new project

[danbedfordshire]

hi all, im thinking on a new project for the summer, and just wondered if any of u here have had the same idea or have one!! Im thinking of putting together a new shed for the garden in the summer, and thought hey!! How about having a couple of tanks out there (and leave her indoors)lol. Now this is what i had in mind, maybe someone can guide me, i will line the shed with polystyrene and then line that with a thin layer of mdf maybe or hardboard, so it will be warm in there even over the winter months, also is any extra heating needed, like an electric fire to keep the temp during the night. I cant wait to get sdtarted, but don't wanna do it wrong and end up with dead fish etc.


thanks

dan

 

[yvez9]

Of ypou're going to keep fish year round, you are going to need some sort of heating in there otherwise your heaters won't hold up to the task.

you should be fine in the summer months though, unless it is cold in the UK.

 

[breezer40]

I have just set up my fish house (shed).

As well as the making the shed waterproof and lining the it you also need to think about condensation. I have waterproofed the whole of the inside otherwise the wood will warp and eventually rot.

As for heating think room temperatures! Making a bunch of tank heaters work overtime because the fish house in unheated costs far more than installing a perminant oil filled heater which keeps the shed at a constant 78%.

 

[Zenn]

Got to be careful Danbedfordshire, with all the snow that has cover bedfordshire for the past couple of week, tropical fish wont last long in that weather, not let alone the bitter wind that was going around yesterday...

(If you didnt Guess i live in bedfordshire too, i am in Luton)

I was thinking about making one myself, but as people have said, the tank heaters wont hold up the tempeture for the fish alone, you need some sort of other heater on the outside to make sure the heat in and around the tank is balanced, or you will get unhappy fish hanging by the fish tank heater all the time

 

[CFC]

I am in the process of building a 12x8x8' fish house at the moment.

The outer lining is being constructed out of 3/4" plyboard on a 3x2" timber frame which is set on a base of 6x2" timbers and 1" plyboard, the roof is also constructed from 3x2" timber and 3/4" plyboard and covered with two layers of felt. The wall and ceiling cavities will be insulated with sheets of rockwool and then the inside lined with 1/4" plyboard to keep all the insulation in place. The fishhouse will be heated by two 2kw oil filled radiators with thermostats, ventilation will be provided by vents cut into the floor and eves of the roof. Racking for tanks will be constructed of 6x2" and 4x2" timbers and will be waterproofed and sealed with two coats of yacht varnish.

MDF and hardboard are unsuitable materials for a fishhouse due to the humid and damp atmosphere, also because of this same problem ventilation is extreemly important to keep any timber dry and rot free. Polystyrene is also not recomended as a insulation as it doesnt allow moisture to escape and is inferior to modern insulating products.
The fishhouse will also need its own consumer board to run sockets, heating and lighting from and armoured cable linking the fishouse consumer board to the house main fuse box.

 

[Bloomjack]

Hi I got a Large tubr heater which plugs into the mains. It is like a ceramic tube that is used for keeping foreign birds in an avary. This heater can probably be found at Pet shops, I am going to use this in my fish shed

 

[danbedfordshire]

cheers for the tips fellas, cant wait to start, gotta find a cheap shed now, b&q seem to be the cheapest,for the bigger shed

 

[Aylana]

Hi, keep us updated on your progress with this, I for one would be interested to see how it goes!