got ethical husbandry?

People who have built a fish room...

Well my bill is in no way horrible like some people have, always under $100 a month. This month's pushed that because it was especially cold, I'm sure the next bill will be higher still because I finally started using the furnace again. And since the solar panels have gone up I don't know how that will really effect things, however I notice now there's not as much power generation (clouds, low sun, etc).

My bet is this would be the most economically feasible idea both in terms of initial cost and long term savings. I do have your build threads bookmarked though in case I do want to go that direction :D Right now my system volume is in the 200g range, so not absolutely horrid, but it really is on my mind upgrading to a bigger size is the feasibility of heating something like that, currently about 50% of my tank's power usage is from heating.
 
$100 per month..... I hate you.

My power bill is getting out of control. I have to figure out something for sure now. My bill hit over $600 for the first time last month. I am sure my canopy design and my old houses crappy insulation has a lot to do with it (that and my wife being home all day with the baby). I need to figure out a more efficient way to heat and cool my tank. Yesterday for example the heaters were running at night and by about 8 when the halides had been on for 4 hours or so, I noticed that my chiller was running. Got to be a better way besides moving to a state that doesn't rape you for power usage. Solar is likely my next step just have to come up with the dough to make it happen.

How cold do you let your tank get at night Mike? Won't hijack your thread any more Mike and will start my own but will definately be following it for ideas.

BTW if you need some help with labor, give me a shout. I am generally handy... well as handy as an accountant can be, just not much of an idea man as far as these type things go.
 
Hehe no need to worry about hijacking my thread (just got back from snowboarding last night, fell asleep within 10 minutes of eating some food).

As to tank temp I let my tank wander in the 74-76 range. Of course because of this *#!&*( controller not graphing properly anymore I can't really tell for certain how hot it is. I did have an issue for an unknown amount of time where one of my heaters said the tank was sufficiently warm, but wasn't turning on, and the tank dipped into the 70-72 range, however no ill effects I could judge.

Really can't explain why the electrical part of my bill is so low, maybe keeping the tank those few degrees colder than "the norm" (78-82 range) really does a huge difference. Of course I'm sure as soon as they swap out my meter for a smart meter I'll get skyrocketing bills :D
 
I know, however at least I'll have solar power backfeeding into the system :D

If the fish room works, I definitely can make more than I use in a day, at the very least on the warmer months I'll save some up for the colder ones (no chiller, ain't gonna happen :D)
 
Qwiv makes some excellent points.

+1 on a exhaust fan (I like the Panasonic WhisperQuite).
+1 on using FRP on the walls (checkout www.rebarber.com in South San Francisco).
Green board is cool, but if it's a small space you could FRP the whole thing (they come in 4' x 8' sheets) and just use regular sheet rock. If noise is an issue, double up on the sheetrock and use "green glue" to further dampen sound.
+1 On adding a drain and sink...comes in very handy.
I would run dedicated circuits to the fish room (I have 4-20amp circuits in mine), you never know when that upgrade might happen. ;)
 
I don't think I can justify the expense of FRP, looking at a rebarber site (your site seems to be a placeholder for a spam company??), it looks to be about $42 a sheet? No way in hell I can justify that, vs what $6-10 for the same size greenboard (or yellowboard or whatever color comes into fashion)..

I'm going to have to see about a drain, I need to rip up the floor to see if it'll even be feasible, plus I'd want it sloping towards the drain (another issue), plus I need to make sure the drain has some water in the trap otherwise stinkness from the sewage lines will come back!

Dedicated circuits definitely are in the plans, however I need to get my panel signed off by a city inspector (electrician coming after xmas to pull the permits, do necessary upgrades), before I start running new lines..
 
You don't need to put the FRP everywhere. Just where you know the wall is going to get wet. Think of it as a replacement for a tiled wall in a bathroom. Also, shop around for FRP. There are lots of different types. Home Depo carries a pretty cheap one. Some are fire rated which adds to the cost, some have textures that are "cooler" than others which cost more.

Also, they sell corner pieces, edge pieces and trim pieces that make the seams very water resistant when caulked.

I would suggest behind the sump, under tank and if you make a counter, as a back splash.
 
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