heating a tank

[bartender_in_ny]

i have a 10 gallon tank i plan to use for minnows this winter for ice fishing bait...i plan to keep it in my UN-HEATED florida room, i live in BUFFLAO NY very cold in winter!!!! our temps at times can get below zero, my question is can i use liek a penn plax type tube glasss heater to keep this tank around 34 degrees or so? wil the heater be on al the time? wil it last? our average temps in dec + jan our usualy in btw the teens to 30ish getting coldat nite.....what do ya think? can i do this? the minnows like it cold, last yr i kep my bucket out there + just the surface froze and lost a few fish..but if i bring um in the house they die as its too warm, they like it cold!!!! plz advie

 

[Rubicon]

A buddy of mine a while back was living in one of those trailer-park trailers with an addition out in the country a while back. The place was wood heat only, and during the winters up in the north country of BC it could get a bit crisp to say the least. ( -15 C was about average in january ). Suffice to say, during the day the place would basicly freeze. ( little insulation, crappy windows ). Had one of those glass tube type tank heaters and while standing water elsewhere in the place would slush over the tank itself would rarely drop below 12-15 C.

If memory serves I think it was a 15 or 20 gallon tank.

However these were tropicals, not "bait". It annoyed me when he'd wonder why he was losing fish left right and center. Seemed sure I was talkin' out of my ass when I suggested daily temperature variations of 15c to 25-30c was most likely stressin his fish to death. ( when they'd get home they'd stoke up the two fireplaces and the place would get pipin hot ).

Point being I suspect if the tank is small enough a tank heater would be able to keep up easily. Only thing I'd suggest is putting some kind of heat shield around the element to keep the fishes for burning themselves getting too close hangin out by the warmth. If the place is constantly unheated the tank heater is gonna be constantly on and they do get hot.

Just my two bits.

 

[Rubicon]

I think the word "bait" brought a chill to the forum