My water temp is too high. :(

well you are probably right but i guess more for next time its gonna be hot all week in the MW also it does get 80s at night with like 90% humidity. im not sure why anyone voluntarily lives in the midwest, 3 months of decent weather a year is not my idea of fun

 

You say you have a fan aimed at it, how big, how close and how is it aimed?
I have great luck with the little $8 Wal Mart clip on fans tha tare like 8" diameter and two speeds. Clip it right on the tank trim and have it blow across the length of the tank so it comes into contact with the most surface area possible. Also have a powerhead rippling the surface so more water is agitated and exposed and I'll bet it drops 5-6 degrees overnight.

 

The ice bottles trick is an absolute waste of time imo.

In my experience, 2l bottles of frozen water lasts but a few mins @ 84 degrees.

I've even tried those ice packs for lunch kits as well, that didn't last more than 10 mins.

I can only recommend a fan, which in turn causes massive evaporation, but a lot cheaper than a chiller. Heat is the one problem with a tank that just annoys the hell out of me, there's no easy fix.

 

You are correct, do a quick search on the laws of thermodynamics and see how much BTU value or cooling effect melting ice has in a body of water. Not much.

 

well with vacuum lines they are flexible and i assure you, if you try you can seal your fridge and still have the line in it. No rocket science there. weather stripping on fridge is soft and flexible + soft flexible airline. don't see an issue with a seal there.

i asked him today and was told he was able to maintain a 76.8 deg in florida in the middle of summer using this technique. might be alittle on the redneck repair side of things but its been tried and works!

K+ on the clip on walmart fan technique. all i require is the same...2 clip on fans blowing across the tops. my tank stays at about 77-78 deg at the warmest

 

i never claimed it to be efficient, or that a chiller or a fan wasn't a better option. i just suggested it because it does work and it is a much better alternative to cooking your tank when you have no other options.

 

Well, it was about 80 outside when I went to bed. My current tank temp...81.1 -.- I am using a 2-speed Walmart fan, not clip on, but is aimed at the glass on high, from about 3 feet away. The ice cube trick has seemed to worked, but it is sow. Still have one more degree to go.

My fridge is 20ft away from the tank...
Oh and it is not MH's. Its 2 standard compact florescent bulbs that came with the tank kit for my FOWLR. I've been using about 6 ice cubes, every 20 min., then replacing.

I also did a WC, which seems to have helped the most, bringing it down by about 3 degrees. When I got home the water was still at 82.9. Now it is 81.1

 

I also don't see a chiller in my budget.

 

Is this a sealed all in one type tank or an open top? If it has a lid open the lid, in either case you need to point the fan at the waters surface.

 

The fans need to be blowing across the water surface...this is key. Cooling the ambient air around the tank might help some but the real cooling comes from the evaporation off the water. One little 4" fan helped drop my tank temp by a few degrees in a matter of hours