How hot can my Ocellaris Clownfish get?

[SuperDaveA]

How hot can my Ocellaris Clownfish (I have a pair) get? My tank is starting to get up to 86/87 deg F with the summer heat kicking up (I have a 12 gallon nano). Chillers are really expensive so I was hoping to hold out thru the summer until some winter sales rolled around.

 

[ChefZilla]

Buy one asap! 87 degrees already betcha once it gets to 90 you will have fish soup. But when/if you get one. Only drop it by 2 degrees a day till you hit your desired temp.

 

[rtb388]

put 3/4 full water bottle in a freezer ... and float it to chill it asap.... or put a good fan over it... try to keep it under 82 max

look on craigslist or ebay and get a used chiller.... 1/15th tops or a 1/20th will do u fine

jbj makes great quiet small chillers like that u should be able to find for 200ish

 

[4Reefer20]

before you run out and get a chiller run a fan
cheap..$5? and will lower temps 5-10 degrees

 

[this is me]

It's very difficult to keep the temperature in check on a nano tank without having the room AC in the summer time.
Evaporation is a great way to cool water. And for that reason, fans are great and I think it would be enough to keep the temperature down. However, you have to keep your water level from dropping too much(salinity change) due to the evaporation.

 

[SuperDaveA]

Thanks for all the info! I'll see if I can rig up a fan somehow. The tank has a fully enclosed hood which makes setting up a simple fan a bit difficult. I left the little front feeder hood open this morning before I left for work to see if that will help any. Here's hoping e-bay can help me out. Craigslist hasn't been any help so far

 

[DeathWish302]

I would suggest a DIY LED lighting setup before a chiller. My nano has not budged more than 1F since I retrofitted an LED system from the previous MH. That MH made swings of 8F from night to day not uncommon. Rock solid temps now.

I might be wrong, but it sounds like your running some heavy duty lighting like MH.

 

[SuperDaveA]

There are 2 compact fluorescents in the hood (plus ballasts). 1 actinic and 1 white.

 

[cet98]

seeing as Occys should be kept in temp below 80F degrees (generally speaking 72-78F is ideal), I would suggest (as everyone else has) to quickly purchase an inexpensive clip-on fan from Walmart (or any Dollar Store) and keep the feeding lip open on your nano as to allow for heat to escape...

IMO you are already bordering a "death sentence" for you fish (and any corals)...and as this_is_me said, be sure to stay on top of your water top-offs (hopefully you have or can buy an ATO system cause this will make your life a whole lot easier in the long run)

best of luck and please be vigilant in correcting this ASAP for the benefit of your "dependents"

 

[Woogiekids]

I have the 28G JBJ, and my temp was up to 85 yesterday when I got home. Snowflakes weren't looking so good.

I did a 10G water change (it was due), and lowered the temp to 82 that way.

Today I put the lights on, but opened the entire hood to the lowest prop up setting. Hopefully that will work.

 

[cet98]

my temp was up to 85 yesterday.....I did a 10G water change (it was due), and lowered the temp to 82 that way.

IMO that is not a good way to drop your temp...temp changes need to be gradual as to eliminate further stress (on an already stressful condition for your fish/corals)
while your temp change was only a 3 degree drop (thank goodness it wasn't greater) I would still highly recommend you allow for a gradual change with the aid of a fan and/or chiller...

all the best

 

[Woogiekids]

IMO that is not a good way to drop your temp...temp changes need to be gradual as to eliminate further stress (on an already stressful condition for your fish/corals)
while your temp change was only a 3 degree drop (thank goodness it wasn't greater) I would still highly recommend you allow for a gradual change with the aid of a fan and/or chiller...

all the best

Agree, but I panicked a bit. I made sure to warm the water to the point where it would only be a 2-3 degree change.

 

[DeathWish302]

Agree, but I panicked a bit. I made sure to warm the water to the point where it would only be a 2-3 degree change.

+1,000,000 to the fan. Above 84F and your treading on thin ice, above 86F and it's only a matter of a few days (hours) before everything starts moving south. A clip-on fan may be your only hope with PC lighting...