what would be more economical
- Thread starter aquacutlure
- Start date
Think of it like this. You want a tank at 76 degrees CONSTANT. How hot would a room have to be be to heat 25 gallons of water to 76 and keep it there?
I think it would be more economical to heat the tank. If you plan on having many tanks in that room heating the room may be wiser. 
Or, think about it like this, how long would it take to heat the room with a small aquarium heater? If your mind draws a picture of infinity--I am with you!
Well, I guess the heater could break, start the carpet on fire; and, the fire would get the room VERY WARM. <straight-face>
But, your logic is quite correct! :woot:
Regards,
TA
Better yet, you could keep the aquarium in one large Styrofoam cooler or discarded Styrofoam packaging case, with a top!Originally Posted by thesixis
I would heat the tank and I would cover the sides and bottom with rigid insulation.
............
Trouble is, you'd only save, what, 5 to 10 cents US a month? The ease in viewing the tank without the hassle/ulgy-ness is worth it, in my humble opinion.
To logic this out, electricity here is about 8.75 cents a kilowatt hour--that is, burning up 1,000 watts of electric power for one hour. To operate a 50w heater with, what, a 5% to 25% duty cycle (on-time percentage) for one month ... --oh, OK, let's say it is going to cost you a quarter (25 cents) for a month--just to allow for worst case scenario ... I still would not bother.
Just my two cents.
Regards,
TA
If you heat the room, you actually have to keep it warmer than the tank's target temp as evaporation is constantly cooling the tank. Water will actually hold it's temperature longer than air. Another reason to heat the tank.
I believe that if the room as 80 the tank would eventually stabilize at the same temp.
but it may not be the best/most efficient way of heating the tank.
it takes more energy to heat the water than to heat the room but once the temp was achieved the tank would hold the heat better than the air
heat loss in the room would make the heater/furnace in the house work hard to maintain the temp(unless the room was very very well insulate or if the the ambient temp of the air was warm.. I would say this would be more viable in the tropics.
you would still have to deal with how to 'cool' that tank if the air temp was too hot.
but it may not be the best/most efficient way of heating the tank.
it takes more energy to heat the water than to heat the room but once the temp was achieved the tank would hold the heat better than the air
heat loss in the room would make the heater/furnace in the house work hard to maintain the temp(unless the room was very very well insulate or if the the ambient temp of the air was warm.. I would say this would be more viable in the tropics.
you would still have to deal with how to 'cool' that tank if the air temp was too hot.
even if heating your room to tank temperature was more economical....do you really want to sit in a 84* room to watch your fish? i am assuming you have to heat your room to 84* to keep your tank at 76*....
