my in wall 220g tank makeover

[stealthy hunter]

Hello all,
It has been suggested that I start a journal on my tank makeover. So here it is.....

To start I have been keeping fish of one type or another since the mid 1980's. I have kept south american cichlids , Oscars, pirhana, African cichlids, many different catfishes and my latest tank houses north American native game fish( green sunfish,redear sunfish,bluegill,channel catfish, small mouth bass and pumkinseed sunfish) .
I am in the process of re-homing or relocating my current stock. If I don't find a suitable home they will be moved to my garden pond.
The plan is to change my 220g in wall setup from the north American natives to some type of smaller community fishes. My first hurdle is heating this tank as the current set up doesn't require any heating. One of the difficulties is that the tank is actually in an unheated garage, well,semi heated. The temp in the garage rarely gets below 40°f in the winter even when it is much colder outside.
After pricing some of the high wattage heaters I have decided to build my own using electric water heater elements and two redundant temperature controllers.I plan on putting the heaters in the sump.
So far I have run a new 20amp dedicated circuit to my tank to accommodate the added draw of the heating system as the tank now is on a shared 15amp circuit. I have a rough plan on the heating and will be starting that this week.
I will post more as the project proceeds

Scott

[jeffs99dime]

I for one will be following this thread with great interest. Sounds pretty cool.

[~firefly~]

Hell yes, I'm in for this one! Great looking set-up as it is but jeez those fish look big. Good luck finding them a home!

[stealthy hunter]

Hell yes, I'm in for this one! Great looking set-up as it is but jeez those fish look big. Good luck finding them a home!

I am kinda picky about where they go. If not they will go to the garden pond. Which, at least with the channel catfish was always the plan as it will get to large even for my 220g . I have a good home right here, but if someone else has a place and room I wouldn't be opposed to them going to a good home....

Scott

[~firefly~]

Ah yes. I assume you live somewhere hot to keep them in a pond?

[Cermet]

To better insulate the tank and cut down on the electric bill, just build a frame using right-angle aluminum stock and use that ultra-thin clear shrink plastic for windows. Fit this into the open frame the aquarium sits in. After shrinking with a air-dryer, that stuff is as clear as glass (almost invisible unless you look carefully.) With a one inch or so space between the plastic film and aquarium, the heat lost on the tank will be reduced by 50% or more. I made these for every window in my house and did cut my heat bill in half.

[stealthy hunter]

Ah yes. I assume you live somewhere hot to keep them in a pond?

Nope, I live in indiana..... but these fish are native to this area so they winter just fine as long as the pond is big enough for the gasses to escape( I keep a small pond heater running in the super cold to keep it from freezing over completely) . I have had the same species in pond for five years. They aren't as big because they feed very little in the winter.

[stealthy hunter]

To better insulate the tank and cut down on the electric bill, just build a frame using right-angle aluminum stock and use that ultra-thin clear shrink plastic for windows. Fit this into the open frame the aquarium sits in. After shrinking with a air-dryer, that stuff is as clear as glass (almost invisible unless you look carefully.) With a one inch or so space between the plastic film and aquarium, the heat lost on the tank will be reduced by 50% or more. I made these for every window in my house and did cut my heat bill in half.

Not sure if you can see in the pics but the tank is insulated with rigid foam board. And I plan on insulating the sump as well. The front of the tank is in the den(heated) so the face won't need any.
I do plan to upgrade all the insulation as I move forward.

[stealthy hunter]

.... today I purchased my materials for my diy heating system. Some PVC fittings, a water heater element(1500w120vac),I also ordered the controller. In total I will have about $30 invested. I think I should see the controller by Wednesday.
I will probably do a write up on it in the diy section if everything works out OK.....as well as continuing this thread on the whole project.
I also purchased some rigid foam insulation. My plan is to insulate the sump area and also the top of the tank.
I will keep you all updated on progress as it comes. And pics as well

[Cliff]

I would love to see pics of this as your set-up comes together

If I can not have such a set-up, at least I can enjoy yours