• You are viewing the forum as a Guest, please login (you can use your Facebook, Twitter, Google or Microsoft account to login) or register using this link: Log in or Sign Up

Freezer Blocks

BarryH

BarryH

Member
Joined
25 Feb 2017
Messages
608
Location
Derbyshire
Is it safe to use the freezer blocks you get for cool boxes in an aquarium?

Although the downstairs tanks are managing to stay reasonably cool, I have a couple of small shrimp tanks upstairs that are getting quite warm. At the minute I'm using ice cubes inside a sealable plastic bag to help try and keep the water temperatures down. I thought the freezer blocks would stay colder for a longer period.

Any help or advice would be greatly appreciated.
 
BarryH said:
Is it safe to use the freezer blocks you get for cool boxes in an aquarium?

Although the downstairs tanks are managing to stay reasonably cool, I have a couple of small shrimp tanks upstairs that are getting quite warm. At the minute I'm using ice cubes inside a sealable plastic bag to help try and keep the water temperatures down. I thought the freezer blocks would stay colder for a longer period.

Any help or advice would be greatly appreciated.
Click to expand...

They should be fine as long as they are clean, and don't leak. I would put them in the same sealable bag you are putting the ice in.

I didn't find them very effective though, nor the ice I added - a fan blowing over the water surface seems to be much more effective, and is able to bring my temps down a good 4 degrees + below ambient, though I do get more evaporation as a result ofcourse.
 
I’ve been using freezer blocks, as well as frozen bottles, either floated directly in the tank or placed into the bucket of water that my canister filter is sitting in. Floating directly in the tank gives a much more rapid response, of course, which is something to bear in mind - for my small 25 litre tank it’s a little too fast, but for a larger tank it would be fine.
 
I do things a little differently and don't really worry about a slightly raised temperature. My pencilfish/shrimp tank has a heater set for 22c and the tank reached 29 over the last few days but it's done so slowly and stayed there (south/west facing tank that gets lots of direct sunlight that the fish love). I think it's far better to keep some stability with temperatures, rather than a constant fluctuation, but it does depend on what you are keeping. I know these inhabitants are fine as it's been setup for 8 years but my point is often a slightly higher temperature isn't as big a deal as we think and just mimics more natural conditions. With shrimp you don't want a high temperature but if you can keep the tank a few degrees above normal then I wouldn't worry because our weather will soon change and the temperature will slowly drop again on its own.

If you need to reduce temperature then either a cooler partial water change or a fan to increase evaporation are the best ways to go ime.
 
When I was in the shop we had a flat roof and three outside walls so it was always baking in the summer. I tried frozen ro ice blocks to try and reduce the temperatures but found you needed far more than you thought to make a difference.
 
Wolf6 said:
Isnt it safer to just fill an empty bottle with water, put that in the freezer till frozen and then have that float around?
Click to expand...
The thinking behind the freezer blocks is that the liquid in them stays colder for quite a bit longer. The ice cubes in a plastic bag do not last very long at all.
 
BarryH said:
The thinking behind the freezer blocks is that the liquid in them stays colder for quite a bit longer. The ice cubes in a plastic bag do not last very long at all.
Click to expand...
True, but I've had leaking freezer blocks a few times, I just wouldnt trust them in my tank unless you are 100% certain that cant be the case :) But I think its also a matter of volume, and a frozen water bottle has more volume to cool with. Icecubes are so small it wouldnt make a dent unless the tank is a nano.
 
Finally starting to see the temperature come down after a combination of cooler weather and a fan blowing across the surface of the water. I have for the short term removed the glass lid and I think this has helped too.

The tank upstairs has 12 Blue Dream shrimp in it and now the temperature is somewhere nearer to normal, I have actually seen all 12 together, the first time since I put them in there a few weeks ago.
 
I've used freezer blocks before but always sealed them in a bag as wookii says above, just to make it extra safe.
 
I personally have been using an air cooler in the rooms where my tanks are located and filling that with ice and the ice blocks as have found in my personal experience all a fan does is move the warm air around and not cool anything and bonus is it helps keep me and the room cooler
 
Agree with mort big temp fluctuations are what you want to avoid. The temperature of the tropics varies seasonal. I always have the heater on no matter what the temperature outside to avoid a sudden drop
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top