The process of cooling water in an aquarium is as important a procedure as heating. This is especially true for the summer season, when the air is very hot. In order to cool the liquid in an artificial pond, you can resort to various methods.
What does it lead to?
In the natural habitat, fish are able to adapt to a smooth change in the temperature of the artificial reservoir. In an aquarium, these changes are much faster due to the small amount of fluid. For this reason, in summer, water requires cooling to maintain the underwater microclimate of fish and vegetation.
In summer, the indoor temperature rises rapidly, therefore, the liquid in the aquarium rapidly heats up. High temperatures in an artificial pond can lead to diseases, and sometimes to the death of underwater inhabitants. Some species of fish calmly tolerate a temperature range of 15 to 30 degrees. but up to 27 degrees is acceptable for keeping tropical fish species. If the temperature is higher than this indicator, then the fish stop eating and become inactive.
Elevated temperature adversely affects the life of snails and vegetation. For this reason, a thermometer is required to monitor the temperature in the aquarium.
Strong heating leads to some negative consequences.
- The amount of oxygen decreases, the amount of carbon dioxide increases, which does not have a beneficial effect on the health of the fish.
- Since the fish do not have regulation of body temperature, when the water is heated, the metabolic processes are accelerated. This leads to rapid wear of the body.Death can occur from the failure of any organs or from suffocation.
- Heated water contributes to the rapid decomposition of waste products from the inhabitants of the aquarium. Toxic substances are released that are equivalent to poison.
- Beneficial bacteria live in the cleaning filter. Heating water can cause death.
- Heating the liquid increases salinity, which causes various diseases in underwater inhabitants.
- In heated water, equipment intended for the aquarium fails.
By the behavior of underwater inhabitants, you can immediately determine the overheating of water. At elevated temperatures, fish rise to the upper layers of the water and try to swallow air. Overheating of the liquid leads to the fact that they become apathetic and lie at the bottom.
Cooling methods
In order to lower the temperature in the room, should turn on the air conditioner. If there is no air conditioning in the room, then you need to close the windows with curtains of dense fabric that does not allow sunlight. If the container is near the window and sunlight falls on it, you need to rearrange it in another place.
Another solution will be use of a special film that protects windows from overheating. Such a film can also be glued to the walls of the aquarium.
Can wrap the aquarium with a damp towel or a dense cloth and periodically moisten it as it dries. Thus, evaporation will occur, which will lead to cooling of the tank. You can also open the lid of the container. This will lead to the effect of evaporation, and then to cooling. To prevent the fish from jumping out, you should tighten the aquarium with gauze or a thin cloth.
In the heat, you should turn off the aquarium lights, which are a source of heat for fish.
Frequent water changes will help cool the fluid in an artificial pond. This should be done smoothly, during the day, and the water should be changed in small parts (10-15%). With a sharp change in fish, stress can occur, and beneficial bacteria will die.
Ice is used to cool the fluid in the aquarium. There are several methods for such cooling. They are presented below.
- Change the contents of the filter to ice. Thus, the water in the aquarium cools quite quickly: within 10 minutes. In this case, you need to monitor the temperature. A sharp decrease can lead to the death of mollusks and some species of fish.
- Bottles with ice. Pre-freeze the water in a plastic bottle or fill it with ice. The bottle must be placed in the aquarium. The liquid cools gradually. With this method, a decrease in the temperature indicator should also be observed. Using this method leads to the loss of the aesthetic appearance of the aquarium.
For cooling, you can turn on ordinary household fan. It is enough to direct it to the water surface of an artificial reservoir. However, in extreme heat, it is not possible to significantly cool the liquid using this method. The disadvantage of using a fan is the rapid evaporation of water.
The effect of aquarium size on water heating
If we are talking about how to cool water in an artificial pond, then the question immediately arises of how much water is being discussed. In small aquariums, the liquid heats up very quickly, but the cooling of water in the aquarium is faster. As for large options, it is very difficult to heat and cool water in such tanks.
The best option will be aquariums with a volume of 300 to 500 liters. Such a volume of liquid keeps the optimum temperature for much longer. In these aquariums, fish have the opportunity to go down to the bottom layers and there to survive the intense heat. For this reason if there is no air conditioner in the room, then these containers should be chosen.
Aeration
The aeration method is mixing water layers with oxygen bubbles. Under natural conditions, this is due to the flow of water, gusts of wind and vegetation.For aeration at home, special filters, pumps and compressors are used.
In the summer heat, aeration for the aquarium is very important. If there is a filter in the tank, then a special nozzle-tube is attached to it. The filter must be placed near the surface of the artificial reservoir. Thus, water flows will be pushed to the surface, thereby enhancing the enrichment of the liquid with air.
But it should be borne in mind that such a method can only slightly cool the water in a glass dwelling. For too hot water, the method is considered ineffective.
Modern ways
The modern cooling method is aquarium cooling system. Such a professional refrigeration system allows you to cool the water in the aquarium as much as necessary. The temperature decrease occurs safely and without sudden jumps, while the equipment allows you to monitor other parameters of the aquatic environment. The disadvantage of such equipment is its high cost.
An affordable solution is use of computer fan. It can be installed on the cover next to the lighting fixtures. This method not only helps to cool the water - due to the movement of air, the layers of water oscillate, which leads to the saturation of the liquid with oxygen.
Use of chillers such as special coolers for the aquariumhelps to significantly cool the water. Evaporation of the liquid reduces the temperature of the water in the artificial reservoir. The use of several devices is considered to be a more efficient way: one fan drives air flows, and the other draws them out.
Chiller - aquarium refrigeration unit. A kind of refrigerator works automatically, allows you to stabilize the temperature and for a long time maintains an optimal indicator. The advantage of the equipment is its silent operation. Of the minuses, the high price of the device is noted. In addition, such a model for cooling is more suitable for large tanks with a variety of fish and plants.
The optimum temperature of the liquid in the aquarium is important for the full functioning of the fish, vegetation and beneficial bacteria. In the summer, it is especially important to maintain a stable temperature and prevent overheating.
All the recommendations and methods described will help to achieve a slight cooling of the liquid. But it is worth considering that in intense heat, many methods may not work. In this case, you can use several methods at once. In this case, it is necessary to monitor the temperature indicator and prevent sudden changes.
About how and how to cool the water in the aquarium, see the next video.
