Insulating aquarium

Rmelz

Jack Dempsey
MFK Member
Jan 23, 2011
203
15
33
Nope
I want to build a pretty large aquarium, and I noticed one thing. When people build plywood aquariums they never insulate the side wall and the back between the framing (The framing that looks like vertical studs in a house). I would surely think that sticking some foam, or fiberglass r-19 would really cut down on the heat loss of a tank. Is there a reason that people don't do this?
 

BadOleRoss

Feeder Fish
MFK Member
Dec 28, 2009
1,323
2
0
Virginia
I think a lot of it might depend on where the tank is set up. I know when I had my plywood tanks the bigger issue I had with the tank was keeping the tank cool in the summer. Keeping the tank at temp in the winter was easy. Most of the heat lost in a tank is through the water surface. And, with my tanks being indoors, the plywood never really gets so cold that it creates a problem. I guess it's just un-nessesary.
 

Grant427

Feeder Fish
MFK Member
Jun 11, 2011
124
0
0
Alberta, Canada
I just recently finished my 400 gallon tank, with 3/4 plywood, running an FX5 with about 50watts of lights and the temperature of the tank won't get above 71 degrees with 500 watts of heaters... I will have to insulate the tank, thinking of doing 2" foam board around the outside and then building an insulated hood for the top to contain as much heat as possible, want the temperature at 76 and if I don't it'll cost me $90 a month just to heat.
 
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