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Post by eve on Apr 1, 2009 12:25:05 GMT -5
 feel free to ask any and all q's tell us a bit about yourself as well and the fish you keep/plan on keeping 
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Post by Suzie Q (Lori) on Apr 1, 2009 12:46:45 GMT -5
Welcome chefmg!!!
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Post by Carl on Apr 1, 2009 13:00:47 GMT -5
Welcome to EA!! Please feel free to post question, answers, or simply browse around.  Carl |
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chefmg
New Member
chefmg
Posts: 8
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Post by chefmg on Apr 1, 2009 13:01:38 GMT -5
Thanx ,,, and I must shout out a big thanx to all !!! this site and its forums are so informative and are such a big help !!! Carl you the MAN !!! The knowledge gained here is priceless , and you can count on a donation by me !!! I have not had a tank up for about 15 years ,,, and so many advancements ... In my past I mainly kept various Cichlids , Plats , etc ... I had never dealt with live plant's , But since I am semi retired and have more time to devote ,,, I am gonna give it a try this time around ... Also want to try a speices tank this time around ... Thanx again to all , I'm sure I will post a question or two along the way ,,, In the past I lived in Pa. and now I'm in Fl. never had to worry about temps to much up there ,,, just made sure I had good heaters ... Now I am concerned of the oppisite down here and trying to figure out if I will need to invest in a chiller for my speices tank ... I have two 30 gal and one has cycled and I got a school of tiger barbs in there now ,,, Waiting for the other to cycle , and monitor the temps in the summer months ahead ,,, even with my ac keeping an avg 72* I see my tanks avg 76* to 78 * and I am curious what they will be come July / August . I do not want to cook anybody lol ! and I'm in no rush ... A Great Day to all ...
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Post by murdock6701 on Apr 1, 2009 16:06:54 GMT -5
welcome aboard chefmg! you have definitely come to the right place - am impressed that you took the time to read over some of the material and information available on this site - you will also find us helpful and friendly! we're a pretty nice little family here - anyway, enough bragging about us! 1st of all, do you have well water or city water? important not here regarding your reference to investing in a chiller! 76-78 degrees is pretty much ideal - I live in northern Mich and we have a well so I deal right from the tap w/ no alterations to the pH - if you're fortunate enough to have this luxury, you don't need a chiller - frozen plastic water bottles solve that problem on a gradual basis so you don't get the dramatic temp swings without having to pay for a chiller - if not, Carl has chillers I believe - you could find out for sure by going to the American Aquariums Site listed above - being in Florida, you will also have access to SA cichlids which IMO are just gorgeous! we also have a member or 2 down your way who will be more than helpful in letting you know who has the best quality fish around - there's even a spot on the forum page for finding that out! enough rambling - glad to have you w/ us!
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Post by bikeguy33 on Apr 1, 2009 19:03:32 GMT -5
welcome chef....if you can keep your water at 72....there are a lot of africans etc that will thrive there....just choose according to the water at hand....unless you had your peeper on a specific breed?
you said you had a cycled tank....anything in it yet?
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Post by Carl on Apr 1, 2009 20:31:17 GMT -5
Thanx ,,, and I must shout out a big thanx to all !!! this site and its forums are so informative and are such a big help !!! Carl you the MAN !!! The knowledge gained here is priceless. Thanks for the very nice compliment, and this can go to all here who help with EA and our family of sites, information articles Carl |
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Post by kagome on Apr 1, 2009 23:24:53 GMT -5
Welcome to Everything Aquatic!
I also live in Florida, outside of Pensacola. I can understand your concern about the temp in your tanks. As long as you have A/C running in your house then you should not need a chiller. The best advice that I can give you is to invest in a high quality heater and to make sure that you have adequate flow in your tank. Just to give you an example, I have two tanks, one is a 10g one is a 38g. In the 38g I have a much higher quality heater that turns itself on and off based on the actual temp in the tank. In the 10g I have a heater that turns itself on and off at intervals that are determined by the setting and not the actual temp. This means that I have to check the temp in the 10g every day without fail and adjust it a few times a week, it's a real pain in the butt sometimes. In the 38g, every time I look at the thermometer it always says the same thing, 76 degrees. I set the heater once when I set up the tank and I haven't had to fiddle with it since, whether it's 40 degrees outside or 100. The better heaters are a bit more expensive, but they are worth the money. Also, having enough flow, and putting the heater in the path of that flow, will ensure that all parts of your tank are at an even temperature. I would also suggest picking up a floating thermometer and not relying on the stick on kind. The stick on kind wear out after a while without you being able to tell and then you have no idea what your actual temperature is. I've also found that floating thermometers are more accurate overall. In the summer make sure that you check the temp of the water coming out of your cold tap. I have to add ice to buckets of water in the summer to lower the temp a few degrees because the water straight out of tap is actually warmer than the water in the tanks! I'm sorry to throw so much at you all at once, but I hope you find it helpful. Once again, welcome to EA!
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chefmg
New Member
chefmg
Posts: 8
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Post by chefmg on Apr 2, 2009 10:14:30 GMT -5
loaches rule! Thanx so much for taking the time to share your first hand knowledge !!! great advice that I will put to use ... Thanx again , and you have a great day !!! chef  |
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chefmg
New Member
chefmg
Posts: 8
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Post by chefmg on Apr 2, 2009 10:23:24 GMT -5
Thanx EVERYONE !!! For the warm welcome & sharing insight and some great ideas in reguards to my tank temp concerns ... A Great Day To All !!! Chef |
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Post by goldenpuon on Apr 2, 2009 15:14:04 GMT -5
Welcome Chefmg! I wish I could give you more info on a chiller but I have never had this problem. Living in Michigan, I have more problems with cold than heat.
I know chillers are very expensive. Unless you have enough to get one, it would probably be simpler to use a different method. Of course I am no expert. I know a few simple methods to cool a tank. One of them being melting small amounts of ice cubes to cool a tank. And another setting your heater lower (making sure there aren't any major temperature swings of course since that would be hard on the fish). Also, if the temperature of the house is pretty cool, your tank won't heat up as much.
That's my 2 cents. Hope I was of some help
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