lids off,and i have put in the frozen bottles of water into the tank.
today is the first day that hasnt been stinkin hot,
so the tank temp has come back down(finally)!
its sitting at 28 degrees,i just hope that these temp swings dont bother/harm my fish!