200g ply wood build

  • We are currently upgrading MFK. thanks! -neo
just googled it! minows

then had to google minows....

in the interes of saving some cash im also going to be looking into trying to set up a solar powered heater system.

luckely for me the tank is in the lounge so the room temp is always pretty stable and warm. i hardly ever see my heater light on!

a solar heater is an interesting idea. Do you know how you'd go about doing this? I'm very interested in seeing how that turns out.
My heaters are hardly ever on during the spring and summer months. Being on a second floor, my room tends to be a bit warmer than the rest of the house as well so my water temp stays at about 78F naturally.
 
the solar heater....

no official plan just freestyling ideas in my head!
but heres the jist.

solar power has recently become big business here in England. where i live over half the houses have solar panels on the roofs. this was funded by the government.
needless to say, the hobbiest shops (maplin over here) now stock a plethora of DIY solar power goodies.

my plan at the mo is..

get the solar power car battery trickle charger. run a 12v - 240v transformer off the battery ( as if i was powering an xbox in a car)
the heater has a built in thermo that will come on as req.

now if you remember an earlier post, i mentioned that the tank is in my lounge where the temp stays quite stable and warm, so my heater is rarely seen in action.

also, i have seen (whilst searchung for my plumbing supplies, yesterday) solar powered pond pumps!

one thing at a time though!
 
after the intial outlay for the batteries and other equip, hopefully, that'll be the tank up and running for free!

i was already using a water butt for my water changes (the water butt has a power head running with mechanical and activated carbon media)

i say was because we had a massive drought this year and have had virtually no rain fall. the pump burnt out (DOH) and then we had the wettest july EVER
 
Solar panels are stupid expesive around here. I've been thinking of putting a couple on my house, but that was before I found out how much they cost... lol
a fully automated setup would be nice to have. I'm always trying to use less electric, but without solar power, there's only so much I can do.
 
dude, paypal me the $ and ill post it for you!

do us a favor, ive posted a new topic in the polypterus forum (who am i).... any ideas?
 
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