Water Temperature & Discus

[scuba guy]

It's summer in Houston. Temperature in my 500g discus aquarium have climbed to average about 87 degrees. Sometimes it can get up to 88 !

My aquarium is front facing to our bar with a room behind for servicing. The room has the lights and pumps which generate the heat. Outside temps are in the 90's during the day. I have the Halides off for the summer and use only the fluorescents. The air conditioning vent puts out cold air, but only according to the thermostat in the bar area (so it doesn't see the heat), so my Discus room is about 85 degrees. This will last until about September/October.

The Discus seem fine - even more active than usual and my one "sickly" small discus has perked up and is eating like crazy - beginning to fill out.

Is this temperature O.k. for the long term? I worry I'm frying my fish slowly.

I have lost a few of the cat fish (the heat is too much for them) and one or two Cardinals out of the hundred I have (no rummy nose loss).

When I do my water change once a week, the temperature drops to about 84 slowly and then creeps up all day long back to 87/88.

Anyone else have high temp aquarium?

[Foxfire]

Your discus will be fine IF you provide the oxygen they need. If you use an HOB this should do much of the job and the air stone may only be used at night. A canister and you should always have an air stone running.

That said, my discus (young) are always kept at 86.5 F, never lower. For treatments 90 - 92 F is fine for a week or two (but extra oxygen MUST be provided.) When they get older, I'll drop it to the 82 - 84 F range.

[Foxfire]

Missed this:
"When I do my water change once a week, the temperature drops to about 84 slowly and then creeps up all day long back to 87/88."
I don't understand how that happens unless you are adding cooler water. If that is what you are doing STOP IT NOW! Large temperature swings - especially high to low is considered very harmful. Always put in the same water temp as the tank (within +/- 0.5 F.):mad:

[Discus master]

Missed this:
"When I do my water change once a week, the temperature drops to about 84 slowly and then creeps up all day long back to 87/88."
I don't understand how that happens unless you are adding cooler water. If that is what you are doing STOP IT NOW! Large temperature swings - especially high to low is considered very harmful. Always put in the same water temp as the tank (within +/- 0.5 F.):mad:

I always get mine within a half of a degree I use a digital therm and a glass therm just to compare it with. if anything the temp I add back in my be higher by one degree, but if I am doing 40% water changes the increase by one degree is not noticable. That and I figure I would rather be a degree higher than a degree or two lower you know?

Plus if the water I add back in is only a degree higher than all I really have to do is stir the water around for a couple of minute and that cools it down a degree really quickly any ways. Just my two cents on how I do things I do these water change 40% twice a week maybe three if I think it needs it. But if it is not dirty and all my levels are in check I do not water change because I am keeping the water stable but when I do a water change I check the tank water parameters then the tap than my return water after it is treated before it goes in to make sure I am very close to the same then after I add the water back in I test the tank water again to make sure the parameters are still the same as they were when I started or very very close as I can get them so thats a total of testing water for about 4 or 5 diferent things 4 times per one water change Thats just how I do things I am not going to get burned on that thats why its only done 2 to three times max a week at 40 - 50% because I know what I need to add exactly when doing the 40 50% changes unless my tap water would change and it never does but I still have got to test it in case one day it does but still my fail safe even if I skiped the testing on the tap water is I test it before it goes in the tank anyway so thats my fail safe the water parametrs will be darn close if not exact to the watr in the tank prior to me adding it. I get the big bottels of chemicals it can get prices but my bottels are good for like 400 tests or something like that and besides it worth it or I loose time and money in my fish I have and thats more expensive plus the heart ache of loosing my fish which I am very attached to so measure twice cut one principle test and test and then test again its worth it!!

[acroken]

i have a 220 which is not in my fish room which gets pretty warm. it is a display tank in a back room. i found the temps getting up to 90 even when the outside temp was 5 deg coolers. I was using a wet dry in a sump under the tank. the heat from the submersible pumps were driving my temps up. i changed to a inline pump and problem solved. I would not worry about your tank getting up to 87 deg. just keep your water clean and lots of air. I also bought a Infrared temp meter. this is the best piece of equipment i have bought in a long time. it allowed me to see exactly where the temp was rising. http://www.aquaticeco.com/subcategories/581/Infrared-Temperature-Scanner/Infrared%20Temperature%20Scanner/0

Hope this helps

Kenny

[Discus master]

i have a 220 which is not in my fish room which gets pretty warm. it is a display tank in a back room. i found the temps getting up to 90 even when the outside temp was 5 deg coolers. I was using a wet dry in a sump under the tank. the heat from the submersible pumps were driving my temps up. i changed to a inline pump and problem solved. I would not worry about your tank getting up to 87 deg. just keep your water clean and lots of air. I also bought a Infrared temp meter. this is the best piece of equipment i have bought in a long time. it allowed me to see exactly where the temp was rising. http://www.aquaticeco.com/subcategories/581/Infrared-Temperature-Scanner/Infrared%20Temperature%20Scanner/0

Hope this helps

Kenny

cool I will have to look into that thanks

[Dkarc@Aol.com]

I wouldnt worry about it one bit. So long as there is adequate aeration in the system, they'll be fine long term.

-Ryan

[Eddie]

I wouldnt worry about it one bit. So long as there is adequate aeration in the system, they'll be fine long term.

-Ryan


Yup...what he said! :D

[scuba guy]

Actually that's not a problem - it takes about six hours for the drop to occur. And - think about the Amazon rain forest where Discus are found in shallow feeder streams. Sudden rains will deluge these streams with cold rain water (in the 50's). The cooler water injection actually helps induce the Discus (and especially Angelfish) to spawn.


Missed this:
"When I do my water change once a week, the temperature drops to about 84 slowly and then creeps up all day long back to 87/88."
I don't understand how that happens unless you are adding cooler water. If that is what you are doing STOP IT NOW! Large temperature swings - especially high to low is considered very harmful. Always put in the same water temp as the tank (within +/- 0.5 F.):mad:

[scuba guy]

Thanks Kenny! I am going to get one of those.

Also - I should have mentioned, I have a wet dry sump with a 4 foot fall. The water gets very well aerated, agitated and mixed. Lots of turbulence and bubbles induced as the water leaves the aquarium. So O2 shouldn't be a problem.


i have a 220 which is not in my fish room which gets pretty warm. it is a display tank in a back room. i found the temps getting up to 90 even when the outside temp was 5 deg coolers. I was using a wet dry in a sump under the tank. the heat from the submersible pumps were driving my temps up. i changed to a inline pump and problem solved. I would not worry about your tank getting up to 87 deg. just keep your water clean and lots of air. I also bought a Infrared temp meter. this is the best piece of equipment i have bought in a long time. it allowed me to see exactly where the temp was rising. http://www.aquaticeco.com/subcategories/581/Infrared-Temperature-Scanner/Infrared%20Temperature%20Scanner/0

Hope this helps

Kenny