Hot Dojo Loaches!!

[Slither]

Oh no, the temp hasn't even reached the 80s YET outside and my tank is so warm for my Dojos, I don't want to lose anymore this summer like last year!!

Does anyone have any suggestions to keep my Dojos cool this summer without shocking them?!! Right now their tank sits at mid 70s and I know thats pretty warm for Dojos. I'd like to keep it below 70 at least. Also right now they are in a 5 Gallon tank (my 20 Gallon broke recently) and we're working on getting them a new one soon, a bigger one, maybe 30-40 Gal?

[grizzlyone]

A fan blowing onto the top of the tanks seems to work. You have to fill frequently to replace water lost by evaporation.

Kevin

[starsplitter7]

Keeping the lights off will help too.

[Tinman]

If you use a fan you must not just top off the tank , evaporation leads to hard water issues. You must remove water by cup or bucket also dilligently as well as topping. Replace in the tank power heads with HOB's and set your AC to 68F ....

[Emma Turner]

There is a slightly more extreme method, if you don't want to go to the great expense of purchasing an aquarium chiller unit - as demonstrated here in this old thread by Marcos: http://forums.loaches.com/viewtopic.php?t=10894

Emma

[Batch]

There are small chillers made specifically for small tanks. i use
one of these on my 15gal.

CoolWorks Ice Probe
It keeps the water at 78deg even tho the room hits the high 80s (or even 90) during the day.

Of course, this isn't the cheapest solution...

Batch

[tender]

Dropping in some ice-cubes works fine I live in Norway, so we normally dont have so much of a heat problem but in the few cases when we have heat-waves icecubes does the trick

[Diana]

A 5 gallon tank is so small that it will be very difficult to keep the temperature stable and low.
I would move this tank to the coolest room in the house, and aim a fan over it. If you can put the fan on a timer you can change the timing so that it will come on in the hottest part of the day even if you are not home. CAREFUL! These Loaches are escape artists and an open lid is an invitation to carpet surfing.

Much the better solution will be to go get a larger tank. You say your 20 recently broke... you probably still have all the equipment, so just go get another 20 and set it up with the filter, substrate and other items that are now in the 5 gallon (This will bring all the beneficial bacteria to the new tank so it will be fully cycled)
The 20 will be much more stable than a smaller tank.
You might even find one at a garage sale, Craigslist, Freecycle or E-Bay.