Backyard Aquaponics
A place to discuss aquaponics

I keep reading that growbeds are very efficient heat transferers for the water, with the effect of making heating the water hard, so can you instead insulate or heat the growbeds so the water doesn't cool down going through them?

I don't see why not. Although there's not all that much surface area that you could insulate. A lot of the heat would be lost from the top of the bed.
I'm using old fridges as my gb's, so will be interesting to see if that helps to keep the temp up a little more (not that I really have a comparison going).


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Yes it can be done but unless you have oodles of cash you don't want to.

It is not the system components that you need to insulate it is the GH. Imagine a spa with a water fall into a pool. Imagine its the middle of winter. Imagine how ineffective a pool blanket or solar heater will be to keep the pool comfortable to swim in.

Then imagine putting a GH over the pool and how much energy would be required to keep it warm.

If you can't imagine it then just trust me its a lot.

Since it is a pool and not a GH you remove the GH and build in insulated building over the top of the pool. Still takes a lot of heat to keep it comfy but if you can afford the indoor pool the energy bill won't break the bank.