PlanetCatfish.com

Hi, there! I've joined this site a couple of days ago. As I mentioned on my introduction note, I don't own any aquarium currently. But, I might set up some this spring. The problem is that summer in Japan is awfully hot (the air temperature often reaches 37℃ =98 degree Fahrenheit ) and a water-cooler designed for 150 litter aquarium costs around 500 USD . An air-conditioner adds so much to the electricity bill...
I'm wondering how you guys are managing this problem. Are there any cheaper alternative ways?
Thanks!

The only way I've thought of to keep the temperature down on my Better Half's goldfish tank is partial water changes everyday. It does amazing things for water quality, as well and the fish seem to enjoy it almost as much as feeding time.

Welcome to Planet Catfish and GOOD LUCK.

Sam

I'm very glad I don't have your problem. I do have fishes which require a cold winter, and these are in a room with the window opened

But in the last 10 years, we only faced 1 or 2 days with 37 C as maximum

Water changes is indeed a good idea - may of course cost almost as much as the electric, depending on the cost of water vs. electric.

I know many people put frozen drinks bottles (such as coca cola, emptied of the drink and then filled with water, frozen in the freezer).

A DIY-cooler would be to run a pump from the tank, through a rather long hose that runs around inside a fridge (you can usually get a used but still working fridge for not so much money - people often replace their fridge when it's got a bit scuffed/broken bits of plastic inside etc, but it's still cooling and working from a basic point of view). You need to have some sort of (bypass-)valve so that you can adjust the amount of water running through the fridge, so that it's not cooling TOO much.

--
Mats

A second-hand beer cooler works fine if you can get one!

RickE wrote:A second-hand beer cooler works fine if you can get one!

You mean the "inline" ones that cool the beer as it flows from the keg to the tap, yes? That's a good idea.

--
Mats

Yes Mats, that's the one. You can often pick them up in good condition from pub refurbs.

Here's one on EBAY, sure you'll find them in Japan too.

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/MAXI-210-BEER-COO ... 45f04bd550

Thanks, everyone! I can't believe I can now get advices from all around world!

Timberwolf wrote:The only way I've thought of to keep the temperature down on my Better Half's goldfish tank is partial water changes everyday.

I hadn't thought of this . I'll try this. By the way, I'm kind of interested in moving to Seattle in the future. Can you give me some info about WA state, like how hot and cold it gets and tap water quality. Thanks

Bas Pels wrote:I'm very glad I don't have your problem. I do have fishes which require a cold winter, and these are in a room with the window opened

But in the last 10 years, we only faced 1 or 2 days with 37 C as maximum

I'm so jealous . It's much harder to cool it down than to warm it up.

MatsP wrote: I know many people put frozen drinks bottles (such as coca cola, emptied of the drink and then filled with water, frozen in the freezer).

A DIY-cooler would be to run a pump from the tank, through a rather long hose that runs around inside a fridge (you can usually get a used but still working fridge for not so much money - people often replace their fridge when it's got a bit scuffed/broken bits of plastic inside etc, but it's still cooling and working from a basic point of view). You need to have some sort of (bypass-)valve so that you can adjust the amount of water running through the fridge, so that it's not cooling TOO much.

--
Mats

I'll try the frozen bottles first and see if I can find a cheap used fridge .

RickE wrote:A second-hand beer cooler works fine if you can get one!

I've never heard of this before . I wonder if I can find one in Japan. It wouldn't be that hard to find it around the ultimate party school, San Diego State University, where I attended . Too bad Japanese don't party like a rock star !
Thanks everyone for your valuable help!
Peace!

This is what you are looking for:
http://www.rent-a-keg.ashopcommerce.co. ... ioned.html

Or something along those lines. It should cool the incoming liquid by a fair amount. Of course, just like a fridge or some such, you would need electricity to create the "cool" - but you could probably put this outside, so the extracted heat from the tank is released to the outside, rather than in the room - subject to suitable place to put it of course.

--
Mats

Too bad Japanese don't party like a rock star

you're hanging out in the wrong scene I think

I've seen some diverse rockbands from Japan the last few years and they are among the most extreme bands ever and also very very good;
they pick up where the weirdest, loudest, most experimental bands from Norway, Sweden, US or UK end and extrapolate

I've seen thousands of concerts by now (not kidding!) and Japanese rock goes straight into my top 10 of most intense live show experiences I have EVER seen

they sure know how to throw a party! also, some of these guys go completely berserk (in a friendly funny way) when you load em up to the brim on European beer

You're BAD.

cochito wrote:By the way, I'm kind of interested in moving to Seattle in the future. Can you give me some info about WA state, like how hot and cold it gets and tap water quality. Thanks

I live in Vancouver, Canada, which is about 400 km north of Seattle. It rains a LOT here, like 150+ days a year. Temperature is between -10 to +30 generally, with most of the year between 0 and 20. Very nice temperature range to live in. Can go out in shorts all year. I don't know about Seattle's tap water quality though.

Make sure that you speak up when you head this way. I doubt that I'm the only West-Coast PC member who would like to welcome you, if you move here. I'm in Eastern Washington, for now (about 4 hours from Seattle), but can't wait to get moved back to the West side of the Cascade Mountains with my tanks, horses, dogs, cats, and the rest of our Manic Menagerie!

We've been here for a year, taking care of my in-laws (getting my father-in-law through a liver transplant) and most of our friends, as well as my daughter and military commitments are in the Portland, Oregon area, so we're chomping at the bit to get re-located there.

Depending on which part of the state you're in, the water is generally heavily treated, usually with cloramines. In the Eastern part of the Washington, we are on a well that draws from the Odessa Aquifer, which is fairly heavily loaded with some form of sulphate, probably from agriculture over in the Grand Coolee area. The cities West of the Cascades generally draw from riverine watersheds, so the water, pre-treatment is pretty good stuff. The cloramines that is usually in the water is the bad news. Very few of the communities around here flouridate their water, which, I suppose, is good news. Water hardness is going to vary a lot from town to town.

Maybe you could pump water from the tank via a small pump on a thermostatic switch through a long lengh of hose coiled around in a container of ice next to the aquarium/inside the cabinet, just buy the ice in bulk and cheap and keep it topped up. Or the same principle (pump on thermostatic switch) using a fridge or cheapish cooler?

MatsP wrote:This is what you are looking for:
http://www.rent-a-keg.ashopcommerce.co. ... ioned.html

Or something along those lines. It should cool the incoming liquid by a fair amount. Of course, just like a fridge or some such, you would need electricity to create the "cool" - but you could probably put this outside, so the extracted heat from the tank is released to the outside, rather than in the room - subject to suitable place to put it of course.

--
Mats

Unfortunately, I couldn't find any like this on Japanese sites. I think I can import one of these, but I have to be careful on the voltage. The voltage here is only 100 V.
Thanks a lot !

sidguppy wrote:

Too bad Japanese don't party like a rock star

you're hanging out in the wrong scene I think

I've seen some diverse rockbands from Japan the last few years and they are among the most extreme bands ever and also very very good;
they pick up where the weirdest, loudest, most experimental bands from Norway, Sweden, US or UK end and extrapolate

You're right. I'm not that familiar with Japanese musicians, not just rock bands, though I'm from here. So, are those Japanese bands like Ramstein ?

wrasse wrote:You're BAD.

Indeed, he IS!

2wheelsx2 wrote: I live in Vancouver, Canada, which is about 400 km north of Seattle. It rains a LOT here, like 150+ days a year. Temperature is between -10 to +30 generally, with most of the year between 0 and 20. Very nice temperature range to live in. Can go out in shorts all year. I don't know about Seattle's tap water quality though.

I was thinking about moving to Vancouver first, but the BC immigration law is actually more strict (but really logical, which is really good) than American one. I mean they require me to have some kind of professional skills, which I don't have any. So, I simply envy you for being there .

Timberwolf wrote:Make sure that you speak up when you head this way. I doubt that I'm the only West-Coast PC member who would like to welcome you, if you move here. I'm in Eastern Washington, for now (about 4 hours from Seattle), but can't wait to get moved back to the West side of the Cascade Mountains with my tanks, horses, dogs, cats, and the rest of our Manic Menagerie!

We've been here for a year, taking care of my in-laws (getting my father-in-law through a liver transplant) and most of our friends, as well as my daughter and military commitments are in the Portland, Oregon area, so we're chomping at the bit to get re-located there.

Depending on which part of the state you're in, the water is generally heavily treated, usually with cloramines. In the Eastern part of the Washington, we are on a well that draws from the Odessa Aquifer, which is fairly heavily loaded with some form of sulphate, probably from agriculture over in the Grand Coolee area. The cities West of the Cascades generally draw from riverine watersheds, so the water, pre-treatment is pretty good stuff. The cloramines that is usually in the water is the bad news. Very few of the communities around here flouridate their water, which, I suppose, is good news. Water hardness is going to vary a lot from town to town.

Thank you, thank you, thank you! I lived in San Diego for 9 years, but I didn't find many aquarists there. And, the tap water was the way too hard, and I couldn't afford either a RO unit or a house (not an apartment) that allowed me to line the unite. The Pacific Northwest just seems so beautiful, though I've never been there: it looks, in a way, like Middle Earth. And, rainy places suit me better since I'm from Japan. I'll definitely contact you if I move there. I only hope I can obtain the Green Card .

whiteymoza wrote:Maybe you could pump water from the tank via a small pump on a thermostatic switch through a long lengh of hose coiled around in a container of ice next to the aquarium/inside the cabinet, just buy the ice in bulk and cheap and keep it topped up. Or the same principle (pump on thermostatic switch) using a fridge or cheapish cooler?

I'll go for the fridge or cooler rather than ice. I mean ice melts so fast here during summer ! But, the thermostatic switch is really important, huh? I surely don't want to chill my fish either .

There's a low-tech way of cooling the tank. Leave the cover off and position a fan so that it blows across the water surface. The water will be cooled somewhat by evaporation. You wouldn't want to do this all the time, obviously, but it might help during a heat wave.

Chrysichthys wrote:There's a low-tech way of cooling the tank. Leave the cover off and position a fan so that it blows across the water surface. The water will be cooled somewhat by evaporation. You wouldn't want to do this all the time, obviously, but it might help during a heat wave.

This idea works, but it works best in a low-humidity area (somewhere like Phoenix in Arizona). As I understand, the warmer parts of Japan are also quite humid - so it's 30+'C and 90+% RH, which means evaporation will be low. Of course, most of what I know about Japan comes from either reading Shogun or watching motorcycle racing on TV (the latter teaches more about the weather than the former!)

--
Mats

Of course, most of what I know about Japan comes from either reading Shogun

that used to be the case with me.
but Shogun is written by westerner and full of mistakes, let alone storyplots tht are highly unlikely to have happened in feudal Japan.

i got a real impression when I picked up a book wich sort of blew me away; it's a book written by a Japanese author and it's about a real historical samurai.

the name of that writer is Eiji Yoshikawa (吉川 英治) and the book is Musashi
I couldn't read the Japanese version ofcourse, so I got the English transltion

this book will change your way of looking at samurai or ever, I'll grant ye. definitely.

it starts the story right after the Battle of Sekigahara wich was won by the warlord Tokugawa Ieyasu. remember his name, because Shogun's Toranaga is based upon this real historical person.
the book ends after a very famous bttle with another very famous sordsman.
wich I won't tell who that was, just read the story ;)

just know that Musashi is real; he was a great sword fighter, artist, writer and teacher
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Miyamoto_Musashi

read the book. and tell your wife you're going to be absent- minded for a few days


Cochito, 2 of my alltime favourite Japanese bands wich I both have seen and lso have met in person:
Gallhammer, wich are 3 tiny girls that make a very extreme form of black metal:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gallhammer


and Boris; wich makes doom, drone and stoner
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Boris_(band)
who have the craziest funniest drummer I have ever met an also one of the best solo guitar players I have ever seen (another tiny woman, about the size of the Gibson she uses)


i've seen a few more, but these 2 top my list of alltime mindblowing intense rockbands from Japan.

Chrysichthys wrote:There's a low-tech way of cooling the tank. Leave the cover off and position a fan so that it blows across the water surface. The water will be cooled somewhat by evaporation. You wouldn't want to do this all the time, obviously, but it might help during a heat wave.

I did try that last time I had 56 litter tank, and it did work. The problem was that I had to add water to the tank everyday since the water evaporated so fast by circulating air. But still, it's by far my favorite method since it worked and didn't cost me any .
Thanks, mate!

MatsP wrote: This idea works, but it works best in a low-humidity area (somewhere like Phoenix in Arizona). As I understand, the warmer parts of Japan are also quite humid - so it's 30+'C and 90+% RH, which means evaporation will be low. Of course, most of what I know about Japan comes from either reading Shogun or watching motorcycle racing on TV (the latter teaches more about the weather than the former!)

--
Mats

You're absolutely right about humidity in Japan. It's really high during summer here and lowest during winter. Fanning worked for my tank, but it caused so much evaporation that I had to add water to the tank everyday.
You're very knowledgeable about Japan. I'm surprised !

sidguppy wrote:
i got a real impression when I picked up a book wich sort of blew me away; it's a book written by a Japanese author and it's about a real historical samurai.

the name of that writer is Eiji Yoshikawa (吉川 英治) and the book is Musashi
I couldn't read the Japanese version ofcourse, so I got the English transltion

this book will change your way of looking at samurai or ever, I'll grant ye. definitely.

it starts the story right after the Battle of Sekigahara wich was won by the warlord Tokugawa Ieyasu. remember his name, because Shogun's Toranaga is based upon this real historical person.
the book ends after a very famous bttle with another very famous sordsman.
wich I won't tell who that was, just read the story ;)

just know that Musashi is real; he was a great sword fighter, artist, writer and teacher
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Miyamoto_Musashi

read the book. and tell your wife you're going to be absent- minded for a few days

Musashi's "The Book of Five Rings" is really helpful if you're martial artist. Yoshikawa's version is, if I'm correct, really long, for he tried to be incredibly accurate. There's manga version of it called "Vagabond," which is highly acclaimed and popular in Japan.

And, your pics of Japanese rock bad are so hard core ! I go for Scorpion .
Thanks for sharing your Japanology!
Viele dank!
Tschüs!