Any ideas on heating and filtering 4500 gallons?
- Thread starter joshs801
- Start date
A couple folks have done this exact setup on MFK. Look up a guy with a screen name of VLDesign. He built two very large tanks in his basement. The last tank he filtered with a large canister filter called Ultima and he heated the tank by cycling water through his gas hot water heater to the tank via PEX line.
Another option is to insulate and improve the heating of the basement. For the same reason that Egon mentioned, gas heating is far easier, more reliable and less expensive than electric heaters in the tank. Using ambient temperature from the basement can make heating the tank a snap, but is expensive if the basement has poor insulation. I lived in Chicago and had an ~900 sq foot basement with only 100 sq feet finished. I finished 600 square feet, and finishing it enabled the basement to operate at 15+ degrees higher in the winter with no change in anything else in the house. Most of this came from insulating the walls and floors.
Either way, I'd price out all the options for heating a 4500 as different parts of the country have different utility rates and climates. 1) aquarium heaters 2) heat exchange thru water heater 3) insulation and NG space heating 4) other
I'm interested in this actual question as I have a similar issue. I determined that space heating was most cost effective, but the assumption was using an above-ground well insulated room. I'm sure I'd have more things to consider with a basement.
Also, keep in mind that 4,500+ gallons will create a lot of humidity. You may want to have an expert look at the house and discuss adding a vent/fan to remove humid air, consider painting or sealing wood and walls with anti fungal paint of sealant, and looking at what drains you have in the existing floor (sump pumps perhaps) to help the project. This may be more of a problem in the winter where you may keep the windows closed (due to temperature), but in so doing trap water vapor.
I'm excited for you. I wish I was this far along, but it's great you are planning ahead.
Either way, I'd price out all the options for heating a 4500 as different parts of the country have different utility rates and climates. 1) aquarium heaters 2) heat exchange thru water heater 3) insulation and NG space heating 4) other
I'm interested in this actual question as I have a similar issue. I determined that space heating was most cost effective, but the assumption was using an above-ground well insulated room. I'm sure I'd have more things to consider with a basement.
Also, keep in mind that 4,500+ gallons will create a lot of humidity. You may want to have an expert look at the house and discuss adding a vent/fan to remove humid air, consider painting or sealing wood and walls with anti fungal paint of sealant, and looking at what drains you have in the existing floor (sump pumps perhaps) to help the project. This may be more of a problem in the winter where you may keep the windows closed (due to temperature), but in so doing trap water vapor.
I'm excited for you. I wish I was this far along, but it's great you are planning ahead.