Cooling a terrarium?

[numpty]

Hi there,

Just wondering if anyone had any practical, and affordable, ideas on how to cool a terrarium/aquarium by a few degrees. I've been thinking of keeping frogs or newts for a while now, but it just isn't feasible for me in my current situation ... summer temperatures in my apartment are just too high. I've looked at misting systems, but they're pretty expensive here, even for systems running from the tap. From a reservoir it's really expensive, and I'm not convinced evaporative cooling would work so great when the ambient temperatures and humidity are so high anyway.

I have the same problems with the temperate carnivorous plants that I grow, but at least I can stick some of them in an ice-cooler at night for a break from the heat!

Thanks for any ideas!

[Mentat]

If you can't cool the tanks by cooling the room they are in, there are options, but none that I know to be affordable. A PC fan could be adapted to enclosure but that would have a small overall effect. If you are looking at bringing the temp of one or more enclosures by 10F or more, it's going to cost $$$ .

[Louis Charles Bruckner]

I have used Petlier ( a solid state heat pump.) devices to cool aquariums but had to deal with condensation.

Sorry but with high humidity and high temps you only solution is $$$
you will have to cool the room or at least de humidify and use a evaporative cooling system.
It would be more cost effective to get a small air conditioner for the room.

[numpty]

Thanks guys,

That's pretty much what I thought. I'd wondered about trying a peltier cooler or some other kind of modding fix, but from what I understand it's only effective up to a point and I'd need to try to cool the air by close to 10 degrees Celsius in mid-summer. The missus wouldn't be too happy about running the A/C 24-7, especially as we're both out for most of the day.

Oh well, there are always the wild frogs out in the hills ...

[Louis Charles Bruckner]

Well the only heps I know of that don't like temps above high 70's to low 80's are toads.

Most frogs are tropical and don't mind temps 85F to 90F for day time.
But if you kept the the temps around 80 and the AC would dehumidify and that would help the most.

I have no idea the kind of temps in your area.
I looked at the weather in Taipei and the highs have been in the low 90's
So keeping the AC to the low 80's shouldn't cost too much.

[numpty]

Well the only heps I know of that don't like temps above high 70's to low 80's are toads.

Most frogs are tropical and don't mind temps 85F to 90F for day time.
But if you kept the the temps around 80 and the AC would dehumidify and that would help the most.

I have no idea the kind of temps in your area.
I looked at the weather in Taipei and the highs have been in the low 90's
So keeping the AC to the low 80's shouldn't cost too much.

Hi, and thanks for the input!

You're right, temps have been in the ( ... digs out calculator to convert degrees F to C and back again ... ) low 90s F, but it's a rooftop apartment and catches full sun, and so acts like a brick oven ... heats up all day and throws it back all night. Without A/C, the temperature can get up to >40C / >>100F.

But your advice is well-taken. Maybe I'll look into heat-tolerant species, and also work out exactly how much the A/C costs.

[DartEd]

There are ways to reduce the increased heat from the lighting but the previous response are correct. The terrarium is always going to reach the minimum temp of the room it's in. If the lighting is part of the problem, reverse your day and ight cycles so that they're on during the coolest time( at night ). Also elevate the lights a few inches above the vivarium and have a fan blow towards the lights. This will disipate heat. Some people remove the reflectors from the lights as well. This allows the heat to rise out instead of concentrating around the light and being forced downward.

[deranged chipmunk]

i would build a test tank first, and then experiment. i also would use florescent lighting, set on a reverse schedule, like Ed suggested and re-usable freezer packs in a water feature. just a thought.

[numpty]

There are ways to reduce the increased heat from the lighting but the previous response are correct. The terrarium is always going to reach the minimum temp of the room it's in. If the lighting is part of the problem, reverse your day and ight cycles so that they're on during the coolest time( at night ). Also elevate the lights a few inches above the vivarium and have a fan blow towards the lights. This will disipate heat. Some people remove the reflectors from the lights as well. This allows the heat to rise out instead of concentrating around the light and being forced downward.

Hi, and thanks for the ideas.

I'm not even thinking about lighting at the moment ... just reducing ambient temperatures would be the first challenge.

It might seem counterintuitive, but nighttime temperatures might actually be higher in my place than during the day, since the heat builds up and is stored in the brickwork. Also, in summer the outside air temperature never drops below 30C (what is that, high 80sF?), even in the predawn "chill". So, the day-night light reversal might be moot.

The layout of my place doesn't really help. The spare room where I'd consider keeping frogs isn't air-conditioned at all. I could leave the door open and it would catch some of the A/C from the living room, when we have it on, but at night we only have A/C on in the bedroom. It's costly enough without running two A/Cs through the night.

i would build a test tank first, and then experiment. i also would use florescent lighting, set on a reverse schedule, like Ed suggested and re-usable freezer packs in a water feature. just a thought.

Yes, I'd definitely want to experiment with a test tank first, though it might get pricey if I decided to play around with peltier coolers and the like. Freezer packs in a water feature ... hmmm, that's a thought. I've played around with freezer packs in the past for my carnivorous plants, and they usually return to room temperature pretty quickly when temps are high, but it gives me an idea. I wonder if I could somehow pipe a dribble of cold air from a packed cooler into a terrarium throughout the day, and change the packs when they begin to melt. Pretty high-maintenance, but I wonder if it would work at all.

Thanks for tips, guys!

[deranged chipmunk]

back in the 80's, i used to cool my saltwater tanks by running my canister hoses through a modified beverage cooler filled with ice water. it wasn't exactly precise, but it was effective. i still do it to this day with some smaller tanks if the heat gets really outrageous. i use the freezer packs only because i have a buttload of them for fishing. saves me loads of cash in ice each year.....lol

[deranged chipmunk]

sorry, forgot to make my point, i was thinking cool the water, cool the air

[Jimbok3]

I've been working on a highland plant terarium for a while now with mixed results. Using peltier chips (and cpu heatsink/fan combo) works to a degree but alone does not do a thing, adding in an ultrasonic fogger and having a small pump circulating water through the cooled "heat" sink works fairly well (About 10 to 15 degree drop). If your willing to mess with electricity (12 volts for the peltier and required fans setup) and adding water to the mix go for it

Forgot to add, don't put your temperate CP's in a cooler at night! They enjoy the heat and humidity (trust me here), use the cooler for the required winter dormancy.

[Adam R]

sorry, forgot to make my point, i was thinking cool the water, cool the air

my thoughts as well. along with lighting that puts out minimal heat

[numpty]

I've been working on a highland plant terarium for a while now with mixed results. Using peltier chips (and cpu heatsink/fan combo) works to a degree but alone does not do a thing, adding in an ultrasonic fogger and having a small pump circulating water through the cooled "heat" sink works fairly well (About 10 to 15 degree drop). If your willing to mess with electricity (12 volts for the peltier and required fans setup) and adding water to the mix go for it

Forgot to add, don't put your temperate CP's in a cooler at night! They enjoy the heat and humidity (trust me here), use the cooler for the required winter dormancy.

Hi! Good to see another CP grower on here.

Interesting observations about the peltier approach. It would have to be a long-term project as I don't have much free time at the moment, but I'll try to scope some stuff out next time I'm in the vicinity of a tech market. Oddly, although they make a lot of the equipment out here, I've always found the electronics to be surprisingly pricey.

About CPs and the cooler ... after a few years of experimenting I actually find this is vital for some of my plants. D. capensis, which everyone thinks is indestructible, will go downhill in summer in no time at all unless I offer cool nights, and I find my Cephs, D. intermedia, Heliamphora, etc, benefit as well. Nights can be just staggeringly hot, especially since I live in a built up area, and while my Sarrs and Dionaea cope okay, others don't. Luckily winter is cool enough for a natural dormancy (again, the conventional wisdom is a bit off as my temperates will happily go dormant when nightly minimum temps are still above 15C/60F ... it seems that photoperiod is a more important trigger).

Again, thanks.

[Jimbok3]

My highland terrarium is for heliamphora and my cephs (the helia died on me while in the hospital for a few days another random fungal outbreak ), I'm surprised that d. capensis is struggling for you mine doesn't care about anything. If your a member of flytrapcare forum, you'll find me with the same username as here.

[beyond colour]

Some other ideas would be to take ice and place it in ziplock bags and place on top of the tank, bakers style racks for the tanks to sit on (they will allow air to flow around the tanks helping cool them.) Like stated above i would invest in a portable AC and maybe a fan and run them during the day while the lights are off. Elevate the lights at least 3" from the top of the tank to allow air to flow between the light and the tank. Living in Texas the summer heat and humidity cause big problems for my frog room since the frogs i keep like it in between 70-80*F. And the outdoor Temps Exceeding 100+ degrees and humidity between 70-80 % .