Efficient Heating?

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danyal2

Feeder Fish
MFK Member
Jul 30, 2009
40
0
0
Michigan
Hey MFK. I'm trying to look into more efficient heating method, as my electric bill is hitting $200 this month. I keep my fish room in my basement which is very cold around 60 degrees F. But my tanks don't fit anywhere easily in any other place in my home. Which leads me to heat them 20+ degrees past room temp.

I'm taking the obvious measures and attempting to insulate windows and any doors as much as possible to concentrate the heating area but its still usually around the same temp. My second thought is to add lids to every tank which I am also in the process of doing. I use mainly marineland stealth/ ebo jager heaters. I have to overheat them to get them to reach appropriate temps, which is around 10w per gallon in some cases.

Are titanium heaters any more cost effective? or any particular brand or model? I'm just looking to save on heating so that I can still have all of my tanks up. Any ideas are appreciated!
 
i know how you feel bro .. i got about 25 tanks in the basement ... and its cold winters here in philidelphia .... as of now .. my tanks are at a constant 68-69 degrees .... all i keep are cichlids ... they seem to be thriving pretty well in that temp
 
Lids will help. I think you're on the right track. Insulate the basement and try to get the room temperature up as much as possible.
 
I use pretty much nothing but titanium heaters. There is no real efficiency difference between titanium and regular heaters. You should look at continuing to insulate the basement and also look at insulating the tanks individually if necessary. My basement stays pretty cool and my bill isn't too bad.
 
I was going to say insulate each tank. I recently added 1" styrofoam to the back and sides of my tanks. It has helped. You can get a 4'x8' sheet at home depot for 4 or 6 bucks. Can't remember exactly.
 
As Pharaoh mentioned, titanium heeaters are no more efficient. They big benefit they offer are they are not going to break in the tank...

Insulating the basement to hold in whatever heat is there will help and you seem to have a grasp on doing that...

Putting lids on individual tanks will help a lot. They will also reduce evaporation/humidity which can lead to structural problems in the home long term.

Insulating the tanks themselves will also make a considerable difference. 1/2" styrofoam will be plenty. As an option, cut styrofoam to fit, paint the outside of the glass, press the foam onto the wet paint and brace. This ensures the foam and the glass are a tight fit which maximizes the efficiency of the insulation as well as prevents the foam from being seen through the glass. Naturally the more of the glass you have insultated the better it will retain heat. This includes the bottom of the tank if it is open to air.
 
deffinatly insulating the basement will help if your basement has rooms where your fish tank is insulate the room if ur looking to save some money. again if its a room just add a space heater i have a very old oil run one it gets the room up to sweating heats. when i run my lights with a lid i hit 2 degrees above my normal temp. and im using standered lights. make sure that the lid is very tighti have hob filters its a pain to get those tight but again im cheap.
 
space heater in the basement helps me
 
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