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Tank heating


evilknieval69

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Ohk, so im going to be getting about another 6 small tanks for killies, but im not too sure on exactly how im going to heat them. I have a few options:

1. heat individual tanks with heaters - Setup cost is greater but probably better in the long run, Ugly big heaters in each tank which i hate, especially in killie tanks where you realy only want the fish and a spawning mop or similiar.

2. heat the entire room, which would be great because it would heat all my other tanks, BUT, the running costs will probably be higher? and because i dont pay the bills, and our power bill is high enough as it is, this option wont be very favoured. also my fishroom is an old bedroom so it has 3 big windows in it, which are old wooden ones and you can literally see through the gaps in it; not very economic if i was to heat the room. I also dont realy want to sit in a hot room trying to 'enjoy' my fish.

3. use something like a heat pad underneath all the tanks and use the water level in each tank to change temps.... Very good idea, but ive never realy seen one around here, and dunno where i could get one.

So im left with a dilemma. What i want is a heated tank, with no ugly big heater in each tank, and i dont want to have to sit an 'enjoy' my fish in a hot room. Ohk so i could put up with it but would prefer not too.

So ive sorta come the conclusion that i need a heat pad that lies under all the tanks and keeps them at temp. But where do i get one???

Anyone here know where to get one, or who makes them, or knows how to make them? Please post your thoughts

Also, would a heat pad be very economic compared to a heater in each tank or similiar....

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Able to do a common sump type of set up just for heating?

Insulate the tanks back with polystyrene painted black would help

Block up the gaps in the windows now! lol

If your lucky in summer you can use the hot air outside as a advantage

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Able to do a common sump type of set up just for heating?

Nah not any good with killie tanks and how they are setup etc. These are only going to be small tanks, about 20 litres each or so....

Insulate the tanks back with polystyrene painted black would help

Yer will definately poly the tank backs etc

Block up the gaps in the windows now! lol

Condensation is a big issue with the fishroom being a bedroom and all, fully carpeted etc so needs to be able to 'breathe' so i never fully close the door otherwise the windows fog up :lol:

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Im having the same problem for my fishroom I will have aroud 15 tanks running it in when its going and it is fully lined with fireproof poly..

My thinking is 1 x 1000W oil heater is equal to 3 and a bit 300W fish tank heaters so im heating 15 tanks for what I would be heating 3 of my 4-5ft tanks for? And adding a fan to circulate air wouldn't cost much power either..

You do however have the condensation issue and the fact it will be pretty warm and uncomfortable in there.. Im lucky mines in the garage so not too worried about moisture..

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I have a six killie tanks heated by a heat pad made by Argos in Christchurch and controlled by one electronic thermostat from Homershams. I can control the temperature in the tanks by having different water levals to the one with the thermostat probe and have no problem with moisture as they have tight fitting lids and no aeration or filters to worry about leeds from. An old fashioned bimetallic thermostat would be cheaper than an electronic one. You need to give Argos the footprint and wattage you want and they make it (the heating wires are sealed between two layers of foil). The tank is 1200 x 450 x 400mm high and divided into six. The front and back are 10mm higher than the ends and the lid is polycarbonate with a small nick to allow for the thermostat probe. The end compartments are one degree lower if the water is the same leval. Works for me.

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Well we went out for dinner last night and one of the guys we went with is a retired plumber who's built his own house and stuff and knows about pretty much anything, so i got talking with him about making a heat pad and he said it wouldn't be very hard, the hardest part would be finding a thermostat that is within the right temp range and not too fluctuating (he said that hot water cylinder ones are 5-10 degrees off, room heating ones are 5 or so degrees of and so on) which was going to be the hard part. then i though, well wait on, don't all aquarium heaters have a thermostat, couldn't i just rip one of them to bits and use the thermostat out of it, sounded like a good idea to me. Then i thought more and decided that one of the thermostats from the stainless steel heaters (the thermostat part sits outside the tank) would be even better.

Also figured that id only need 100 or so Watts of heating in the pad, so if i got a 300w thermostat from one of the stainless steel heaters (obviously a 300W one) i could run it quite comfortably with not much load so it will last longer....

So will using one of them work? or just one out of a normal heater where its all sealed in the unit?

He can make the rest and wire it up and everything no probs, just need to find a suitable thermostat!

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The old heaters had a seperate thermostat and heater and I think someone had some on this site a while ago. I have an electronic one which is + or - 1 deg. but the old bimetallics would be cheaper. I think you may need a bit more grunt in your heater to allow for the poor heat trasmission. My tank is 1200 x 450 x 400mm HIGH and is 300 watts (probably overkill but it works)

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There's a bit more to it than that evil. Send me your plumber's email address and I will send him the instructions. Unless he has at least a limited electirician's ticket though he shouldn't do it. Very easy to burn the house down if you get the maths wrong and insurance will refuse to pay out if the pad isn't made by a qualified electrician. :cry:

He is right, the thermostat is the hard part. I just used my last one as they are no longer available. I know who has some but he will be unwilling to sell them sa he wants them himself :wink:

You used to be able to get external thermostats that attached to the outside of the glass (one brand name was Slik Stat, maybe one word) so see if you can find them.

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