Some help for a possible outside tank

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unexpectedcustom

Feeder Fish
MFK Member
Jan 24, 2006
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washington
Hi there, I have a question regarding a large tank that I am making that is probably going to have to placed outside due to it being 4ft wide. I live in Washington so during the winter months it gets cold, so I want to do everyting I can to keep it warm and safe for the fishes that are going to be housed in it. I'm already planning on building a skeletal structure around it for added strength on top of using 1in thick plywood, so I was curious if I could use some sort of insulation if I place another skin of plywood around the skeletal structure? Is it going to be fatal to the fish or no? Lol, if this isn't going to work it looks like I'm going to have to remove the sliding glass door in my living room and bring the tank inside that way. Any help would be great thanks.
Oh, by the way, the tank dimensions are 96"L x 48"W x 36" Dhttp://www.monsterfishkeepers.com/forums/images/smilies/headbang2.gif
:headbang2
 
If you completely house the insulation there won't be a problem, but make sure to seal the outside from the weather. Where in Washington are you? If you're out east lots of snow will be tough to compete with, but out west there is sooo much water. I'd take it inside myself, who wants to go outside in washington during the winter?
 
You could use rigid foam insulation around entire tank including top and bottom. You can get these up to 4 inches thick by 8ft by 4 ft.
 
If you are building it, build it inside. There is no way to build a skin thick enough to keep your tank from freezing. The crazy/expensive way to do it is to build a heated insulated shed for it.
 
An outdoor tank is not feasible in northern winters because of the temperature differential. A layer of foam insulation isn't going to even come close. Six inches of insulation is on the the light side of being practical. Still at six inches, the cost to heat it will be staggering. In the worse weather there, say 20 below zero...you are going to heat the water to, lets just say, 60 degrees. The temp differential is eighty degrees F. In the south, our winters are rarely in the thirties. The forties and fifties are typical. At the worse we would only have a thirty degree temp differential.

Here is the bad part. According to Newtons Law of Cooling, the larger the temperature differential, the faster the heat transfer will be. It is an exponential function, not linear.

Sell the couch to make room and put the tank indoors. Tanks are cooler in the house anyway.
 
CHOMPERS;581897; said:
An outdoor tank is not feasible in northern winters because of the temperature differential. A layer of foam insulation isn't going to even come close. Six inches of insulation is on the the light side of being practical. Still at six inches, the cost to heat it will be staggering. In the worse weather there, say 20 below zero...you are going to heat the water to, lets just say, 60 degrees. The temp differential is eighty degrees F. In the south, our winters are rarely in the thirties. The forties and fifties are typical. At the worse we would only have a thirty degree temp differential.

Here is the bad part. According to Newtons Law of Cooling, the larger the temperature differential, the faster the heat transfer will be. It is an exponential function, not linear.

Sell the couch to make room and put the tank indoors. Tanks are cooler in the house anyway.
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I agree with the feasibilty of it but it can be done. As for the foam insulation, the reason I suggested it, it can be layered, exposure to outdoor enviroments will not harm it, easy to box a tank in with, and the main reason I have used it on above ground outdoor alligator ponds in Northern Ohio winters and was very successful at keeping water temps in the 80 to 84 degree range. Now with that said, you must be willing to fork the cash to keep it heated especially when temps drop sub zero my meter disc ran circles so fast it made me dizzy.:nilly: So with this in mind even if you couldnt do it yourself it would be cheaper in long run to pay someone to remove sliding doors and reinstall then pay to heat the tank outside.;)
 
WOW, I hate to ask...but what did your power bills run during the winter?
 
CHOMPERS;582116; said:
WOW, I hate to ask...but what did your power bills run during the winter?
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Well I had a 300 gallon and a 500 gallon. This was 8 years ago and the best month was around $800.00 the worst month topped $1000.00.:( Thats why I switched to gas heaters and indoor ponds.:D Keep in mind the electric bill also included basking lights and air temp control for gators also.
 
Wow, lol, I'm not sure what part of Washington you think I live in, which by the way is the western part of the state not to far away from Seattle, but the coldest it ever gets in my back yard is maybe 30 degrees. The area is also a covered patio. The one reason I'm trying to avoid taking off the sliding doors is due to the fact that I'm renting this place and my land lord for lack of a better term is an *******. http://www.monsterfishkeepers.com/forums/images/smilies/cry.gif
:cry: Thanks for the help so far though guys.
 
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