emergency cooling help!!!

[Anteverius]

The AC in my house has stopped working.:mad2: What can I do as a temporary solution to keep my tanks cool for the next day or so until the AC gets fixed. I am gunna run the MH's a few hours less than normal (should i even run them at all), but that is my only plan so far. I have read something on here about putting a frozen water bottle in the sump. Is that legit? Also, at what temps should i be worrying about my livestock/corals?

thanks

[bridun22ajl]

you dont have to run the MH. there is not always sun on the reefs. there are cloudy or rain days. some people even report taht their tank looks better after keeping the lights off for 3 days.

[rbursek]

Agree, cut the MH, a fan blowing across the surface of tank and sump will cool by evap also, and yes frozen water jugs will work too, stay ahead fo it. I would start to worry when and if you get to 86*+ for any extended time.

[Anteverius]

yeah, I am worried, b/c the temp is at around 83-84 and the lights have been off all night. It is 85 in my house right now.:mad2:

[reefnetworth]

i have used ice in a double zip-lock bag X's 2 for safety reasons. never had a leak through 2 bags, just keep the zip-lock above the surface with a chip clip or something simular attached to the tank frame.

[michika]

I second the ice recommendation. I used to make RO/DI ice cubes and put them into bags, then if they leaked out, it wasn't a big deal.

[danceswithfish]

buy some little clip on fans from wal-mart. A couple of those might do the trick.

[downhillbiker]

ice and fans, that should do it. of course i live in oregon and fans work for me all summer.

[MUCHO REEF]

I concur with all of the above, one caveat that I would stress is watching that temp throughout the night. Though some reefs have temps as high as 87 to 88 degrees, it doesn't mean you are out of the woods if your tanks reaches those temps. Keeping in mind those corals are fully acclimated and well adapted to those temps, your tank isn't. The clip on fans work well and I would advise one on each end and monitor the cool down to prevent a rapid drop during the evening which could happen. Those fans usually have a high and a low setting. If there's a cool down, you may want to set them on the low setting and monitor it. It appears that you reside in Florida and depending on how the temp my change during the night, you could very well cool the tank too fast if you are using frozen ice in the zip locks. Any intentional temp changes, and I'm sure you are aware already, should be done gradually. With the increase in evaporative cooling due to the added fans, I would also closely monitor the salinity. Hyper and hyposalinity can also cause bleaching and mortality.

BTW, what is your normal tank temp?

Much luck my friend.

Mucho Reef

[Anteverius]

normal temp stays b/t 78-80 and it seems to be staying aroung 84 today. i will keep up with the ice to try and keep it there.

[greenmark]

My AC went down last summer 90+ temp for about 3 days and I had no problem with anything dieing. If its off for a week or more i'd worry then.