Fishkeeping
Written by Tuesday, 07 May 2002 01:00
Greece is definitely a place where summers can get very hot. Very hot for humans but also very hot for your fish, too. Since, probably, Greece is not the only country with this specific problem, hobbyists around the world may find some of the ideas and pictures included in this article useful. The article Keeping Temperature Under Control gives the theoretical background and the hints and tips on what to do. Here I will just show what I do while preparing to face temperatures as high as 41oC (106oF), when the water very easily will reach a temperature of 33oC (91oF) in less than a day. Yes, I didn't mention that I am referring to my 1300 liter tank. I will not report the temperatures I observed in smaller tanks, really terrifying figures. Its good fish can't read! However you can read and when you see the 28oC in your thermometer you know its time for changing your tank's clothes. Of course this brings the days of actually enjoying my fish down to 364 per year but.. a man has to do what a man has to do.
What I do every May is to change my tank's clothes from winter to summer fashion. During the winter, the heaters are on and, in order to preserve the heat (and somewhat reduce the electricity bill) all my tanks are covered with glass to eliminate evaporation. In summer, I have to reverse the procedures. First I unplug all heaters and plug in the tank ventilators. Secondly, I dedicate a whole day in removing the glass from the top of the tanks. I didn't say its easy or safe - glass breaks easily (too easily for my taste anyway) and you need to really be the muscular type of guy (which I am not!) to remove it when it is clearly stuck in place with kilos of salts everywhere.. The glass will have to be stored vertically, preferably behind a steady object to be protected (yes, I can even break them on the ground). I have taken some photos (at least this time there was some joy in this procedure) so I will add my comments under each of them.
This is not a picture of my safe, it is the top of the 1300 liter tank. As you can see, it is accessible from both sides (the handles are visible) can be opened half way (either way) and, of course can be totally removed, which is the step you don't want to make - but you have to !
When the covers are removed you can see the interior of the tank. As you can see, the ventilators (four of them) are at the other side of the tank (mounted on the wall). The lamps (120 cm fluorescent tubes) are covered with aluminum foil (self-made reflectors, also heat reflectors) and are placed in the middle axis of the tank. All this sounds very interesting but it is the things below the lamps that we have to remove now. Those glass plates have stayed there for the whole winter, I add too many salts in the tank therefore those plates are usually stuck. If I find one which is not stuck, I check around to see what is wrong with it. What's more, there are more than 20 tubes installed on this tank, although only 6 of them are currently in use. The rest are a remainder of the first days of the tank when it was still planted. Removing the plates while holding the lamps with one hand is a pretty tough job.
Assuming I still have 10 fingers, this is how the tank looks now. The lamps have been placed at the edges of the tank (the aluminum foil is still covering them) while the four fans have been turned on. If the temperature remains high for more than a couple of days, the air pump is also turned on for the whole day, while one more water pump comes into service (an additional 3500 liters / hour). At this moment the tank is served by two pumps (3500 liters each) which provide sufficient surface movement (for water temperatures up to 30oC). They may be sufficient for higher temperatures, too, but I don't want to take this risk. The lighting cycle is also reduced to a mere 4 hours per day while the covers are opened half way or even totally removed (as in the picture) to allow for the maximum evaporation.
This is the 500 liter tank in its winter clothing. The principles are the same and the lamps are also placed below the wooden canopy, on glass plates, covered with aluminum foil. The only difference in this tank is that the wooden covers will not open half-way so they have to be totally removed when the temperature is very high. Another difference is that this tank has 8 fluorescent tubes installed (120 cm each) therefore the heat generated by the tubes is a considerable factor. In summer the duration of the light cycle is not changed (the tank is planted) but half the tubes are disconnected, while the glasses and the wooden covers are removed. The heat controller (front right) is of course disabled. This tank is filtered by two external and six internal filters (1000 lt/hour each one) so water agitation is always enough. Extra care is taken during the summer months to ensure that the filters are running properly since they are very often clogged by leaves. The little sticker below the heater controller shows the pH, KH and GH of the water as measured 8 hours after the previous water change (usually every Saturday). When the photo was taken (May 2001) the relevant values were pH=8.49, KH=17 and GH=12.
Finally, this is the tank in its summer dressing. The aluminum foils have been removed from the tubes since the heat generated by 8 tubes is too much to be blocked there. At the other end of the tank you can see the two ventilators which come in service during this period. An air condition unit is placed directly over the tank (it was placed there long before the tank!!) which comes in very handy when excessive temperatures occur. If the temperature of the water gets over the 31oC mark, massive daily water changes (>50%) are also performed.
Your comments:
Marina Parha (UK): It is definitely a job and a half to have to remove glass lids and store them safely for any length of time. To avoid this my tanks have sliding glass lids. This gives me the option to keep them closed or open (which allows for better control of the aeration of the tank all year round). Open lids do present a problem for catfish lovers though: L-code catfish have a tendency to get out of the tank for a variety of reasons, e.g. when they are persistently chased by a tankmate, when it is too hot and so on. Stories of L-code catfish coming out of the tank at night prowling around adjacent tanks are not uncommon either (particularly for larger or unsettled catfish). To avoid this I keep the glass lids open but cover them with egg crate covers:
In the case of big quarrelsome catfish I use a heavy-ish stone or piece of slate to secure the cover in place. It will not keep a big catfish in if it is determined to get out, but will most certainly deter anybody who is just looking for fun, an easy way out of a fight, or is just plainly careless.
Photos by the author except where indicated otherwise.
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