Heating Fish Room?

I'm at the point where jarring is right around the corner, and I'm really reluctant to do so because of the temperature of the room. My house isn't freezing, it's always at 74-75*, but I think the fry would do much better with warmer conditions. I was wondering if anyone has any recommendations for a room heater? The tanks are all in my closet... it's a really huge walk-in closet, with shelving that's perfect for keeping the jars on. The closet is pretty big, but I don't think it'd take a big heater to keep it at 78-80*. I'd probably find a way to block off the heat from escaping, like covering the bottom of the door. Any ideas or suggestions?

get yourself an oil filled one - then there are no fire risks from a heating elament

they also hold their heat well.

I'm probubly going to get one for our shed
at the moment we've got an electric one in there and its all well and good but its on and off all the time - an oil one will provide a more even heating.

smithrc, are you planning on heating and insulating the shed for heat, or are you going to have invdividual'or a water heating system for tanks?

Matty said:

smithrc, are you planning on heating and insulating the shed for heat, or are you going to have invdividual'or a water heating system for tanks?

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room is v.well insilated (better than most houses) the tanks are heated indvidually - the room heater is just to stop fluctuations in the tanks and to keep it warm for me - the electric heater dosnt come on too often anyway. might have something to do with the insulation that would have cost me £550 -

Shed thread is >here< (its 13 pages so far!!)

I'd go for an electric space heater with a thermostat. They monitor the room temp and switch themselves on and off automatically when needed.
I use one in my room because I'm incredibly cold-natured and prefer temps at around 80 degrees, about 3-5 degrees warmer than my parents normally set the temp (we have central heat and air conditioning). The one I have doesn't display the specific temp, just has a turn dial that goes from "off" to "warmest", but then again it was only $10. We have one in the room our birds are in that has a digital readout of the temp, it's some kind of "tower" heater. The more expensive they are, the quieter they'll be, but if you're not too bothered by the noise of the fan blowing you can get a real nice one for $15-20

I have a small ceramic space heater that rotates and has a thermostat (which I have on minimum) and also a dehumidifier in my fish room.

The heater doubles as a fan during the summer.

All the tanks have individual heaters as well especially as I have young fry in a couple of them I want to keep the heat reasonably constant, although even in the wild the temps drop slightly at night.

Thanks so much for all of the advice! I have no experience at all with oil heaters, so I'm leaning towards a small space heater. Synirr, do you know if they take up a lot of energy? I will probably opt for one that turns off when it hits about 80* in the room.

splashluff said:

Synirr, do you know if they take up a lot of energy? I will probably opt for one that turns off when it hits about 80* in the room.

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Not sure... my dad always gripes about mine, but I don't think when it's only a couple of degrees difference it's really all that bad. My dad has a refrigerator that serves no other purpose than to keep a beer keg cool, so he can't talk (we all know how much energy fridges use!) It has a tap drilled in the side

Synirr said:

My dad has a refrigerator that serves no other purpose than to keep a beer keg cool, so he can't talk It has a tap drilled in the side

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That's freaking awesome
. There's a 99% chance my dad will not even notice. He never notices the fish stuff I order with his credit card... heh.

You really don't need to put a space heater in a closet. Space heaters need 6 feet clearance on each side (yes, sometimes even the back) otherwise you run the risk of starting a fire from the direct heat flow. It doesn't matter what type heater it is either..even the gas ones designed to put on a wall have instructions that require a min. of 6' clearance on the front and sides.

Also, most closets don't get any heat from the HVAC system, I know mine sure don't..the closets are much colder then the room they are in in most cases (really sucks in the mornings whenI reach in to get my coat lol..and I have to put on a cold coat *grrr* ), since they don't have registers in them and the door usually stays closed. My house stays at 72 degrees...if I don't have the heaters in my tanks on..the tanks will drop down to 67-68ish. Just because your room is 72 degrees does not mean the tank will be.
Think about a swimming pool, it may be 100 degrees outside and the swimming pool (unlesssituated in a spot where it is in direct sunlight for the majority of the day) will never be close to 100 degrees..they generally stay around 86 degrees or cooler. Water just doesn't warm the same as air.

I suggest making yourself a small system where you can put the heaters in a tub of water and put the individual jars in that tub of heated water (would work the same with a 10 gallon tank as well). Whatever you heat the water to is what the rest of the jars will be as well..and it will be stable. Either that or using heating pads, although to be honest, you still run a risk of fire with those...since they really aren't suposed to be left on for indefinate periods of time or have things sat on them (I used to use heating pads until I actually read the back of the box *yikes* ).

Wow, thank you for all of that SRC. That's an awesome idea! I really wanted to start a barracks system, anyway. I keep 2 of my other adult Betta girls in there also, and I keep really accurate thermometers in their tank that always read 74-75*. If it was any colder in there, I'd definitely move them out. Also, I measured my closet and it's 10' x 5'.

How many tanks do you think I'd need to jar, say, 20 fry and keep the jars in it? Or how big of a tank? Do you think it'd be easier to just divide up a 20 long? Sorry for all of the questions.

when i say oil heater - its nothing special... ita an oil filled heater - a bit like an electric towel rail...

one sec - I'll find a link to one

here is one- not quite the shape i was looking for but you get the idea
http/www.argos.co.uk/static/Product/partNumber/4157708.htm

Ah ha... this is what i was on about
http/www.argos.co.uk/static/Product/partNumber/4157973.htm

The clearance needed for an electric space heater depends on the individual model. Mine only requires 3' clearance, not that I follow that.... there's a plastic tub about a foot behind it, and I actually rest my feet on top of it when I'm at my desk (so obviously it's not that hot). It would be a good idea to pay attention to the suggested clearance if you were planning to leave it on when you weren't there though, of course.

Your right Synnir..the electrical ones are 3', it's the gas ones that are 6'.

But I still don't reccommend putting one in a closet and walking away from it...that's just an accident waiting to happen. Like all these houses you see burn down in the winter, because the residents were poor (not saying you are poor) and have to use space heaters, but usually place them in inadequate spaces and end up catching their houses on fire .

*smithrc* That is a radiator...I thought that might have been what you were referring to, but wasn't sure. That would actually be a great option...if you are willing to spend that kind of money. Those were very popular since Victorian Times (yay for Design classes huh? lol), but even though they don't put out "alot" of heat I think they would be a great viable option...if you can get around the price.

/off mom mode

I think a 20L would be overly plenty (and rather heavy)...or two 10 gallons would hold 20 fry boxes (assuming you are using something comparable to beanie boxes)...just put some of that plastic canvas in between them so they can't readily see each other all the time. Just have to make sure they aren't too heavy for your shelf once water is put in them.

Keep in mind 1 gallon of water = 8.33 lbs (or 3.7854118 liters), so it can get really heavy really quick.

Beanie boxes fit very well side by side, I mean they are only 4" x 4" boxes .