Heat a 1250 s/f home with only fish tanks?

Honestly it's not a good idea yes it can be done tho remember it takes more energy to heat moist air than dry air
Your best idea and cheapest idea is cover the fish tanks stop all drafts insulate the other 20℅ and buy a heat pump (they are not expensive and you put in 1kw of power and get out 5kw of heat far more efficient than any heater)
The other thing about heating is the bigger temperature difference between your source of heat and the area to be heated the faster the heat gets drained
Yes it may work for a short time or evin all the way through the winter but then what? Wait till winter again to do it again? Heating your home with the fish tanks is not a healthy option you can get ammonia coming off your tanks your house will feel damp that will make you feel the cold more you will have the tank heaters on higher if they don't burn out with the load of heating a house and you will spent more in the long run with nothing gained out of it other than surviving
Also what might help if your that keen to try to stay how it is there you can hang duvets from the ceiling to lower the effective ceeling height therefore decreasing the amount of space to be heated but with humidity they could get quite heavy

I think two of your biggest issues with this are your ceiling being so high (cathedral ceilings are brutal on heating bills) and your location. I used to live in Ontario and had my furnace break one winter on a Friday night - the landlord refused to fix it unti Monday because of the emergency cost. The tanks did help quite a bit with keeping the tempurature from shooting down to freezing immediately, but eventually the aquarium heaters couldn't keep up and we had to cover the tanks with horse blankets or risk fish loss. If you have SUPER hearty fish that are used to a freezing period, and aquariums lining the walls providing extra insulation you may be able to live with only rudimentary heating, but a good winter storm will be brutal. And keep in mind that if water freezes on top it will take heat out of your inside air to thaw. I have had sinking heaters on horse troughs that can't compete with cold air, the water on top just ices right over. A bubbler may help with this.

I think you have a great idea and I'm definitly planning on using my tanks this winter to moderate heat transfer myself - but I also have a fireplace, some spot heaters, and I live in British Columbia right on the ocean, so no big freezing storms (I hope). You will likely need some bigger source of heat in the long run, though the aquariums will help.

I have a friend with geothermal heating/cooling, which is a possibility if you can get a hole drilled deep enough for cheap. It will help keep your house above freezing, and your tanks could help keep it actually comfortable. As was previously mentioned, get a dehumidifier. Not a bad idea for anyone who keeps open top aquariums just as a general piece of equipment.

Just to add, keep in mind that units like the heat pump/reverse cycle air con are super useful until it gets below 0°. If the heat pump is geothermal, it works fairly well but costs a lot to install. If it's above ground it switches to an electric backup at a certain temperature just like a furnace and will end up costing much money on your electrical bill - like one giant house sized spot heater. Again, super option if you live in a more temperate climate, but not so fantastic if more than 4 months of the year are a snowy winter hell. (Please forgive my bias against cold. I've gotten frostbite a few too many times.)

I'll be following this thread with interest, as I've been looking for heating alternatives as well. Do let us know what you decide on.

Done it, sort of. Years ago, talking over 30 years ago, I was in a 3 bedroom 1.5 bath upstairs with a finished basement below with 4-5 other roommates . The basement was always cool and unheated. The main floor was probably about 1200 sqft.

The first year I put a homemade 110 in my basement room. Kept it a little warmer all winter. The next year I went nuts and put 14 40 breeders in our living room. Did that for a couple years.

The year before we heated the upstairs with an oil furnace and had one gal that was a little warmer blooded that used a space heater from time to time. She moved out before the next winter. Next year I put plastic over our front window for 3 months. We never turned the oil heater on once and our power bill went up all of 15 bucks a month, turned out cheaper in th he long run.

Power runs more these days, and the high ceiling is not what we had. I'd not recommend it to heat your house, but you'd be surprised how much of a heat source 300-500 gallons of 80 degree water can be. Once the tanks get up to heat they tend to want to stay that way, if they're good sized tanks they could bring the temp up to where it holds readily. Expect humidity.

We were in Oregon, more mild temps than where the OP is. I'd make sure the home is heated, but aquariums might help keep it warm.

Hello; A few additional things you might try to help with the heating bill a small bit. During the cold months I save any hot water used. When doing a sink full of dishes allow the water to sit in the sink until cooled down to room temp. Same for warm bath or shower water, let it lose the heat into the room before sending down the drain.

I also do more baking during the cold months. I don't guess this is a big savings, but the heat used for the cooking gives something to eat as well as warming the house.

I rented an apartment one winter while working away from home. The heat unit failed and the landlord was slow to get it fixed. The complex had excellent hot water however. I would run a tub full and sink full of very hot water a few times an evening using one for my bath. The apt was small and this and baking stuff kept it warm enough. I was only there for a place to sleep five days a week so don't know how this would work full time. Also not sure how the landlord came out on the cost. She was the second full fledged hoarder I had known. She had a station wagon crammed with trash so there was only enough room for her to sit behind the wheel.

ok...I doubt there are 30 tanks wall to wall in the house...as every crazy person on this site just suggested would work...yes 500+ gallons dispersed in smaller increments across a large area of the home would work...albeit not efficiently in any regards...I forget you have to cover the absolutely outrageous bases on this site too....

predatorkeeper87 said:

ok...I doubt there are 30 tanks wall to wall in the house...as every crazy person on this site just suggested would work...yes 500+ gallons dispersed in smaller increments across a large area of the home would work...albeit not efficiently in any regards...I forget you have to cover the absolutely outrageous bases on this site too....

Click to expand...

True lol. So many of us end up catching the 'gotta have one of everything' bug and get ridiculous numbers of tanks, suddenly something that seemed totally impossible becomes "oh yeah, I did that". See 14 40 gallon breeders above! But it is important to note that the overall answer is "no, and if you try we support you but please have a standby. And also please consider the health of any fish involved first".

Guess he could get a couple 375g food grade water tanks and set em in every room with thiose huge horse trough heaters thrown in em. (yes its ridiculous and technicaly not fish tanks but those are some big radiators if ya tried it lol)

I did the exact opposite on multiple tanks, I used old room heaters and raised the room tempature, which in turn heated the fish tanks. If u add insulation on Windows and other areas( I've used blankets etc) and keep doors closed combined with heating rooms with air heaters u can keep house and fish warm, u can also move all the tanks into one room and heat just that room to save money.

I've done the same in the past its called a fish room tho I did it in a shed