Summer Heat and Outdoor pond ....

[Bluemonster107]

I moved my 2 red ear sliders and their 4 goldfish tank mates to an outdoor 150g stock tank.... well... the weather decided to spike up and now 106 deg.... making my poor pond water soooo hot... I have tried shading with big patio umbrellas and a few frozen bottles.... any other tips to keep the water temp down??? and what is the max temp they can handle... that is safe???? thanks so much.

 

[Markw84]

I moved my 2 red ear sliders and their 4 goldfish tank mates to an outdoor 150g stock tank.... well... the weather decided to spike up and now 106 deg.... making my poor pond water soooo hot... I have tried shading with big patio umbrellas and a few frozen bottles.... any other tips to keep the water temp down??? and what is the max temp they can handle... that is safe???? thanks so much.

Yes, the problem here with stock tanks. My back yard got to 110 yesterday and it is 108 out there right now.

As far as a thermal max. for most vertebrates it is about 104° that can prove fatal if core body temp reaches that and stays for a while. That does hold true for chelonians.

Shade is certainly your friend. The sun heating the water alone should not heat it to over 100°. But baking on the side of a raised tub, especially black or galvanized, it can exceed that. I have found that with good surface area and air circulation, the evaporative effect keeps my ponds, and even water in one of those plastic kiddie pools I use for small turtles, from getting over 90° even on 105° days. So shade and good air circulation are good keys. If I did have a stock tank setup today, with these temps, I would probably be throwing in a block of ice as well. - just for good measure!

You can also do partial water changes. Run some water through from your hose. If you have fish, the chlorine will be an issue though using tap water through your hose.

 

[wellington]

Water changes and a bubbler or fountain will help. With those temps I would do water changes and also add a fountain or bubbler, even a air hose and air pump. Adding shade will help too. Maybe get a good quality shade cloth.