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most effective way of heating fish room ???

peterclarke666

Member
5 Year Member
Messages
92
Location
Chesterfield, Derbyshire, U.K
unsure to to where to post this as there isnt a fish house/room section that i can see

hi all im looking for the most cost effective way of heating a fish room that is 10meters (39ft x 20ft) it is already insulated with kingspan but looking at either space heating or individual tanks and maybe insulating the racking like i have done with mine at home

anyone one got any great ideas to assist me ?

thanks in advance
 

mycologist

New Member
Messages
9
We have a toyostove laser 30 which is very powerful, reliable, and EXTREMELY efficient but I don't know anything about fish room heating per se. You have to put a hole in the wall. It uses kerosene but it exhausts and intakes to/from outside. I would use a propane one instead though if I were to do it from scratch.
 

rr16

Active Member
5 Year Member
Messages
536
That sounds suspiciously like a unit in an industrial park size! You going into business selling Apistogramma?
 

Mike Wise

Moderator
Staff member
5 Year Member
Messages
11,202
Location
Denver, Colorado, U.S.A.
My house has a high efficency hot water heating system with 5 thermostatically controlled zones: 2 for upstairs, 1 for basement other than the fish room, 1 for heating hot water, and 1 for the fishroom (approx. 4x4 m). I don't really trust aquarium heaters.
 

dw1305

Well-Known Member
5 Year Member
Messages
2,755
Location
Wiltshire UK

slimbolen99

Active Member
5 Year Member
Messages
550
Location
Shawnee, KS
A dehumidifier running on a timer (I leave mine on 12 hours a day), will remove water from the air, and also puts out a good deal of heat. My fish room stays between 75*F and 78*F pretty consistently.
 

Mol_PMB

Active Member
Messages
252
A dehumidifier running on a timer (I leave mine on 12 hours a day), will remove water from the air, and also puts out a good deal of heat. My fish room stays between 75*F and 78*F pretty consistently.

Out of interest, do you use the water from the dehumidifier for the fish? In theory it is distilled water and equivalent to RO.
I have a dehumidifier running in my garage and the water just goes to waste, but was wondering if it's safe to use with fish?
Thanks,
Paul
 

gerald

Well-Known Member
5 Year Member
Messages
1,491
Location
Wake Forest NC, USA
Dehumidifier water for fish: Usually NOT - most have metal coils and could poison your animals with copper or zinc. You could test a sample with Daphnia; they are more sensitive to metals than fish are. If it's OK for Daphnia for a week, it should be OK for fish.

Hi all,
In terms of thermal efficiency it is cheaper to insulate and heat each tank individually.

True, in terms of thermal efficiency (physics), but heating with natural gas or liquid fuel is cheaper than electrical heating, so it's usually more COST-efficient even though you lose more heat. And not having to buy aquarium heaters (and pray that they dont get stuck "on") is certainly a big plus.
 

rr16

Active Member
5 Year Member
Messages
536
If I ever manage to get one of these I think I'll have some large indoor ponds, filled with leaves and apistos!
 

dw1305

Well-Known Member
5 Year Member
Messages
2,755
Location
Wiltshire UK
Hi all,
True, in terms of thermal efficiency (physics), but heating with natural gas or liquid fuel is cheaper than electrical heating, so it's usually more COST-efficient even though you lose more heat.

Definitely true for gas in the USA since the "fracking boom". In the UK gas isn't that much cheaper than electric, but it may still be enough of a difference to tip the balance.

Hopefully someone may know.

It would also depend on how feasible it is to use mains gas heating in Peter's situation.

cheers Darrel
 
Last edited:

slimbolen99

Active Member
5 Year Member
Messages
550
Location
Shawnee, KS
We just had this conversation (about using dehumidifier water in tanks) on my local club's forum. Many of our top breeders are using it on FRESHWATER tanks with no side affects. Most of the water delivery inside your home is copper...unless it's a newer home...in which case they use PEX. For saltwater, I wouldn't because of the possibility of copper poisoning invertebrates.
 

Mike Wise

Moderator
Staff member
5 Year Member
Messages
11,202
Location
Denver, Colorado, U.S.A.
My guess is that, if the water doesn't sit in the copper pipe but for a few minutes, it won't pick up much copper. This is the reason to flush the pipes for a few minutes before using for water changes. This is especially true for new copper pipe that hasn't had time to form an oxide coating on the inside. Me? I just had all my 100 year old plumbing replaced. Sewerlines from lead(!) to PCB and iron water lines to new plastic pipe. Does this mean I now need to add iron to my tanks for the plants??:)
 

peterclarke666

Member
5 Year Member
Messages
92
Location
Chesterfield, Derbyshire, U.K
heya all yes it is a unit, its not my business but i might be managing the store we are starting off with 93 tanks and upgrading to more down the line upto 200 36x15x15 tanks the room is well insulated with kingspan behind the wall plus polystyrene celling tiles which has rock wool over the whole top of the room

here is a pic so far
10616481_451610098313219_7167894402433533607_n_zpse2033ee4.jpg


my boss has decided to go down the line of space heating the room with 5-6 of these Winterwarm 240 W Tubular Heaters round the room, hopefully these will do the job the pic above only shows a small section of the room so ill upload one of more of the whole room aswel

1823333-tubular-w-sq-s_zpsa6a32179.jpg


the room is bigger than it looks as there is more behind me and to the right where the door is lol
P1080634_zps5da2f6ef.jpg
 

rr16

Active Member
5 Year Member
Messages
536
Ooh, a nice blank canvas. I'm jealous. I'm currently trying to negotiate a tank for the 3ft x 2ft space the lovebird cage is leaving behind as the lovebird died. Preety sure I have no chance of a successful negotiation!
 

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