Fish room temperature

[Jimmy]

Planning phase of small fish room. Ceiling height is only a little over 7 feet. I want to do killifish, psuedomugils and Cory cats. Corys are going in 20 longs on bottom rack. They prefer it only slightly warmer. Obviously the top 2 racks will be slightly warmer than the 20 longs. Will a fan suspended higher up opposite side of the room of the heater even out the different temperatures between rack height or do you have to accept the variance?

I hope my question makes sense, thanks for the continuing support!

Picture is my 40b in our living room.

[Rob E.]

I've found that a fan makes a huge difference in keeping all of my tanks around the same temperature.  It will depend on the size of the room and the size of the fan though.

My fish room (20'x16') has tanks stacked 3 high on a basement slab.  In the summer months (Michigan) the temperature difference between the top and bottom tanks was maybe 5 degrees.  In the winter I would run a vent free gas heater, and the temp from top to bottom would be considerable, but also from one side of the room to the other as the heater was in the corner. I added a 10" vornado fan rate for 415cfm and that help a lot, but i still had areas that were too hot or too cold. I bought an 18" Air King that puts out 2600 to 3200 cfm and that was overkill, but all of my tanks are currently within a degree of each other. 

 

[Jimmy]

On 7/26/2021 at 11:52 AM, Rob E. said:

I've found that a fan makes a huge difference in keeping all of my tanks around the same temperature.  It will depend on the size of the room and the size of the fan though.

My fish room (20'x16') has tanks stacked 3 high on a basement slab.  In the summer months (Michigan) the temperature difference between the top and bottom tanks was maybe 5 degrees.  In the winter I would run a vent free gas heater, and the temp from top to bottom would be considerable, but also from one side of the room to the other as the heater was in the corner. I added a 10" vornado fan rate for 415cfm and that help a lot, but i still had areas that were too hot or too cold. I bought an 18" Air King that puts out 2600 to 3200 cfm and that was overkill, but all of my tanks are currently within a degree of each other. 

 

Thank you for the response. I’m working with less than 60 square feet so maybe I won’t struggle finding a fan then? The low ceiling might make it slightly easier to manage too. You exhaust the room in any way?

[Rob E.]

@Jimmy  I do have air exchange in the room, but I don't know if I would consider it an exhaust.  I made my fish room by hanging moving blankets from the joists to cut my basement in half.  The half with the tanks also contains the furnace and hot water heater so it includes the fresh air vent.  In the winter when I run the furnace and the gas heater, I open the register on the furnace to help heat the room.  All the return ducts are upstairs so the air naturally flows through gaps in the moving blankets and upstairs. Even with flow through the blankets, they are very good at keeping the fish room warmer than the rest of the basement. The gas heater is designed for indoor use and produces co2 and water vapor.  

[Jimmy]

On 7/26/2021 at 1:08 PM, Rob E. said:

@Jimmy  I do have air exchange in the room, but I don't know if I would consider it an exhaust.  I made my fish room by hanging moving blankets from the joists to cut my basement in half.  The half with the tanks also contains the furnace and hot water heater so it includes the fresh air vent.  In the winter when I run the furnace and the gas heater, I open the register on the furnace to help heat the room.  All the return ducts are upstairs so the air naturally flows through gaps in the moving blankets and upstairs. Even with flow through the blankets, they are very good at keeping the fish room warmer than the rest of the basement. The gas heater is designed for indoor use and produces co2 and water vapor.  

Gotcha, my room will be framed into my detached shop in a corner. Not sure if I will need to vent it or if the tight fitted lid on every aquarium and dehumidifier will be enough. I’m working real hard to over insulate and in my head it’s hard to grasp the concept of venting it. I don’t want to have a system in place to manage the temperature to just then let it escape

[Rob E.]

@JimmyIt sounds like you are thinking about venting to help manage humidity, I assumed that you were concerned about indoor combustion heaters. 

My dehumidifier doesn't have any trouble keeping things around 50%,  I use twin wall polycarbonite lids, but I cut holes in them so that I can feed quickly without having to lift each lid every time so its not optimal. I believe having a fan running also helps prevent condensation. I think you will be fine without a vent, just entering the room will change some air.  You could always look into an HRV or ERV unit.  I don't know much about them, but they apparently provide ventilation and recover the heat from the air before pushing it outside. Pretty neat, but probably pricey.

[Jimmy]

On 7/26/2021 at 7:44 PM, Rob E. said:

@JimmyIt sounds like you are thinking about venting to help manage humidity, I assumed that you were concerned about indoor combustion heaters. 

My dehumidifier doesn't have any trouble keeping things around 50%,  I use twin wall polycarbonite lids, but I cut holes in them so that I can feed quickly without having to lift each lid every time so its not optimal. I believe having a fan running also helps prevent condensation. I think you will be fine without a vent, just entering the room will change some air.  You could always look into an HRV or ERV unit.  I don't know much about them, but they apparently provide ventilation and recover the heat from the air before pushing it outside. Pretty neat, but probably pricey.

I also will be using twin wall poly. I plan on putting a hinge on each one and only having a hole drilled for air line. I will only have about 30~ aquariums I will just pop them all open then feed. For as long as I can stand it LOL.

condensation is a concern and mold. I wasn’t sure that if I didn’t have a traditional vent or exhaust would it be a issue in terms of mold or such. The room will only run on a 20a circuit so energy consumption is a big deal or I would consider a erv.

I haven’t landed on a dehumidifier yet but I will have to be small.

thank you for the feedback