Fish House Questions

[rickyjjuk]

I finally got my other half to let me get a shed to make into a fish house . I was wondering if I could put some sort of heater to heat the shed rather than having separate heaters working in each tank? Would it keep warm enough as I would insulate it with celotex boards and have heaters in the tanks as a back up set on a slightly lower temp?

Also what about condensation ? Would I need to do anything in that respect?

Any opinions or suggestions on items please feel free to let me know guys :dk:

Regards

Ricky

 

[ridout]

Nice work ricky on getting the go ahead for a fish house by high command. :thumbup::thumbup::thumbup:

Have you thought about what size shed you are going to get? Only this may help people with giving you the answers to your questions.

I too am trying to get the permission every fish keeper is after from their partner. So it will be interesting to see what people have to say about starting a fish house from scratch.

Good luck with your fish house Ricky

Ridout

 

[rickyjjuk]

Cheers ridout :thumbup:

The shed is 10x8ft

 

[Zebra Pleco]

I used two of these http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/4ft-Caravan-Shed-Garage-Tubular-Electric-Heater-240W-/320672110462?pt=UK_Home_Garden_Hearing_Cooling_Air&hash=item4aa98c177e

Then each tank has a back heater, but very rarely come on. By using the floor heaters also helps cut down on humidity and moisture etc.

 

[Sloany]

Congrats on getting approval for your fish shed. That's never an easy task. :lol:

I initially used an oil column heater in my fish room but found that it was still quite costly to run and have now changed to a portable reverse cycle air conditioner as I didn't want to cut holes in the walls to install a wall mounted one.

You set the temp to the desired level usually a couplle of degrees higher than you want your tanks to run and and your away. Automatically comes on and turns off as needed. It is also good in keeping the condensation in the room under control.

HTH

Shane

 

[jamous91]

I would just stick with a heater to keep the shed warm and have heaters in all the setups

 

[rickyjjuk]

Thanks guys Has anyone else used the heaters mentioned by zebra pleco?

 

[Zebra Pleco]

Connect the two floor heaters to a plugin thermostat, make the thermostat come on if below 26 deg C and go off at 30 deg C, this kept my tops tanks at 29, my middle tier at 27 and my lower tanks were at 26. Each tank also had a heater in, to help keep temps for water changes etc, but very rarely came on.

Just buy a double socket main adapter (the cube type), then plug both heaters into the adpter then into a plugin thermostat. Could be easier.

Also for lighting, if not using plants, a simple strip light from B&Q, 4ft lights for about £20 which includes ballast and reflector etc.

Polystrene / kingspan your walls and roof and rock the floor. The more insulation the better, but not too much, as I had problems in the Summer trying to keep the place cool, from one extreme to another, but conbatted by adding ventalition fans.

 

[rickyjjuk]

Thanks Stuart just the advice I needed

 

[foti]

I'm planning to use a oil heater for my fish room as a air con for me is not in the budget as yet il have all my tanks/ tiers will be connected to a sump so top and bottom tanks should be same temp!

 

[Zebra Pleco]

rockwool the floor, lol rock the floor. I place rockwool under the floor and then on top of the floor bought a cheap piece of lino, to stop any spills getting to the wooden base and causing rot etc. Also before putting up the shed, now is a good time to plan the drainage and water inputs, also electrical points etc

 

[Andrew]

This was when i built my fish hut; http://www.planetcatfish.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=4&t=14912

I am currently have a problem with invading ants, and would advise you to sprinkle lots of ant powder into the timber framing before insulating and cladding and also sprinkle lots of powder under the floor befoor flooring, while you are building the hut.

I heat each tank individually and use an fan heater to heat the hut to 27 degrees, you could try keeping your hut around 29 degrees to save on heaters, but it will be a very warm place to work in.

I run a dehumidifier on the hut with a constant drain to help with any condensation.

 

[Yoda]

Hi,
I am also thinking of setting up a fish room so am finding this discussion interesting.
Mine is going to be in a garage attached to my house. Further alterations to the garage are not an option.
Is it more cost effective to run a heater in the fishroom and leave less heating for each individual to do? Or don't have the heater, leave the garage at the ambient temp (pretty chilly in winter). But leave each individual heater to heat the tanks. I plan on 4 x 80L tanks (initially)

Thanks

 

[macvsog23]

Hi,
I am also thinking of setting up a fish room so am finding this discussion interesting.
Mine is going to be in a garage attached to my house. Further alterations to the garage are not an option.
Is it more cost effective to run a heater in the fishroom and leave less heating for each individual to do? Or don't have the heater, leave the garage at the ambient temp (pretty chilly in winter). But leave each individual heater to heat the tanks. I plan on 4 x 80L tanks (initially)

Thanks

Can you not insulate the walls with "Kingspan">

 

[Yoda]

The garage is used to store items for my Mrs's business. I have been allocated space along one wall to have a rack of tanks.

The one long side of the garage is attached to the house.
Then there is the opposite wall. (also made of breeze block).
The one short side has the garage door. This is used to access the garage by the Mrs, so blocking it up is not an option.
And then the other short side has a window, and another door for access.

So I think insulating the entire garage is going to be difficult.
I thought, at best, I could build some sort of "cage" around the tanks out of polystyrene sheets. But I am not sure how much I will be able see the tanks that way :cry:

 

[macvsog23]

place Poly sheet cut to the tank size along the back bottom and sides of the tank at night when it will get cold tape a cut to size sheet along the front and place one over the top. Sadly your heating bill is going to go through the roof believe me heating water to 28 c when the outside temp is zero or minus zero will be almost impossible
I would aim for creating a section next to the house wall with a partition using wood and King-span
i hate to dampen any ones enthusiasm but try putting a small tank in the garage and pop a heater in it then watch the meter run up the costs, with the setup you want its going to run to around £30 a week for your heating in the summer alone.

As I said try a partitioned area or buy the wife a shed for her stuff?
You must have plans for the house can you scan the garage bit and send it to me at macvsog_23 @yahoo.co.uk ? I could draw in a partitioned area and send it back?

regards Bob

 

[Joby]

My fishroom is in my garage but luckily for me its mostly integral so has a bedroom above and the lounge and kitchen on one side/end. To get round the metal door losing heat I installed a false wall with a door. Put plastic sheeting either side of wooden frame and filled with sheets of poly insulation then added silver backed bubblewrap a couple of years later which has made a big difference. Room temp is now 26 degrees which is ok to work in, or I just open door ajar, and I heat tanks individually :yes:

Good luck if you decide to go for it :thumbup:

 

[Yoda]

Joby,
My garage is integral too. My bedroom is above the garage like yours.
I think the main area where there will be heat loss is through the garage door. But as I need to access this, I can't block it up. The door swings open in quite a large arc. So I don't think I can put in a false wall with another door. There will be too much "dead space"

As I said above, what I thought of doing, was using polystyrene to insulate. Either the tanks on an individual basis.
Or the rack in its enterity.
But not sure how effective this will be?
Or maybe some plastic/bubblewrap "curtains" around the rack?

Bob,
I went on to a power calculating website.
Input the rate I pay, and the watts of the heater. And it came to about £35 a month, assuming the heater is running full time.

 

[macvsog23]

is that for one heater or for several? Will the heater at your selected wattage keep the tank at 28 c when the ambient temp is -2?
My fish house ran for 2 weeks like this with no insulation it cost around £30 per week to run.
I had 2 x 4 foot tanks and 3 x 3 foot tanks they had 1k watts of heating in each tank and never got above 26 c once it drops below zero its a losing battle to keep tanks over 28 c
I have good installation and it still cost me around £5 to £10 per month to run the fish house
Also you have to add filters
Also any heater runing 24/7 will burn out after a time
Regards Bob

 

[Joby]

Joby,
My garage is integral too. My bedroom is above the garage like yours.
I think the main area where there will be heat loss is through the garage door. But as I need to access this, I can't block it up. The door swings open in quite a large arc. So I don't think I can put in a false wall with another door. There will be too much "dead space"

As I said above, what I thought of doing, was using polystyrene to insulate. Either the tanks on an individual basis.
Or the rack in its enterity.
But not sure how effective this will be?
Or maybe some plastic/bubblewrap "curtains" around the rack?

Bob,
I went on to a power calculating website.
Input the rate I pay, and the watts of the heater. And it came to about £35 a month, assuming the heater is running full time.

I too have an up and over door but the "dead space" as you call it holds racks with tools, paint, my son's bike and pressure washer for the car etc. its amazing how much you can get in that 1/4 bit of garage :yes: