Help with tank placement

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Skunky

Aquarium Advice Regular
Joined
Aug 12, 2012
Messages
80
Location
Southwestern New York
I'm not yet ready to put my 29 gal. up, but I'm making plans.

The problem I'm stuck with--and why I haven't put up this tank before--is that I don't have an ideal place for it. Where I want to put it is right where one of my heating vents is. I know they always say not to do that. Is it possible to close off that vent enough to not cause problems?

The 2nd most ideal place is directly across the room from that on an opposing wall. One problem for that area is that the floor is not very level going from the wall out. I have an old, oak and glass sectional bookcase there now, and I have to put wood shunts under the front of it to get it somewhat close to level. Also, there is no outlet on that wall. I'd have to run extension cords into the small bedroom behind it. I do that for the Christmas tree, but a fish tank is a whole different story.

The 3rd most ideal spot would be in front of a window. Bad idea, right? But consider this: The bottom half of the double-hung window is covered with curtains. Is it possible to cover the back and sides of the tank with a background to prevent it heating up and growing algae?

See, this is why I finally got a 5 gal for my desk. But the fishkeeper in me wants more!
 
Does the window get direct sunlight? I have a 10g right in front of one of my windows but the window gets no direct light. That tank has been running about 6 months, I've only seen algae once but I think I had my tank lights in too long so I lessened it by an hour or so & so far I haven't seen anymore algae. As far as the vent goes, yeah that's another no no to some people but if you can close the vent I don't see why that'd be a problem. Close the vent & see how much air comes out & then you'll know. You might be able to to just close it partially so it redirects the air. As for your other location, I wouldn't want the extension cords if I could avoid it. I did have to use one for the light hood on my 10g, I ran it under the love seat so it's not seen. I think that was also the spot you said wasn't level, I'd avoid having to try to level a tank but I'm sure some have done it.
 
Thanks, Shellieca. The window does get direct sunlight, but the light comes through the top of the window, not the bottom right in front of where the tank would be. Maybe I will take a pic of it tomorrow to show you. The tank would be below where the sun comes in. If I have to, I'll sacrifice home decor for my tank.
 
Skunky said:
Thanks, Shellieca. The window does get direct sunlight, but the light comes through the top of the window, not the bottom right in front of where the tank would be. Maybe I will take a pic of it tomorrow to show you. The tank would be below where the sun comes in. If I have to, I'll sacrifice home decor for my tank.

I don't know where you live but I'd think your biggest problem in that spot would be regulating the temp especially in the summer. Bottom line as far as I'm concerned is it's gotta be in a spot you're happy with & you can easily maintain it.
 
I live in southwestern New York, so we only deal with heat and sunlight for a only a few months, like from July to August.

Right now, my cycling 5 gallon, which is on my desk not far from windows, is unheated. We've had some unusually high temps, but the tank has not risen above 82--and that was the worst. Right now it's at 80. It's a hot night.

When I lived in another area in NY, I had a couple of days in which the heat rose to above what was comfortable for my fish, so I added ice in freezer bags to keep the temp down. That was only for a couple of days. It was not such a problem, not like those folks in TX or AZ. My gosh, I don't know how they cope.

I don't know. But you have helped me eliminate the area where the floor is uneven with no outlet.

I will check into some material that could block off the heater vent. There must be something. I'd rather put the tank in that area. It would avoid sunlight, and there is just more space there. Sure, it gets cold here, and I need all the heat vents I can get, but if one is blocked off, the others will compensate.

Thank you so much Shellieca!
 
I live in southwestern New York, so we only deal with heat and sunlight for a only a few months, like from July to August.

Right now, my cycling 5 gallon, which is on my desk not far from windows, is unheated. We've had some unusually high temps, but the tank has not risen above 82--and that was the worst. Right now it's at 80. It's a hot night.

When I lived in another area in NY, I had a couple of days in which the heat rose to above what was comfortable for my fish, so I added ice in freezer bags to keep the temp down. That was only for a couple of days. It was not such a problem, not like those folks in TX or AZ. My gosh, I don't know how they cope.

I don't know. But you have helped me eliminate the area where the floor is uneven with no outlet.

I will check into some material that could block off the heater vent. There must be something. I'd rather put the tank in that area. It would avoid sunlight, and there is just more space there. Sure, it gets cold here, and I need all the heat vents I can get, but if one is blocked off, the others will compensate.

Thank you so much Shellieca!

If your vents are like mine, they're rectangular & screwed into the ceiling. Take it down, cut a piece of cardboard or plywood to fit over the portion that has the slats. I would still partially close it to see how much air actually hits the aquarium. As for the window, again you could get a piece of plywood cut, paint it so it doesn't stick out too badly that would help insulate alot of the heat and/or cold. Take pics when you're able to get your tank set up.(y)
 
If the heating vent is in the ceiling I wouldn't worry to much about putting it there I doubt it would have much effect on the tank. Plus it would be winter so the house would be cooler anyway. I wouldn't put it in front of the window, it would be hot there in the summer and cold in the winter.
 
The heating vent is on the floor. :( It's small, though, maybe 3inches by 12 inches.

I thought of another idea. Maybe it would work to use one of those plastic vent hoods that directs the air out into the room. My stand has enough space underneath it to fit one in and the stand also has an curved opening in the bottom front for the air to come out. I'm sure some heat will radiate up, but I bet it wouldn't cause too much warmth for the tank, and I'll still have the benefit of warming my room.

Whatdayathink?
 
The heating vent is on the floor. :( It's small, though, maybe 3inches by 12 inches.

I thought of another idea. Maybe it would work to use one of those plastic vent hoods that directs the air out into the room. My stand has enough space underneath it to fit one in and the stand also has an curved opening in the bottom front for the air to come out. I'm sure some heat will radiate up, but I bet it wouldn't cause too much warmth for the tank, and I'll still have the benefit of warming my room.

Whatdayathink?

Definitely worth a try. I take it there's no room to either side of the vent? I put my 46g off center because I wanted to have access to the plug in without having to use an extension cord, I kind of like it off to the side.
 
No room on either side. It's a rather small room, I guess. Either that or I have too much furniture! I'm going to have to get rid of the large chair to make this work. It's an old beat up thing, but my cats have napped on it all their lives. No doubt they will miss it at first.
 
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