i live in los angeles i was wondering if there is any problem setting up a tank out doors. i will have a heater and filter running on it.
tanks outdoors
- Thread starter fishbait912
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I have an unfiltered unheated 10 gallon outside with plant clippings and cherry shrimp and its doing great. Going on a little over 2 years now.
My piece of advice, keep it out of direct light and cover it.
My piece of advice, keep it out of direct light and cover it.
TFH had an article a couple months ago where a guy had an outdoor tank with Archers and plants arround it to attract insects for them to shoot down. Looked pretty cool.
You might not even need the heater, maybe at night... I have one here IN Louisiana, has no heater and does good--stocked with largemouth bass......
I live in SoCal. I put a 40g acrylic in my garage like last month w/Convicts (5) & GT's (2). I have a heater on it that goes on every night at about 7pm to keep it at 76-78. My garage side door is open during the day & closed at night. No real problems yet. Although our temps here are pretty stable, it does still get a bit cool at night and a 40g doesn't really have the capacity to maintain a constant temp on its own.
Bass are from colder water so it would make sense. Cichlids are usually from 72-78 degree constant water so I don't know. It's like 63 right now so how long can a 40g tank maintain the daytime temp? I'd say a couple of hours, but without a heater, it would drop to the ambient outside temp so by midnight, you'd have a 63 degree tank. A heater would probably keep it in the right temp range, but my electric bill has jumped quite a bit in the past month and I would link it to the heater kicking in every night. My garage is not insulated.
Bass are from colder water so it would make sense. Cichlids are usually from 72-78 degree constant water so I don't know. It's like 63 right now so how long can a 40g tank maintain the daytime temp? I'd say a couple of hours, but without a heater, it would drop to the ambient outside temp so by midnight, you'd have a 63 degree tank. A heater would probably keep it in the right temp range, but my electric bill has jumped quite a bit in the past month and I would link it to the heater kicking in every night. My garage is not insulated.
Eh, wait a few months. Of course then we have like 95 degree days and you'd have some poached fish without proper cooling and that might not be an easy project outdoors.
I'd guess not the best choice in any situation. San Diego area might be a good place to do this. Avg temp is like 72 all year round and somewhat humid.
I am contemplating insulating my garage, covering the walls in MDF wood sheets for added insulation, painting the MDF gloss white, and loading the garage with tanks, but that's a good amount of time away. Even that will likely lead to excess heat over the summer so then I'll need A/C units or swamp coolers, or some industrial fans to generate tank sweat (evaporation).
If you wanted an outdoor tank, you could keep MANY tanks and them bunched together to conserve heat/cold loss. A single 40g or even 75g would be too susceptible to temp variations, I think.
I'd guess not the best choice in any situation. San Diego area might be a good place to do this. Avg temp is like 72 all year round and somewhat humid.
I am contemplating insulating my garage, covering the walls in MDF wood sheets for added insulation, painting the MDF gloss white, and loading the garage with tanks, but that's a good amount of time away. Even that will likely lead to excess heat over the summer so then I'll need A/C units or swamp coolers, or some industrial fans to generate tank sweat (evaporation).
If you wanted an outdoor tank, you could keep MANY tanks and them bunched together to conserve heat/cold loss. A single 40g or even 75g would be too susceptible to temp variations, I think.