newb question: keeping water at correct temps

stuartambient · #1 01-29-2010, 11:35 AM

just starting out here with a letter raft / bubbleponics type of system. Finally finished all the hardware, but filled the res with a few gallons of water and it's been sitting unaltered for soon approaching 24 hours. I was really testing for leakage but what I found is that the temperature of the water is way too cold. I need to get a thermometer but it's way colder then when I filled it. This from sitting in a room that is fairly small, fairly tight with a duct register in the room. Our thermostat is I believe set to 63F.

The lights were not over the setup, but I'm running FS cfl's (= 500w / real 110w) still doubt that would heat the water. So what is a good way to heat the water. I think aquarium heaters might work though it's Roughmate tote so I have no idea about the safety.

Any ideas ?

smurf · #2 01-29-2010, 04:14 PM

you cant get any thing better then a fish tank heater. 300watt heaters work great.
They have inline pool heaters, but i think that is way overkill for you.

GpsFrontier · #3 01-29-2010, 05:21 PM

Yes the fish tank heaters will be perfect depending on how many gallons you are heating. They usually tell you what size fish tank heater they are for (5-15 gallons etc.) You can probably even use it for more gallons than that, as long as it's not way over like 50 gallons for a 15 gallon heater. Also most fish tank heaters that have pre-set thermostats are set at 78 degrees, that's too high. You want the adjustable thermostat models. The nutrient solution temp should be between 68 and 72 degrees, can be a little lower but should be not higher. You can get fish tank thermometers for around $2. Although I wouldn't recommend the stick on kind they are hard to read and I don't think they remain accurate that long.

stuartambient · #4 01-29-2010, 07:00 PM

Thank you people. I'll make a trip over to the aquarium shop and see what I come up with.

smurf · #5 01-29-2010, 07:10 PM

Cool,

Dont cheap out and buy a hydor or some other cheap brands. Get a good titanium aquarium heater please. You can thank me later.

stuartambient · #6 01-29-2010, 07:17 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by smurf

Cool,

Dont cheap out and buy a hydor or some other cheap brands. Get a good titanium aquarium heater please. You can thank me later.

Okay even better. But just to check again I need not worry about it melting the plastic on the tote . I gather it would sit a bit off from the surface just not sure how far.

Stuart

PS I called the aquarium store near my house, their smallest titanium is 200W

That's probably overkill.