humvee Posted March 11, 2009 Report Share Posted March 11, 2009 What are the best ways to run aquariums efficiently and well insulated without harming their visual appearance? For us the following is the order of most power usage 1) heating 2) lighting 3) filtration & air Does 10 or 12mm glass insulate much better then 5 or 6mm? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ira Posted March 12, 2009 Report Share Posted March 12, 2009 It would have to insulate better, but I don't think using thicker glass would be a cost effective insulation compared to sheets of styrofoam or similar. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Barrie Posted March 12, 2009 Report Share Posted March 12, 2009 What are the best ways to run aquariums efficiently and well insulated without harming their visual appearance? Does 10 or 12mm glass insulate much better then 5 or 6mm? Simple thing is that thickness make almost no difference The fugure I have relate to R Value which is the amount of energy lost from Air on one side to air on the other (water would have similar properties) 5mm glass has an R Value of .17 and 12mm has an R Value of .18 There are glass products that will help reflect the heat back in but the costs are huge in comparison to clear For a start of, there are almost no off cuts as they are simply too dear to throw out so at the retail level where off cuts of 5mm can sell from $10 to $40 per meter, sunergy could possibly sell for $200 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
whetu Posted March 12, 2009 Report Share Posted March 12, 2009 What are the best ways to run aquariums efficiently and well insulated without harming their visual appearance? For us the following is the order of most power usage 1) heating 2) lighting 3) filtration & air Does 10 or 12mm glass insulate much better then 5 or 6mm? Once you exclude thicker glass as an option (and from the posts here it would seem that it is not economical) I would second Ira's point about putting polystyrene on your tank to insulate it. Even if you just put poly on one side (the back) it is likely to make a difference. Here are some other thoughts: How warm is your tank? Would your fish be just as happy and healthy if you turned it down a couple of degrees?How long are your lights on each day? Could you cut that back by an hour or two without any ill effects on plants?Are your lights on a timer to make sure they don't get left on accidentally?Do you really need all the lighting you have? Perhaps if you have several lights you could use different timers so some of your lighjts are on for 10 hours a day but others are only on for five hours (for example)Have you considered changing to plants with low light requirements (or fish with low temperature requirements for that matter)?Do all your lights have reflectors to maximise the light getting into the tank? And is the glass clean - both the tank covers and the light covers?Where is the tank positioned in the room? If it is against a cold external wall (or near a window) it will need more heating than if it is against an internal wall.Is it practical to cover your tank at night once the lights go off? The heater is likely to be working hardest during cold nights. (You would need to be very careful to uncover it during the day if your lights were being covered, to guard against overheating!)Is your filter working as efficiently as it can - ie well maintained and not clogged?With a name like humvee perhaps you should consider your petrol consumption before you worry about your tanks! :lol: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
phoenix44 Posted March 12, 2009 Report Share Posted March 12, 2009 recent studies show that a humvee is cheaper to run (environmentally speaking) than a toyota hybrid :lol: i found covering the tank (having a lid on it) makes a dramatic difference to the overall insulation of the tank. i keep my tanks at about 30 degrees constantly, and thanks to good heaters I dont have a overheating problem in summer. In winter if i take the lid off the tank, the tank temp drops from 30 to 26. the lowest it can get is about 24. (i have a digital thing that beeps at me if i set a lower extreme temperature alarm). with the lids on - the temp drops to 28.9 and no less. I've now insulated the sides of the tank with polystyrene, and soon will insulate the back, and that too should make a huge difference. tanks aren't that expensive to run, the highest wattage of stuff usually tends to be the lights, because even if you have a 300W heater, it wont be on 24/7. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
smidey Posted March 12, 2009 Report Share Posted March 12, 2009 i have found that my tanks increased my power bill by bout $10 per tank per month so i'm not concerned about it. as heat rises, I have found that sealing the lids creates a generally warmer tank so sealing that & tuning down the heater should reduce energy used for heating. i also usually have the lights on during the day but if you weren't home you could leave the lights off which would also reduce costs. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
VinsonMassif Posted March 12, 2009 Report Share Posted March 12, 2009 I found that by insulating the aquarium with 20mm polystyrene on the ends and back, having glass lids, and sitting the lights on top of the lids that it raised the temperature by 3*C alone. Plus the temperature stays more constant on cold nights. Especially the nights where the frost sets on the inside of the windows. A heavy blanket over the tank on frosty nights helps a lot too imo. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Barrie Posted March 12, 2009 Report Share Posted March 12, 2009 I also have most the tanks with poly on the lids... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Caryl Posted March 12, 2009 Report Share Posted March 12, 2009 I have never noticed a difference in the power bill due to the tank but my tank is enclosed on three sides and in a warm room. It is set at 22C (tank temp that is, not room). I do believe the bill rose a bit once we turned on the pond pump though :roll: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ira Posted March 12, 2009 Report Share Posted March 12, 2009 You could, which would be interesting, make a double paned tank. Be a lot more work, but then it would still be viewable from all sides(Though few tanks are anyway) You could then also wrap it in polystyrene. If you seal up the top of the tank(Double paned also) and have the only airflow going in going through hoses wrapped around your lighting's transformers that will decrease heat loss while recovering waste heat from the transformers. You'd need an outlet too, since the tank is airtight otherwise. You could make up a heat exchanger to preheat the air going to the transformers. Make sure all your cannister filter's hoses and the filter itself are heavily insulated, that will stop heat loss and might be enough enough to recover some of the waste heat from the motor. Put the tank near your refrigerator, cover the radiator coils in the back with more piping to extract heat from them. Done properly you have free heat for your tank AND your refrigerator would become more efficient. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Barrie Posted March 12, 2009 Report Share Posted March 12, 2009 You could, which would be interesting, make a double paned tank. Be a lot more work, but then it would still be viewable from all sides(Though few tanks are anyway) You could then also wrap it in polystyrene. If you seal up the top of the tank(Double paned also) Now with a DGU (double glazed unit) costing roughly $150 plus GST per square meter and a minimum charge of .3 of a meter per unit and thats using 5mm glass plus all edges need to be covered and totally supported and you can only use nonacidic silicones, I belive the costs of such a tank would vastly out way the savings in power I realise that you mentioned that with tough in cheek but a 600 x 300 x 300 would cost $354 for the units only No if you want say a 6fter in 10mm glass and bought it from me, I could think about a trip to Japan? How many do you want Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ira Posted March 12, 2009 Report Share Posted March 12, 2009 Now with a DGU (double glazed unit) costing roughly $150 plus GST per square meter and a minimum charge of .3 of a meter per unit and thats using 5mm glass plus all edges need to be covered and totally supported and you can only use nonacidic silicones, I belive the costs of such a tank would vastly out way the savings in power I realise that you mentioned that with tough in cheek but a 600 x 300 x 300 would cost $354 for the units only No if you want say a 6fter in 10mm glass and bought it from me, I could think about a trip to Japan? How many do you want Who said double glazing units? I didn't. You'd just basically build a slightly smaller tank within the first. All it would do if you're making it yourself is, for materials, cost twice as much. Anyway, I'm suggesting it as part of a cost irrelevant discussion. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Barrie Posted March 12, 2009 Report Share Posted March 12, 2009 in order for it to be efficient it would need to be sealed so a tank within another would have little value. There would also be problems with fogging and dirt In my trade we see these type of things quite often Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ira Posted March 13, 2009 Report Share Posted March 13, 2009 in order for it to be efficient it would need to be sealed so a tank within another would have little value. There would also be problems with fogging and dirt In my trade we see these type of things quite often I thought it was obvious that it would be sealed, so I didn't feel the need to state the obvious. Once you flush the air out with dry air, nitrogen, etc where is the fogging going to come from? And the dirt? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Barrie Posted March 13, 2009 Report Share Posted March 13, 2009 I too thought that to use a machine that has been developed for producing sealed units would be obvious. I will keep my thoughts on this to myself and resist offering any help. The subject is highly interesting to me as along with running my glass company, I spend about another 20 hours a week in developing methods of glazing Double Glazed Units Good luck with your own ideas and sorry to upset you when offering 40 odd years of experiance in the trade Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
humvee Posted March 15, 2009 Author Report Share Posted March 15, 2009 How warm is your tank? Would your fish be just as happy and healthy if you turned it down a couple of degrees? Normally 24 -26 deg C How long are your lights on each day? Could you cut that back by an hour or two without any ill effects on plants? ~6 hours Are your lights on a timer to make sure they don't get left on accidentally? No this is on the to do list Do you really need all the lighting you have? Perhaps if you have several lights you could use different timers so some of your lighjts are on for 10 hours a day but others are only on for five hours (for example) Yes I am border line on needing more Have you considered changing to plants with low light requirements (or fish with low temperature requirements for that matter)?What plants are the low light requirment plants? Will target 25dec C for tank soon. its higher at the moment due to getting white spot in 1 tank Do all your lights have reflectors to maximise the light getting into the tank? And is the glass clean - both the tank covers and the light covers? Yes Where is the tank positioned in the room? If it is against a cold external wall (or near a window) it will need more heating than if it is against an internal wall. On an internal wall but 2nd big tank will be on an external wall Is it practical to cover your tank at night once the lights go off? The heater is likely to be working hardest during cold nights. (You would need to be very careful to uncover it during the day if your lights were being covered, to guard against overheating!) I could do this but dont particually want to Is your filter working as efficiently as it can - ie well maintained and not clogged? yes I check and unblock regularly Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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