Temperatures rising

[lindsey]

Hello,
I have owned 2 Japanese firebelly newts since september. (also got new newt this week still in smaller furnished quarantine tank till I can be sure it is healthy) They are doing fine seem to be really healthy. One seemingly simple problem, It is difficult to keep the temperature of the tank down in the low seventies. The tank is a ten gallon tank, gravel substrate, with land area ( plastic rock), Filtration. I guess the problem is I live in one room so the tank is whatever temp the room is. Need a suggestion to maybe cool the tank and not me.

 

[jennifer]

There is no way to lower the temp more than a couple of degrees below the room temp. In winter, try to keep the window open when you aren't there, wear lots of sweaters when you are there. The following things will lower the tank temp by a few degrees (to a couple of degrees lower than the room temp):
Screen top instead of hood top.
Air-driven filter instead of electric-driven filter.
Tank placed at floor level instead of up on a stand.
Tank away from any sunlight.
No tank lamp, or just a flourescent light a couple of hours per day.

 

[tj]

I personally am a major beneficiary of Jennewt's core ideas on keeping the temp down.

Here are a couple more, for what they're worth:

This last summer, I spent a small fortune on clip-type mini-fans (and the cost of running them all), which managed to lower the temperature by a few degrees (more?) by sending a breeze across the water surface.

How effective this is depends, of course, partly on the surface area and the strength of the fan. Depending on the size of the room and the number of tanks, it may be cheaper to keep the aircon on...though I've yet to do my calculations!

In fact, I used a combination of the two -- aircon and fans. The electricity bill was ridiculous!

Aside from the measures pointed out by Jennewt, some people recommend freezing water in plastic containers like 1-liter Coke bottles and putting them in the tank daily to keep the temp down, but seems to me like a stop-gap measure.

Also, you could possibly buy a electric water-cooling device at a tropical fish shop, but they can cost hundreds of dollars.

I just bought some insulation materials for my tropical fish tanks to save on electricity during the winter months, and the makers suggest that using these materials (which are applied to three sides of the tank) can also be useful in summer to keep the tank cool...1) by blocking sunrays and 2) by slowing the rise in water temperature after the aircon has been switched off. By the same token, however, I would think it would tend to keep the tank hot after the aircon is turned on!

 

[john_white]

You may want to consider purchasing or building a thermoelectric water cooler. See:
http://www.tmc-ltd.co.uk/catalog/essential_equip/Teco_coolers.asp

A heat exchanger could be made from a low cost solid-state (peltier device) cooler.

 

[kai]

Peltier elements aren't too effective - I've yet to see someone using them to get a notable temperature drop (more than a few deg.).

If you really want to keep caudates which need (relatively) low temps in your living room, then insulate your tank well (i.e. several cm of styrofoam - the thin stuff isn't good enough) and use professional cooling equipment. Don't forget to insulate the front, too, or you won't be able to see much (Yago gives some hints in his thread).

However, you don't need to buy expensive hobbyist equipment. There are several good, published suggestions for including the cooling element into the tank. But make sure you know what you do - electric stuff and water is a dangerous combination. Just running filter piping through a spare fridge is the worst solution since you waste a lot of energy.

Frankly, I don't think it is wise to keep species like Cynops chinensis if you don't have a cool room (e.g. in a basement) available. Better restrict yourself to those species (like Tylototriton verrucosus, Cynops ensicauda, Pleurodeles waltl, Neurergus kaiseri

) which like living room temperatures and can get along fine even if there occasionally is a hot spell...

Best wishes,
kai

 

[aaron]

If I'm not mistaken, it is winter now. Ever think of opening your window and keeping your door shut. All you need is a few woolen blankets to keep you warm. My room gets into the 50's at night and low 60's daytime.

~Aaron

 

[jennifer]

Aaron, you are only half mistaken.

It is winter for us, but the beginning of summer now in half of the world. There are a lot of people on this forum from Australia. Admittedly, there aren't a lot of newts in Australia, or elsewhere in that hemisphere, so you're probably right with regard to advising Lindsey.

Lindsey, are you absolutely sure about what species you have? (Don't trust the pet shop.) If they really are Japanese firebellies, Cynops pyrrhogaster, they should be tolerant of temperatures in the mid 70s Fahrenheit in summer, and somewhat cooler in winter.

 

[aaron]

From what I could tell, Lindsey lives in the US, and that's why I made the winter comment.

~Aaron

 

[lindsey]

Thanks for the tips and commentary.
See, its not that the newts seem any worse for the change in temp. But everything I have read advises that they be kept in the low seventies. Been trying to crank the ac when Im not there- consequently confusing and freezing my roomate.or keeping the window open- it is winter where I live but that doesn't nessesarily mean its cold all the time, last week was still in the 80's. Going to replace the hood top with a screen and see how much of a difference that makes,and probably move the tank to the floor.
To answer your question Jennewt, I do think it's possible that I was miss informed about their species and they may not actually be japanese firebellies but maybe chinese.Im not sure. Im told the surest way to tell the difference is in the shape of the end of the tail- mine are rounded.
????