Backyard Aquaponics
A place to discuss aquaponics

The title says it all! My fish are very happy!!

Thanks for the video Dave. I was just looking for something like this yesterday. What's the advantage of doing this over using a fish tank heater hooked to a temperature controller (or is there one)? I want to be able to control the temp but most of the fish tank heaters have bimetalic sensors that start heating at 60 or 65 F. I would like to keep the tank at a much lower temp - say around 40 F (in the interest of not going broke trying to heat tanks). I already have the fish tank heater .

Hey Scotty,

First I would say power is the biggest advantage. The element I used is 1500 watts. Some people use elements with even higher power. Heating a 275 gallon IBC that is outdoors is going to take a fair bit more power than your average fish tank heater designed for a tank that is indoors and "pre-heated" to room temp.

I live in South West Florida so my tank is mostly "pre-heated" LOL but we still have nights that drop down to the low 40's and even get the occasional frost a few times per winter.

I am keeping Tilapia and they will die if it gets colder than 60 and anything less than 82, their growth slows down.

There are some great videos about making solar heaters. Most use PEX tubing but some use cpvc pipes. I plan on building one to keep the tank in the 80's during the day and then let the heater keep it there through the night.

The temp here today was in the mid 80's so once the sun hit my tank, the water rose to 86 degrees. That is the top end of the ideal temp for Tilapia.

Thanks for the info Dave. I have several of the 250 Watt aquarium heaters that I think I'll hook to a temperature controller like what you have. Might as well use them since I already have them.

I built a small one of the CPVC type heaters and it worked fine but it's sometimes difficult to tell it's doing much. It's currently out of commission due to a leak I haven't found yet. I'll probably wait for Spring to fix it since I don't use it this time of year (not enough energy from the sun to make much of a dent in the water temp here this time of year). There's also the danger of frozen pipes this time of year if water remains in the pipe when it's shut down. Usually when I use it the temp goes up about 2 or 3 degrees extra on a sunny day in Spring or Fall, and I wouldn't want much more than that.

Yeah, I'm originally from New England. I can't say that I miss the cold. If you already have the heaters...just make sure you run the power through a contactor. The relay in temp controller that I have is only rated to 10 amps. Even if you only used four 250 watt heaters you'd be pushing close to 10 amps.

Thanks for the advice Dave. I may be going the same route you did after all, I just found out the heaters I have were recalled - http://reefbuilders.com/2011/04/25/marineland-stealth-pro-aquarium-heaters-recall/

I had 3 of the 250 Watt version Stealth heaters . Hopefully they'll still honor the recall.

Cheers

I live in San Diego and have a 250 gallon IBC tote with a 15 inch sump tank circulating the water and 2 grow beds. need to find an good way to heat the fish tanks during our short winter months when our nightly temperature goes down to 35 degrees.

Have tried the larger fish tank heaters and it does not raise the temp at all. Have studied your video and wonder if it would be adequate for my application? Also could you share a more detail drawing of you plan so i could build one?
Any other suggestions for heaters?