wayneh Posted October 13, 2009 Report Share Posted October 13, 2009 I am looking at switching from individual tank heaters to heating the whole fish room, in an attempt to reduce the number of leads and power boxes I am using... Fish room is fully lined with styrofoam. Currently all the tanks are heated and the fish room stays at around 25 degrees... what temp will I have to have the room the keep the tanks at approx 27 degrees... I am assuming the 2 degree drop from 27 in the tanks to 25 in the room would work the other way as well.. so heating the room to 29 degrees will keep tank temp at 27 degrees... Can anyone shed more light or knowledge on this for me... Cheers Wayne Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Insect Direct Posted October 13, 2009 Report Share Posted October 13, 2009 mmm not sure sorry...but is styrofoam just sheets of poly or something else? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
suphew Posted October 13, 2009 Report Share Posted October 13, 2009 The tanks should stay at the same temperature as the room, if you want them 27 keep the room at 27. The reason it doesn't work the other way is because fish tank heaters are a very poor way of heating the room. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ira Posted October 14, 2009 Report Share Posted October 14, 2009 mmm not sure sorry...but is styrofoam just sheets of poly or something else? Styrofoam is a foam of polystyrene. Polystyrene is a hard, relatively inflexible thermoplastic used in a huge number of plastic items like forks, CD cases, cups, models and polystyrene foam. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ryanjury Posted October 14, 2009 Report Share Posted October 14, 2009 I have always had my unheated tanks temperatures stay at temps around 2 degrees colder than the room temp as well for some reason? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alanmin4304 Posted October 14, 2009 Report Share Posted October 14, 2009 Because of the difference in mass it is quicker to heat the air than the water but given enough time they both should end up the same and the water will act as a heat sink and retain a lot of the heat when the air escapes from opening the door. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
spoon Posted October 14, 2009 Report Share Posted October 14, 2009 ive heard that the bottom tanks will be cooler as heat rises but this can be an advantage in some situations Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wayneh Posted October 14, 2009 Author Report Share Posted October 14, 2009 Thanks for the advice everyone. Looks like I will have to set it to 27 and see what happens to the tank temp, I will use an empty tank to testing the temp after a few days and leave all the others with heater in them. I tried to get a new fan heater today from Mitre10, but it is no longer winter, so they have none in stock.. go figure... haha. Wayne Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alanmin4304 Posted October 14, 2009 Report Share Posted October 14, 2009 If you want to have a difference in temperature between the top and bottom tanks you can use a heater where the fan only comes on when the element comes on. If you want a more even temperature you wire the heater so the fan goes all the time and the heater comes on when required. Make sure the fan is rated to run continuously. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sicklids Posted October 17, 2009 Report Share Posted October 17, 2009 Yep my room is heated with a seven fin column heater set to 28c. the tanks are warm enough to ensure the fish continue to spawn whilst saving a bucket load of cash on the power bill. My system has a built in thermostat on the heater but as a fail safe I have also installed an external thermostat [as is used in reptile tanks] that is set to cut the power off should the room temp exceed 30c [Just to be on the safe side :lol: ] I can do a major water change in my 6x2x2 tanks and the water temp is back to full again in a day or so following the work [This ofcourse depends on the number of times the door is openend and the duration of that period. :roll: ] Remember that a heated room can also produce high humidity and the problems associated with that fact such as mildew etc. To over come this I have a small rotating fan that has a timer. This means when I want to lower the humidity I simply turn on for 15 - 20 mins, problem gone! Cheers :bounce: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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