heater is working overtime

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courtnee

Aquarium Advice Freak
Joined
Nov 17, 2006
Messages
285
Location
South Dakota, USA
This is the temp right now

-8°F
Feels Like
-25°F

I AM FREEZING! My fish are freezing!!!

Today is going to be balmy at +3F before we plunge into -22F for overnight and for a nice frozen tundra temp of -3F for Monday for a HIGH temp. LOL We wont even discuss the windchills. They are warning people it is going to be so cold Monday you can get frostbite after only 10minutes outside.

I have my heat way up and still cold. My apartment has a lot of large full wall sized windows. The fish tank heater is on A LOT trying to keep my babies warm.

Go South Dakota!
 
lol thank goodness I live in ky, our temps are at a very lovely 32F in the day, and around 15 at night lol my heater is barely on anymore lol
 
I feel your pain courtnee.

I just let the dog out and my thermometer reads -3, the weather report says it's -23 with the windchill! We might get up to 0 today they are telling us.

Don't try to do like Mycatsdrool and lick your tank... It may just stick.
 
I am in Sask. and know exactly how you feel. What I would do is get the clear plastic window covers that you tape onto your windows and use a hair dryer to make it tight. They reduce all of the drafts from bad windows and you'll see the difference. Most hardware stores sell a kit that will do 5 windows for about $6-10. You and your fish will appreciate it.
 
Wow, and I was complaining about my weather, but it's not that cold here.

I hope you guys have extra heaters on hand just in case.
 
neilanh said:
Wow, and I was complaining about my weather, but it's not that cold here.

I hope you guys have extra heaters on hand just in case.

I don't but now that you mention it, that is not a bad idea.
 
I was just thinking before i read this post about how I should run and get another heater. My daughter left the door cracked open "its a business style door that is all glass and you push a bar and it opens. Sometimes it doesn't shut all the way and stays just barely cracked. I was sleeping so I woke up and OMG it is cold in here. I have the oven on in the kitchen to help warm it up. Fish are in the kitchen.

The temp in the tank has dropped. :(

Here is the problem. I live in a large apartment that use to be a community room for this huge apartment complex. I have HUGE windows. They are the huge bay windows that you can make a seating area on the ledge if you want.

Here are some old pics of when I first moved in and before I got all my stuff moved in. So you can see. HOW on earth can I winterize this place? LOL I havent found plastic big enough for my windows.

apartment%20023.jpg


That is just my kitchen. The tank is to the left of the pic. That huge window on the right? I have one in the living room too. In the next pic it is a larger view of my kitchen before I put a table in there. LOL My 55gl fish tank is against that red wall in the back between the kitchen sink and my computer desk.

Another good view of the windows just in my living room and kitchen.


apartment%20020.jpg


apartment%20017.jpg


Now it can get chilly in here but I just bump the heat up. I dont pay heat and I wouldnt live here if I had too. This is the first time since I moved in here a little over a year ago that it has been this bad in here. The summer I bump up the a/c and it stays cool.

My tank is down to 78F and I keep it at 80F. I think I am gonna run and get another heater for the tank and stick it in there for a few days.

The betta in his 10gl is fine. He is over away from windows and staying at his 80F and happy. LOL
 
I suppose the ekip heaters are for people who need lots of circulation of the heat.

Also, you could pick up a Visi-Therm heater.
 
I finally called someone to come over. My furnace was blowing cold air!!! My fireplace wasnt working either for backup. It got so cold in here and my 55gl was down to 75F I freaked.

Heat is working now. What a time for heat to go out when its below zero LOL

This has been a lesson. I am getting a extra heater tomorrow for cases like this.
 
aww!! That sucks!
I hate it when the furnace breaks in the cold weather....

back-up heaters are important to have!
 
well apartment is warm again, the tank temp is raising nice, slow (which is good) but raising. They are all okay, more active and eating like horses. I just gave them peas and the serpae tetra like always ate it all before the pleco could get some LOL
 
During really cold times it is very important to limit the amount of water your tank loses to evaporation. To the point of using an air pump with a sealed (almost) top in really cold climates. The dry air and massive heat loss due to evaporation can really make a heater work overtime. You can also better insulate your tanks on at least 3 sides (back and the 2 sides) with material such as cloth, bubble wrap, newspaper, etc which will help to some degree.

Again evaporation is the #1 loss of heat, but every little bit helps when it gets really cold in the house. My wife is taking my daughter this week to her parents where its warmer, I normally turn the heat off (house gets to the low 50's), but am concerned about the tank heaters. Yes you read that right, my house will be kept warmer specifically because of the fish...
 
Right now it's 17F outside, which isn't that bad, but my house is FREEZING, it's 59F in here so I am relegated to the loft where the 10g saltwater tank is. The 55 downstairs is at 71F instead of 76-77 although the fish don't seem to be minding at all. My previous apartment was very warm so I think I skimped a bit on the heater sizes, might pick up a couple small 50 watters to add to the tanks when the temp drops this low, then take them out in the summer when I don't need them. I also have HUGE windows that I can't plastic, 3 big picture windows on top of 3 sets of sliding glass doors....the whole back of the house!
 
If you have extra blankets they will keep your fishtanks just as warm as they keep you. I covered all my tanks last month when we had all the snow/ice and cold here in N.M.. Just so they would stay warm I covered the whole tank(s) with a blanket. Only uncovered when it was feeding time and to check if everything was alright.
 
It was 7F this morning (not counting the windchill). Coldest I've felt in quite a while. Last night I turned down my tanks slightly (aiming for ~1F drop). They were previously at 78.5F and 79.5F, so I bumped both back a degree. Tomorrow I'm going to go down another degree, and by Friday hopefully another degree. I'd like to get it closer to 75F, but I'll probably stop at 76-77F.
 
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