I don't use aquarium water pumps, I use fountain/pond pumps. And I never bothered to check, but I still have the box. The largest one I have pumps 500 gallons per hour, with a maximum lift of 8.7 feet. The power consumption is 35 watts, and 0.6 amps. This pump is larger than I need for any system I have done so far. In fact I usually need to use a "T" connector and run half the water directly back into the reservoir so it wont overflow the systems. I mainly run flood and drain, or drip systems (as well as water culture systems that only uses a air pump). So my pumps are never running for long periods either. At most 30 on, and 30 off (50% of the time) during the hot parts of the day in the flood and drain systems (with only one or two cycles during the night). The Drip systems usually have enough growing medium to keep the roots moist for hours, even during the hot part of the day. So those usually run 30 on, and 2-3 hours off. I can see how the theory of a external pump being able to dissipate some of the heat through the casing and into the surrounding air, rather than directly into the water if it was submersed makes sense. But at the same time if the surrounding air is warmer than the pump, there wont be any dissipation of heat into the already warmer surrounding air. And it would be pointless if the air temp wasn't significantly higher than the water temp, otherwise the ambient air temp would be enough to keep the water temp in range. The pump would need to put out a significant amount of heat to make a difference. But using the pumps I do, and from simply touching them after they have been running for a while (that I often do). Like every time I do a nutrient change, and take them apart and clean them each time. I simply have never noticed any noticeable heat from them. I would need to do a side by side controlled experiment using identical water volumes, starting water temps, air temps, and containers. Then run a pump for hours in one of them, then compare water temps to see if there was any difference between the two. Even if there was I cant see it being more than 1 or 2 degrees at most. At least with the pumps I have. grizzman I guess it depends on the pump/s your using. The pumps I use/have would need extensive modification to attach a housing that I could attach a hose to the water inlet side (and that was durable enough to last), and it would need to be gravity feed into the pump. Unless it was going to make a significant difference, I just don't see the effort being worth it. As I mentioned I haven't noticed any significant heat coming from the pumps I use, and 1-2 degree change at most isn't going to make enough of a difference to me. The water temps I deal with from late April to early October need much more cooling than that. But I'm sure under the right circumstances that could be useful.

Minimize reflected light. Wet down the area where the bin is. I don't know if it is on cement under a roof or on grass under a tree. Maybe don't harvest right now because the more material they can have to escape into. Hose water is sometimes cool, so maybe after watering the special plants, water the bin. Normally I would not add water but this is not normally. I'm not sure about that. Maybe just toss in ice cubes. Maybe we will get some thunderstorms. Even the plantain in the shade was crunchy. Maybe give away some worms to friends with cellars?

Scientific proof!!!! I filled my L+L bread keeper with cans of soup and submerged it in water in my kitchen sink. I had to go shopping so I ran the test for only 10 minutes, but there was no water found inside the container. BTW, it really tried to float. I had to put a heavy jug of liquid laundry soap on top of the bread keeper in order to force it under water. While I was shopping I found L+L containers at Wegmans. I bought three different sizes and they weren't expensive. I like being able to buy only the sizes and shapes I want and not have to buy a set with sizes I may never use. I still have to find the Ziplock big bags. Nancy

Sorry I did not read all of the replies, but wanted to share my experience with planter. I went to my bone doctor with this and he said he had it in both feet. He recommended Merrills (mesh slides) shoes. He told me he would not be working on concrete floors if it were not for those shoes and shooting up occasionally. LOL I bought a pair and they do help but what helped the most was the shot in my heel. It has not hurt since I received the injection and it's been at least 3 years. He said it would probably last the rest of my life. The shot did not work in my knee but has been a miracle on my heel. You can buy these shoes at Dillards and some of the specialty shoes stores. The last time I saw him he told me I could get the shoes in colors online at Herringtons. I posted the URL below and the shoes he recommended are the mesh air slides. Those are made differently than the rest of the Merrills. I bought lilac, the green shown in the photo, lite blue and the Palamino at 20% off but that was a long time ago. They are all I wear. I think walking on concrete at the mall is what caused my planter. Here is a link that might be useful: Merrills