Our priority when we keep an aquarium in our homes is the well-being of the fish and invertebrates we maintain. And the first step to note while preparing a checklist of the aquarium accessories required for the well being of aquarium occupants is to keep the aquarium room relatively cool, especially for marine aquaria. The ideal temperature for most fish-only aquaria is between 76 degrees and 82 degrees Fahrenheit. If you only have fish in the aquarium and the aquarium is stocked properly with aquarium supplies, then you only need about a 2 to 6 degree temperature drop. This will depend on the type of aquarium you keep and the temperature drop needed to cool the tank.

With fish, it's not always the high temperature that kills. Many fish die in tanks running too hot due to low dissolved oxygen (DO) levels in the water. The warmer the water, the less dissolved oxygen (DO) it will hold.

Here are a few tips to keep your aquarium water cool for your little friends to survive for a long time.

1. If your aquarium is well-covered, open the covers on your tank, and place nylon netting over the openings to prevent fish from jumping out. This allows heat to escape. You can aid this process further by directing the air-flow of a small fan across the top of the tank.

2. Close the shades on windows in the room. Even indirect sunlight will raise the room temperature by a degree or two and every little bit helps. You can also reduce the amount of aquarium lighting time. The tank lights contribute greatly to higher water temperatures. Don't leave the lights off all the time though. That's bad for your fish too! If you have a freshwater planted aquarium, which requires at least 8 hours of light per day, you may have no choice but to buy an air conditioner or a chiller to solve your heat problem.

3. Aerate your aquarium tanks with a strong air pump! This will help to increase the exchange of gases at the waters surface, thereby helping to raise Dissolved Oxygen levels. It will also aid heat exchange at the surface.

4. DO NOT unplug your aquarium heaters! This is a common mistake that often backfires. An aquarium heater that's working properly will shut off when the aquarium is at the proper temperature. Unplugging the heater could cause the temperature to drop too far at night in situations when it's hot during the day but cool at night and the windows in the aquarium room are kept open.

5. If your aquarium equipment is in a closed cabinet stand below your fish tank, open the cabinet doors and place a fan circulating air into the cabinet area to allow heat created from aquarium pumps to escape

6. Buy an air conditioner! Sometimes this is the only solution. The cost of running an air conditioner for a few months is a small price to pay to keep our finned friends alive.