Cold tank ❄

[Kriyar]

Hello, recently I purchased 5 neon tetras, two African dwarf frogs, and one female betta fish. I am fairly certain the proper temperature for this tank should be around 77 degrees Fahrenheit. Currently my tank is sitting at 71 degrees and the water even feels a little chilly to me. I read somewhere that if you don't presently have access to a tank heater, one way to make it warmer is by allowing a hot water bottle to float in the water until the temperatures level out.
(I do plan on buying a heater ASAP and if anyone has any tips on that too or recommendations for a good tank heater that would be great!)
I currently have a 20 gallon tank so I feel as though this water bottle method may take a while. Does anyone have any tips or tricks to help me out? I also would appreciate if anyone could fact check this method, or provide articles for me to read! I'm really trying to get better and provide the safest and most comfortable environment for my fishies,,,,, and froggies

 

[TwoTankAmin]

Get a heater fast is the best thing to do. I am of the opinion there are no really reliable heaters. I have had every brand i have tried fail sooner or later. Not all of them but some of them. I have 20 tanks normally and used to have 5 -8 more outside over the summer. Most have at least two heaters in them. I have likely purchased over 150 heaters since Jan 2001. The only ones that have yet to fail are the Hydor inline heaters which I use with my three canister filters. I have pile of about 10 "dead heaters" I need to put in the trash. I keep a number of spare heaters on hand.

That said we still need heaters for our tropical tanks. Water that is too cold or too hot will harm or kill fish depending upon how cool or hot. The harm is when the temps are wrong but not fatal. This will stress fish and that will impact their immune systems which will leave them wide open to all sorts of pathogens.

The nice thing about this hobby is there are a variety of ways to keep fish properly. By that I mean providing good conditions and food and doing our homework before we buy not after.

I have used some interesting methods for cooling tanks. basically they involved adding ice to cool the water. The key is the container one floats. This must be clean. The same applies to using a hot water bottle for heating. The outside must be fish safe.

Before we installed out whole house back up generator we had a power failure one cold spring day. I had a tank full of zebra plecos- expensive fish that need very warm water (I keep them about 30C/86F). I had battery powered air pumps to keep tank water oxygenated, but the water temp was dropping. My solution was to remove about 1/2 gal. of tank water to a pot from the kitchen. I then put the pot onto the gas grill outside and heated the water. When it was very hot I poured it back into the tank making sure to do this gradually and all over the surface to spread it out.

This was a solution that worked fine for the 4 or 5 hours the power was out. It is not practical for a longer period of time as it would need to be repeated every few hours or less depending on the temperature.

One other thing that might be possible, depending on your set=up. If you have the tank on a stand which only supports the perimeter of the tank and leaves the bottom glass exposed, you can use a heating pad under the tank to warm it. Again this is only a shorter term solution as you must pay close attention to the tank temp as you cannot just turn on the heating pad under the tank and walk away. That can result in a tank of boiled fish. You will have to monitor the tank temp near the bottom and turn off the heating pad to prevent it overheating things but then turn it back on to prevent a big temp. drop.

Like I said, get a heater ASAP. Almost any of the ones made by the big aquarium suppliers will be about the same in terms of how well they work and how likely they are to fail. Off brands may be more risky but will cost less.

 

[xenacanth9]

+1

 

[fishorama]

I agree with 2tank, fish can handle slow cold temp drops for at a little while. Get a heater of whatever kind you can get soon...but pay attention to your thermometer. Heaters are by far the weakest of our hobby equipments & always have been. I'm glad none of my current tanks & fish rely on them for now

 

[FreshyFresh]

I've read over years that neon tetras do best in cooler temps. ~65-70F range. People tend to keep them in much higher water temps. Problem is, your mix of fish may need warmer temps, like the betta.