I have 5 fish tanks running at this time. Winter is coming and I do not want to pay a lot for my electricity bill. The heaters will tend to turn on a lot in the colder months. I was thinking about buying some insulating material and wrapping the sides and the back of my tanks. Did anyone ever take this approach and what material is the best?
Insulating an aquarium for the winter months
- Thread starter Red_Belly_Pacu
- Start date
Nevermind, I looked it up in the internet. Styrofoam insulating sheets will work. I am going to put it on the sides, and the back and maybe the top with some tape. It is the white stuff that the LFS gets in when they get a shipment of fish in a box.
What room do you keep them in?
Seems to me that if this is inside the house, you'd be better off reinforcing the room's insulation and then just heating the room.
Totally different story in the garage or basement, of course...
If you're really handy you could look into one of those hot water heater solutions that a few people have done. I'm quite curious about that myself...
Seems to me that if this is inside the house, you'd be better off reinforcing the room's insulation and then just heating the room.
Totally different story in the garage or basement, of course...
If you're really handy you could look into one of those hot water heater solutions that a few people have done. I'm quite curious about that myself...
DaveB;4588069; said:
Tanks are in the basment. I think the styrofoam idea is pretty good. It is kind of like shipping fishes in a box and they will be kept warm in that styrofoam box. It might be kind of an eye sore but hey it is just for the winter and I can always take it out.
I'd look at improving the insulation/heat in the basement. Which since it is under the house will help heat the house and may actually LOWER your power bill.
When we kept tanks in our basement years ago. We stick framed all the concrete basement walls and added R-11 insulation to the walls and added some r-24 ish between the basement and house.
Just the heat from the tanks kept the basement at 78 degrees. But we did have 20-30 tanks going. Ran a small dehumidifier in the basement(we live in a dry area so a small was all that was needed) to help control moisture and it worked great. power bill went down because water resists thermal change and once it was at temp it took only a tiny time-on from the heaters to keep it there.
When we kept tanks in our basement years ago. We stick framed all the concrete basement walls and added R-11 insulation to the walls and added some r-24 ish between the basement and house.
Just the heat from the tanks kept the basement at 78 degrees. But we did have 20-30 tanks going. Ran a small dehumidifier in the basement(we live in a dry area so a small was all that was needed) to help control moisture and it worked great. power bill went down because water resists thermal change and once it was at temp it took only a tiny time-on from the heaters to keep it there.
Yeah, definitely worth trying. I seem to recall that the Holmes on Homes folks did a basement job that involved just a bunch of sheets of the pink insulation on the floors and walls, then just some basic framing and drywall. I guess over a huge space, that ends up not being super cheap, but it's not a huge cost, given the benefits.
Otherwise, though, I bet you could make up some kind of lightweight box of foam that you can easily lift off the tanks for maintenance. Might be easier than dealing with some kind of adhesive.
Otherwise, though, I bet you could make up some kind of lightweight box of foam that you can easily lift off the tanks for maintenance. Might be easier than dealing with some kind of adhesive.
