Backyard Aquaponics
A place to discuss aquaponics

I need to heat me IBC totes and have thought about using a home water heater. Gas is cheaper. Ranco makes a temp controller to regulate a pump or solenoid. The water heater has a pex tubing loop that makes a heat exchanger. The solenoid opens and lets hot water from the tank flow through the tube to heat the tank. The controller turns it off and on to control heat. Thers fishrooms ran this way with large aquaria.

Anyone use a hot water heater to heat ibc totes? Im looking at a tankless gas model but I havent ran across many people using tankless heaters in home or in the fish tanks.

Personally for costs and efficiency I'd look into designing a solar heater depending on how much you need to heat it. Knowing the temperature of the water in the tote and what temperature you need will help decide what is more efficient.

Solar hot water heaters work really well... during the day... as long as it sunny...

You would be suprised to see how much just a few black garden hoses hooked togther hooked to a pump will raise the temp.

Has anyone tried using a "Thermo Siphon" system for heating a fish tank? It would eliminate the need for a pump. If so any success?

Undoubtably... during a sunny day... not much chop though if it's raining...

And in the end.. it's not really a problem getting heat into the system during the day....

It's keeping it in the system overnight...

That is why the bottom of my tank is 11 feet below ground level. And I will have a green house before the temps get cold again. We have lots of sunny days here.

That'll help...

I am hoping.

I am in the Pacific Northwest in Seattle Washington. We dont get much sunlight here. It is compared to Berlin in days of sun, etc and they have more solar use than we do in Seattle. It seems mostly cloudy here.

The thermal loop has been used with a Ranco controller and a solenoid to avoid the pump.

John is right, Solar is good providing you have the right conditions. Unfortunately when you need the heat it is overcast and raining. I have 300 metres of 19mm poly on top of the rainwater tank and it takes a pump which can push out 2 1/2 bar (45psi) to be effective. I think F&F has the right idea with instant LPG hotwater heater with SS coil.
I am away from system for 2 weeks and have aquarium heater in each tank for my Barra, constant 24 deg. All automatic heat control.

Im thinking that it would be easier to make a heatsink in the yard and run it through the tank to keep it at 55 or so all year long instead of heating it. Seems easier. Trout are harder to get and breed though so thats another set of issues I think.

Thermo siphon would work fine if your tank is above your hotwater panel otherwise you will need a pump as I have to with mine.

I purchase a hot water heater circulating pump to do this very thing for my home reef aquarium. What stopped me was plumbing the heat exchanger tubing got too messy.

This guy designed a gas heater for his saltwater grow farm that has been running for years. He's very open about his design so I would email him for some advice.


http://www.garretts-acropolis.com/

I'm running black plastic piping as a heat exchanger between my permanently shaded fishpond and my fully exposed swimming pool which has a solar blanket cover. The cover creates a warm layer of water at the top of the pool which I float my black piping in to absorb heat as the cold pond water is pumped through it and back to the pond. Gets the pond temp up about 5-7C on a good day.

Helps keep my trouts appetite up.