Keeping my tank cool? (Do fans work well?)

[astroaxo]

Hi everyone, it’s starting to get just a little warmer here in Australia and I’m thinking about how I can keep my axolotl tank cool. It’s only quite small (housing one axie). My room gets quite hot during summer and since my water temperature is at about 19°c now, I’m worried about summer. I’ve been looking around at how I can keep my tank cool without spending heaps on a chiller (which I think would be a bit of overkill for my small tank). I wouldn’t be able to use ice packs or frozen water bottles because I’d be at school all day and wouldn’t be able to change them. I think getting some fans to sit on top of the tank is the way to go, but I wasn’t sure how much it would cool the water, and was wondering how well they work for anyone that’s used them.
Thanks!

 

[GageOtic]

I use a small usb fan stuck to the side of my tank. I have a 20 gallon long. I have it blowing down the long side. It keeps my tank 62-68f no problem.
https://www.amazon.com/ARCTIC-Breez...e=UTF8&qid=1536812024&sr=8-3&keywords=usb+fan

 

[Hayleyy]

I got through a few aussie summers using an aquarium fan and the days that were upwards of 40 degrees I would also use ice bottles. For a small tank a chiller may be overkill, but you can also look into ice probes or shrimp chillers which are a lot cheaper. I got a chiller this year because I upgraded my tank but they are a lot of money, especially here in aus :/
A fan should drop the water a few degrees, but may not do it enough for you. How big is your tank?

 

[amc63]

I found fans to be barely useful. I use drinks bottles 2ltr frozen with treated water

 

[Emmapenguin]

Ah. Just what I was looking for. Also Aussie from Perth. My tank water is warmer than room temp????? I have a 170litre tank. Is my filter (submerged) heating it???
Also, preparing for summer, how am I going to keep a 1m long tank cool? Reduce the volume of water and maybe get an over the side filter??? Would really love all suggestions and advice. My first summer with axolotls. I have 3 ranging from 8 months to 10months. Thanks in advance!
Emma

 

[Wyvell]

I have a 120mm computer fan that I soldered to a 3 meter phone charger cable that I plug into a wall brick. the fan is mounted parallel to the water and blows down onto it. it makes a small amount of current but a large chunk of hornwort makes it almost unnoticeable. this drops the temp of my tank from 20C to 16C. the only issue is how much evaporation t causes. I lose over an inch of water a day. The other thing I do is I use an air stone to increase evaporation.

 

[Hayleyy]

Ah. Just what I was looking for. Also Aussie from Perth. My tank water is warmer than room temp????? I have a 170litre tank. Is my filter (submerged) heating it???
Also, preparing for summer, how am I going to keep a 1m long tank cool? Reduce the volume of water and maybe get an over the side filter??? Would really love all suggestions and advice. My first summer with axolotls. I have 3 ranging from 8 months to 10months. Thanks in advance!
Emma

Internal filters can raise temperatures significantly, if you're able to I would switch to a hang on back, or canister filter if your tank is large and you have more money to spend. The easiest way to reduce temp is a chiller, but they're expensive and you also need to buy a pump (or hook it into a canister filter). My tank is in my room and chillers can be noisy so I just don't run it at night, or switch to a fan. But, I would absolutely recommend it, if only for summer. I am using a Hailea branded one, and managed to get one on sale.
A fan can help but it didn't drop temps enough during summer for me. If you have air con in your house it will help. Ice bottles are good but not the best to rely on as you have to keep switching, and they can cause stressful temperature fluctuations.
I've heard people also putting foam around the tank to act as insulation to keep it cool. I haven't tried it myself but might be worth looking into.