I have been keeping a half gallon of DI water in my fridge the last couple summers - trying to cool down my fully hooded tank a bit. This recent, early season hot spell caught us without AC operating. Temps crawling above 83F from time to time. To combat this, I have been sticking the DI water in the freezer, and floating big blocks of ice in the tank.
In 83F water, these little icebergs don't last long. But, I have noticed my female clown LOVES to nibble at them. Is this something I should worry about? Certainly, in the wild, these tropical fish won't have much experience with ice. Would the fish know if she was harming herself? Anyone have any thoughts? Should I check with Mrs Paul?
I've done this in the past with no problems. I do hold onto the iceberg until it cracks though so it doesn't impact the side of the tank. I have a 3G pico on my desk that I have to add about 2 cups of top off water to each day and the 2 small fish swim right up to the incoming FW.
Thanks, guys. I hate the look of a clip on fan, but it got me paying attention. Turns out one of the built in fans is no longer running. So, I will get a temporary fan on it, 'til I can install a proper replacement.
I used to do that in a 55 gallon hex tank that got warm. The RO/DI ice cubes are great! I cut out the bottoms of gallon water jugs and freeze the water in those. Use the two litre pop bottles as ice cubes as well. If memory serves, I killed a fish floating the cubes in the display tank. The fish swim right up to the cube and get the cool water. It was explained to me that the body temperature of the fish changed too rapidly causing the death. Maybe it's total crap, but who knows? Since then, I only do the ice cubes in the frag tank or the sump, so I don't risk hurting another fish.