Heating the fish room

[blainep]

Does anyone out there heat their fish room instead of heating tanks individually ?

I ask because I'm running alot of heaters that draw alot of power, I thought maybe it would be more efficient to heat the room instead.

Somewhere about 80 degrees I thought should keep the tank water at about the mid 70's.

Any thoughts ?

[Melody]

Most people heat the room, not the tanks. As you say, the former gets impractical very quickly.

I have started to rid myself of heaters. I simply don't have the outlets and I am a serious fire hazard at this point. Since you're into Livebearers, I can at least share my experience with those.

Swordtails - they're fine at room temp. If it drops very low, they may stop breeding, but that's about it. For perspective, I like the room in the low 70's and they're active and seemingly happy at those temp's. Many over-winter outside, not in freezing climates, but some are closer than you would think.

Sailifin Mollies - generally need their heat, in my experience, wild-types and domestic. Even the recent incoming, which are bred to be more cold-tolerant, will wag and be less active if they don't have at least the mid 70's. The other varieties, such as P. Sphenops (your Liberties are technically classed as P. Sphenops) are fine at room temp and over-winter in temp's that you would not believe.

Guppies - First generation commercial strains appreciate at least the mid-70's. However, if you raise them yourself in lower temp's they do just fine. Again, in my experience.

Platy's - Couldn't care less. Probably still the toughest commercial Livebearer, or at least the most easy to please. Feed them - that's their one incessant demand...lol.

Limia - depends on the species, but if you're not seeing breeding activity, it can't hurt to add a heater and make sure they're gettting enough light. Even then I wouldn't break the average of 78F.

Most other wild-types that I've had experience with prefer it on the cool side, such as the Goodeids I've had, and the B. Holdridgei. They want room temp's, but not less.

Other fish: A good many appreciate the lower range of tropical temps. Loaches & most Cory's prefer it low, for starters, and there are many more.

We are trained to an average. 78F for all tropical fish, but that is simply not the ideal for all tropical fish. Its the happy medium where both the heat lovers and lower temp fish will be fine as a rule, but its not necessarily every fish's ideal.

If you're trying to breed, keep those heaters around to simulate seasonal changes. Even snails will often respond to more frequent water changes and an increase in temp. You're working with their inner instincts there - increase the temp, the fresh water (simulating rainy season) and fresh food. With a fishroom that has tanks heated individually, this is easy to do.

If I had one, Blaine, I'd try to keep the temps between 72 & 75F, with my particular fish and snails considered. It does not need to be overly warm. Tropical temps dip, they just don't get close to freezing.

[Soggybottom]

Much less chance of boiling your fish with room heating as well...
A malfunctioning heater is the closest my tanks have come to doom.

[blainep]

Much less chance of boiling your fish with room heating as well...
A malfunctioning heater is the closest my tanks have come to doom.

Very True SB.

Trick now is to figure out how to go about it. I don't want to just put a space heater on the floor. Thats got 'fire waiting to happen' written all over it.
Baseboard heater, same problem. If a tank pops, water and electricity just don't mix well.

I don't have any easy way to install a natural gas heater.

Possibly some type of electric heater, GFCI protected, on a raised platform or pedestal of some kind.

Any other ideas out there ?

[Melody]

There are some very safe space heaters out there now. If you put it up on a stand of some sort it should be fine. I know a guy who has used one in his garage for years. Made me want to convert mine in fact...lol. However, I don't pretend to know much about them, I just know what I've read about safety, especially with regards to children.

[blainep]

I Think I smell another DIY project in the making ..........

[BC_Kron]

I wanna apologize in advance, I'm not trying to hijack the thread, I'm just interested as well.

We have a number of tanks and although most have tight fitting tops, there are some voids for evaporation to occur. After seeing all the damage mold and water has done to the condo industry, I can't help but being cautious. How do you beat the resulting moisture without encouraging evaporation by using a dehumidifier? We use a dehumidifier in the hallway between our two fish rooms, and we're forever topping up tanks.


cheers;Bill

[Melody]

No worries - its always more interesting as threads expand. :yes:

I think you'll do best to focus on what you're trying to prevent and then work your way through it from there. To prevent mold you should keep the moisture levels at 30-50%. You should run the dehumidifier enough to maintain a level in that range. You could go for the max to manage your evaporation, but you're pretty much stuck with it otherwise if the tank is already well-covered.

Heat is a big factor - the higher the water temp, the more the water evaporates. The more you heat your house, the more dry the air is and more evaporation occurs. Less humidy lowers your heat bills - humid air is more difficult to heat. So now your heat is running longer and more often, which dries the air, which encourages evaporation which is harder to heat which keeps the heat on.... to infinity. The dehumidifier stops the various cycles contributing to the problem, bringing balance to the force... or preventing mold as the case may be.

Keep all of your bathroom fans going and use the stove fan when you're cooking items in water. A cracked window does wonders too - a sealed house keeps the humidity in. Circulation/ventilation is a biggy. Remember that you're not 'losing' heat, because dry air is easier to heat. You can also paint with mold-inhibitors.

Basically, you're going to have to top those tanks up whether you like it or not :( .