You might have noticed the fish in the ocean go deep down during the day and come back out when the temperature lowers down a bit.
Have you ever researched the reason behind this?
It means it has obtained the opportunity to prevent itself from burning the gills during the hot summer heat. But when it comes to the home aquarium, the stance is a little challenging to maintain. Your aquarium fish may have five to ten feet only. But oceans are thousands of meters deep.
There are so many ways you can prevent the heating up of home aquarium water or fish tank. We will get to it soon. But first, let’s learn how you would know the water is hot, summer hot, and unbearable for the divine creatures.
Deeper the water, the colder the ambiance
You can never make a fish happy, but let me let you into a secret if you insist.
Make it thrive, not survive.
How Fish React to Changes in Water Temperature
During hot summers, the water starts to evaporate. This evaporation will cause your pet fish to swim actively, but with active swimming comes a drawback.
Keep in mind that saltwater has less oxygen than freshwater. It becomes challenging for your pet fish to breathe, and it starts to move gills rapidly. If you see the aquarium fish swimming swiftly and cannot check the water because of the hood cover and no thermometer, this sign will tell you.
The aquarium fish‘s metabolism slows down. It becomes difficult for them to excrete out. Warm temperature also means the growth of algae. Setting the ambiance between 26 to 32 degrees is enough for the livelihood of the pet fish.
Signs of Stressed Fish during Hot Weather
The raised temperature is a challenge for survival for these invertebrates. If you see your aquarium fish touching the top of the water surface, coral or reef retracting tentacles, it means the ambiance is becoming unbearable for the poor souls.
Another sign is the cloudy aquarium. Just like hot water coming out of the shower, hot weather inside the fish tank is almost the same. You will see growing algae and fish’s rapid movement.
Not only the cloudy atmosphere but also if you see the fish hiding and scrapping against a rock, the stressed fish is looking for a way out. There is also a loss of appetite in aquarium fish just because of hot fish tank weather.
A stressed fish is a biased fish
It would help if you started finding ways before it is too late since the fish is a moody creature and might cost you many bucks to renew the broken compass.
How to Keep an Aquarium Cool in the Summer
There are numerous ways to cool down the aquarium in the summer heat. But before we dig into that, keep in mind that before taking any preventive measures regarding this problem, check the location first. If your fish aquarium is somewhere near the window, there is almost nothing you can do to save your fish water temperature from direct sunlight.
Fish may love getting out, like jumping, but only if the temperature is fluctuation-free. It also means that the criteria of following natural ambiance and maintaining it in the aquarium to make the fishes feel at home are necessary.
Here are a few measures you can take to keep an aquarium cool in summer,
Avoid Issues with Overheating
Overheating means the thermostat might have broken down or worked way past the credible hours. As we all know, your pet fish’s body requires a specific temperature to settle down. So make sure the ambiance benefits the fish accordingly. When not needed, turn off the heater and turn on the chiller for some time so that water gets cold too.
Decreasing Lighting
The lightening can from a bulb placed above the aquarium, direct sunlight, or lights inside the tank. If there is an immediate sunlight issue, start putting blinds on the outside of the aquarium. Otherwise, turn off the light above the tank. Your pet fish needs to breathe as well as the photosynthetic corals and reefs.
If you have fitted corals and other amenities, turn on the lights accordingly. It requires special attention, so stay updated about how much time it takes to cool down the aquarium water and check frequently.
Cooling Fans
Put up ordinary fans on top of the water.
In other words, take off the bulb and put on the cooling fan.
Remember, not all fans are for aquariums. So consult someone with enough experience and knowledge before buying one.
The fans also increase the evaporation rate, producing more oxygen. However, the preventive measure is economical but requires immense attention from the owner. The attentiveness will help intercept perception about maintaining moderate temperatures.
Water Bottle
The water bottle kept inside the live aquarium for a sufficient time will help take out all the heat and cool down the water. But, do not put ice cubes inside. This misconception about placing frozen bottles and ice cubes together to cool down the water is generously wrong and lowers the fish’s lifespan.
Warm water has easy oxygen break down. But cold water has a low amount of oxygen. If you immediately place the cold water in hot, it may have various side effects too.
Keep the Room Cool
Wherever you locate the aquarium, keep the surroundings cool too. You can install chillers, or fans above it, as mentioned above. Otherwise, you can find a place in the basement, which is comparatively cooler than other parts of the house. Along with this, you can minimize the challenging part by investing in a standing cooler.
Open the Aquarium Hood
Sometimes no matter what you do, the aquarium keeps heating up because the heated molecules aren’t getting out. The formations inside heat the live aquarium harm the nature of the surroundings. You can avoid this by opening the hood of the home aquarium.
It will help the fishes to breathe in and out, evaporating the molecules. Along with this, it will also allow the heat to go out, avoiding fluctuations and standardizing the temperature instantly.
Use the Filter
Filter installed externally for the cooling of the aquarium can give various benefits for the aquarium fish. The first one is you don’t need to keep a complete check on the fish tank. Update every four hours is enough.
Secondly, these filters are much more reliable than fans since the water does not evaporate in this case. Not only this, a cleaning required after every three to six months can prolong your investment plan.
Install a Chiller
The most expensive yet effective way of cooling down the aquarium in summers is installing a chiller near it.
Conclusion
Cooling a fish aquarium in the heat of the summers can be challenging. But, remember, it takes a life to save a life. Providing moderate temperatures is your sore responsibility, and nobody can do this besides you. Make your fish happy to make your fish tank thrive.
