GuppyHunter Posted April 24, 2013 Report Share Posted April 24, 2013 Hiya Im currently wanting to start up a small fish room for my guppies, and need a bit of advice along the way. I have only recently started to get back into breeding so i only have 3 tanks atm but am wanting to expand with more tanks and more strains (guppies only) Im wanting somewhere near the 15 to 20 tank margin. Questions i have.... 1. Heating - I have a 3 bedroom house that's only 10 years old so is pretty well insulated with double glazed windows in most areas, the bedrooms are definitely a bit colder than the lounge/living areas. I'm wondering what my best bet is, heat the bedroom or heat every tank with individual heaters... my main concern about this is power source, i don't really care about the power bill, more so the lack of power outlets, if i have 20 tanks i need 20 sockets for the heaters, and then at least a few more for some decent multi airpumps to run the sponge filters, and then a few more sockets for lighting... you can probably see my problem and I'm sure some of you have faced this downer before. Maybe i can purchase some sort of portable heatpump to heat the room? im not wanting to drill holes in the walls or anything. 2. Moisture - Being in a bedroom I'm not particularly interested in having moisture/mold on the ceilings or anything, will a dehumidifier prevent this? 3. More questions to come, my main concern is power points and moisture at this point. Any help and suggestions would be great. Thanks heaps Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Caryl Posted April 24, 2013 Report Share Posted April 24, 2013 Heat the room A dehumidifier will get rid of moisture. Good lids on the tanks will also help Have you considered what you are going to do with all the offspring? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
trinox Posted April 24, 2013 Report Share Posted April 24, 2013 I would heat the whole room with one heater. Keep the room well insulated including the windows. You shouldnt need to worry about power that way. I had 15 tanks running of one power socket, its best to have a electrician come over and check your circuts to see how much it can handle, thats what i did, my house is probably 40odd years old and only has 1 power socket per room etc. I called him over to install a few more in the room but he said its fine how it is. Use surge protectors and if worse comes to worse you will only blow a fuse. thats the advice i got but if i were you and you i would speak to electrician and get some expert advice on electrical stuff. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GuppyHunter Posted April 24, 2013 Author Report Share Posted April 24, 2013 Thank you guys,, very helpful and just what i wanted to hear . Caryl, keep the traits im after and sell off the rest, i have gotten to know a couple pet shop owners down here over the years that are more than willing to flick me a bit of coin for some nice colors but im mainly looking to purely fine tune a few of my own strains for show. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
aer0 Posted April 25, 2013 Report Share Posted April 25, 2013 If you are going to be heating the whole room consider getting thermal backed curtains to keep the heat in, maybe consider getting up into the roof space and adding an extra layer of insulation in there too. i'd also get one of those draft stoppers for the door to seal the gap along the bottom. A good heater and de-humidifier will keep the room warm and dry but as mentioned earlier you want good glass lids on all the tanks to keep the moisture in the tank not the room. LED lighting will have less current draw than MH or tube's so will be nicer on the powerbill over time. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GuppyHunter Posted April 25, 2013 Author Report Share Posted April 25, 2013 Thank you are0, very helpful. And good idea about jumping up into the roof with heat rising, might be able to to stick a few more pink bats up there. I also remember growing a few "tropical plants" in my room when i was young and i remember using some kind of black plastic to cover the ceiling to keep the heat in too, will do some digging about that. Will also line the windows with poly sheets too. What kind of heater would be best? As for the lids... i live in christchurch so i use plastic storage tubs with the lids for breeding, they don't break in earthquakes lol - i lost a 100L with the last earthquake, my black moscows and carpet didn't really appreciate it 0.0. And they're super cheap, i think a 100L is around $15.00 at my local plastics store. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jackp Posted April 25, 2013 Report Share Posted April 25, 2013 i'd have thought your best bet would be a portable heat pump. otherwise a combination heater/dehumidifier Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
camtang Posted April 25, 2013 Report Share Posted April 25, 2013 A small fan will work well with a heater and dehumidifier to circulate the air around. I had my room closed off at night last year but had moisture issue so had to open a window during the day and wipe away condensation often. Lids and poly around tank sides and top ( this maybe only if running a heater per tank, I am unsure) If you own the house you could get your local joinery to install truvent systems in the windows for fresh air to come and go. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
blueether Posted April 25, 2013 Report Share Posted April 25, 2013 If you go to LED lights the lower power they use will be off set by the extra heating the room will need I would go for a good heatpump as well as what everyone else has said. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
henward Posted April 25, 2013 Report Share Posted April 25, 2013 I agree, a dehumidifier in a room will heat it to a 26 yto 28c. and avoid moisture. IF you seal the tank as much as psosible, moisture isnt an issue, then iw ould just use a heater for the tank. the efficiency differences in a room, fullyinsulated will be minimal i think Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
blueether Posted April 26, 2013 Report Share Posted April 26, 2013 The gains should come from a heatpump as they are much more efficient at heating than a heating element... if the room if well insulated and draft free... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
livebearer_breeder Posted May 1, 2013 Report Share Posted May 1, 2013 If you insulate well the lighting and dehumidifier alone will create plenty enough heat! no need for a heater Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ryanjury Posted May 1, 2013 Report Share Posted May 1, 2013 If you insulate well the lighting and dehumidifier alone will create plenty enough heat! no need for a heater I agree, in fact you may have issues with too much temp rather than not enough in summer.. I had to put a heatpump in my 20ft container to cool it not to heat because the tanks were getting over 30C with only 1 set of lights and an airpump going. Dehumidifier is a must have in a house, however it does add to the heat produced so you need to watch the heat building up. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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