Water Temperature Options

[yckhor]

Hi, all.

I had recently purchased a 4' x 1.5' x 1.5' tank with sump.
however, I discovered that the water temperature is pretty high.
I can feel the water to be warm even in the morning.
Questions:
1. Do I need a chiller to cool down the water temperature?
2. What is the optimum water temperature for gold fish?
3. What type of lamp should be used? 6500K is for planted tank right? what about goldfish?
4. How many hours per day should we switch on the light?

I found that the GFs swim more lively in my outdoor tub that has a much lower water temperature, now that I move all except one calico ranchu. Please advice whether a chiller is necessary?

Was told by LFS (myth?),
1. chiller keeps water cool at 26 degree which is good to keep GFs colour?

Thank you for your kind advice.

P/S: great to see RG back online. Was shocked to see it went offline.... keep up the good work.

[CP]

I though it is pretty clear from all the replies that heater is NOT required?

[engliang]

I though it is pretty clear from all the replies that heater is NOT required?

Hi,

I feel that putting a heater in the tank is not to heat up the water, but to help to maintain a constant temp for the fishes.

1. If I remember correctly, water gains and loses heat pretty fast.
Say at night, I believe water in the tank in the house can drop to maybe about 25C, while in the afternoon, can rise to about 29-30C? So this is about a 5C fluctuation. By using a heater set at 28C, the fluctuation reduces to about 1-2C.
Isn't a constant temp better for the fishes?

2. Many ppl always say goldfishes are coldwater fishes, which of course is true, and that they can tolerate v low temperatures. I feel that this is true for wild-bred goldfishes in the ponds where 4 seasons exist. However, those goldfishes that we bought at LFS are already domesticated and may not go throught the seasonal change. As such, I don't really believe these goldfishes can withstand high temp fluctuations.

Just my personal views.