Fish House

[mike0605]

Hi,

I am getting very close to having the electrics installed in my brick shed approx 6 foot by 5 foot.

I plan on insulating the shed once the electrics are installed and was looking at getting an electric heater to heat the shed with the heaters in the tanks set at a lawer temperature to save on electricity as I seen some people use this method with a plug in thermostat (Good idea?)

Basically I just wanted a bit of info from anyone with a fish house/shed conversion as to what my electricity bill is likely to increase by. I appreciate this will only be approximate and will of course be a more expensive estimate for the winter months.

I plan on running external filters because I want to have a go at breeding plecs and want the flow in the tank.

Any ideas on weekly electricity cost? just so I can plan ahead

Thanks.

 

[mike0605]

Anyone got any rough estimates? Also would I need some kind of vent/fan for the summer months?

Thanks

 

[bigbird]

Hello,

My fish house is actually under the house so to speak.
I would presume that if you have a shed, that the best investment would be insulation, in the beginning phase, especially knowing how cold your winters are and also how warm the summers can be. I think your aim will be to try and keep a constant temperature. I can only tell you from my last rack, I siliconed styrohone around the tanks and use LED light now as well, this for a huge cost saving as well. I would also presume you do need some sort of fan, otherwise you would be mould build up as well. Maybe also a suggestion, if you can build the fish house against an existing house wall. This would also provide a cheaper alternative, as you then need 3 walls insyead of 4 and if done correctly, your house wall would also insulate. anyway hope others reply but this just pops into me head. cheers jk :thumbup:

 

[Brengun]

See if you can google an electricity calculator. Here in Australia there is one you can put how much the price of electricity is, what wattage the appliance is, how many hours a day you use it and it will calculate how much it will cost to run for a day, month, year.
We run on 240v power here. Usa is 120? We get zapped and you notice it for sure lol.
http://www.fishyou.com/aquarium-calculator.php

 

[mike0605]

Thanks Guys.

I have the opportunity to go for an overlap wooden shed 12 foot by 8 foot. This would give me a lot more room than my brick shed, would be easier to install insulation and it would also be less hastle to install a vent that I could cover over with a piece of insualtion in the winter and leave open in the warmer summer months.

Can anyone advise me of any plus' negatives with this or advise which I should go for (from experience).

The 12 foot by 8 foot shed would allow me to keep more tanks woooo but if not practical I would proceed with converting my brick shed.

The way I was considering it is that I need to buy a shed anyways to store all of my things from my brick shed and thought if I get a bigger one than I needed it may work out better to do it the other way keep my things in my brick shed and use the larger wooden shed for my fish house. Also, I got a big bargain on loft insulation a while back which I am currently storing and it would be much easier to install this in a wooden shed.

One draw back with the wooden shed is that whilst my back yard is flat well the part were I intend to put the wooden shed anyway, (it used to be used as a drive) If the shed needs to be raised from the floor, for obvious reasons I take it it does? then does anyone have a good solution for this? bearing in mind I am rubbish at diy well diy of this level anyway haha.

Just want to make sure I make the right decision with assistance from people who know their stuff.

Thanks

 

[bigbird]

Evening,

Just my thoughts again
- I would place your timber shed on a concrete slab. then it is level and would be reasonably clean
- Brick sheds I think insulate better, so make sure the timber shed is insulation correctly.
- Might have more mould issues with timber ?
- In Australia they sell small solar power fans that some news homes have to remove damp, maybe install some of these in the roof area
- make sure you have a good water supply and consider also collecting rain water off the roof. Rain water I use to wash out filters.
- Make sure you have more than less power points
cant wait for photos and you end product.

cheers jk :thumbup:

 

[mike0605]

Update,

Decided to stick with my concrete shed, can always expand this at a later date if things go well with the fish house.

I am therefore now shopping for a small shed to store all my junk and free up my brick shed.

I will be purchasing a shed over the next few weeks for this.

I am also looking at getting a HMA/RO or both. Can anyone advise where you can buy the fittings to connect to your mains cold water pipe? Also is the waste water from an RO system HMA water? as it has passed through the other canisters of the filter save for the RO part?

Thanks