Water temp on vacation?

I'm going on vacation next week and I can't decide what temp to leave the house. When I'm not home I set the temp at 76 then drop it down when I get home. However I'm not sure if the fish can handle those sustained temps for a week. A few times when I have left them at 76 for the weekend I could see the signs of stress on the daces when I got back. Anybody have prior experience on this. I've worked to hard to Find these fish and don't want to loose them.

On another note, any freshwater streams near Daytona Beach FL?

Can you up the aeration? If you have heavy airflow, 76 should not be too stressful.

As of now I have the air pump on about 6 hours a day. 3 at night and 3 in the day. Would it help if I upped it during the night and not so much during the day? The temp would be cooler at night in the house.

Can you add some airline and put the pump right in front of an AC vent? Might slightly help with cooling. Better yet take the vent cover off and put the air pump right inside the vent. either way I would opt for running it all night, if not all day as well. Heat is less of a problem itself, low DO is a bigger stress factor, and warm water holds less oxygen. An aerator really does not add much oxygen to the water from its bubbles, most of the O2 comes from the current that an aerator produces. An aquarium has very little surface area compared to its water capacity, this surface area is where gas transfer takes place. The aerator effectively increases surface area by exposing more water to the surface by the uplift of water from deep down in the tank. Most fish can live in very warm shallow pools with no flow in streams(drought) because they have so much surface area for gas transfer. So personally I would run air continually, and not worry so much about the heat. A little additional salt will also help the water hold more O2, as well as cut down on stress.
A fan blowing directly on the surface of the aquarium might also help with gas exchange.

What about lights. Right now I run 2 48in bulbs that are pretty bright, one is a 10k. Not having them on would help keep the temp down, but would it stress the fish? Or should I just take the 10k bulb out and leave the other?

Josh, I may be wrong but I am a believer that dark is always less stressful. Take a cage full of chattering birds and cover them, they will become quiet. Fish seem to be less active at night. So by leaving the lights off, or low, you should slow the fishes activity, and therefore conserve DO, and you will also have less radiant heat from the lights. Also the fish should eat less. If you want something to grow fast, eat a lot and be very active keep the light cycle long. If you want them to slow down, and become somewhat static make the light cycle short. Works with fish, chickens, almost any animal. Think winter. Everything slows down. So my guess would be that keeping the lighting off might help quite a bit.
I am sure that with all the thought that you are putting into this beforehand that your fish will do well while you are gone

Can I ask what types of fish you're keeping at these temperatures? I ask because I live in an apartment on the second floor where keeping the apartment (and aquarium) at a cool temperature is not always feasible. I have some species that would be considered "headwater species", typically found in cooler temperatures, doing quite well when temperatures are sustained at 80*F or more for up to a month at a time. On the other hand, if you have trout or other obligate cold-water species, you need to take temperature more seriously (obviously).

Can I ask what types of fish you're keeping at these temperatures? I ask because I live in an apartment on the second floor where keeping the apartment (and aquarium) at a cool temperature is not always feasible. I have some species that would be considered "headwater species", typically found in cooler temperatures, doing quite well when temperatures are sustained at 80*F or more for up to a month at a time. On the other hand, if you have trout or other obligate cold-water species, you need to take temperature more seriously (obviously).

Darters and Shiners... I have some SRBD's that like cool water and a few darters that do as well.

So, I know this probably sounds totally insane, but what about an automatic feeder stocked with oxygen tablets?
Automatic feeder: $20 on http://www.thatpetpl...c713_a_7c212737
Oxygen tablets: 25 tablets for $2.34 on http://www.amazingan...ml?currency=USD

Edited by Okiimiru, 27 July 2010 - 10:00 AM.

I doubt my darters would get any food with an auto feeder. I have a family member coming to feed them and I'm going to try Matt's advised to run the air all the time and set the pump in a nearby vent.

I doubt my darters would get any food with an auto feeder.

No not food, oxygen tablets. They would drop in every 12 hours and oxygenate the water. Then it wouldn't really matter if your tank water was a little warm, because the water would have plenty of oxygen. It's usually the oxygen deprivation that kills cold water fish in warm water, not the warm temperature itself.

Edited by Okiimiru, 27 July 2010 - 02:00 PM.

I doubt my darters would get any food with an auto feeder. I have a family member coming to feed them and I'm going to try Matt's advised to run the air all the time and set the pump in a nearby vent.

I think this is your best bet.