Conservatory Fish Tank

[Stevieboy]

Hi there,

I'm new to fishkeeping so can somebody please give me some advice on keeping a tropical fish tank in a conservatory. I am seriously considering starting a tropical aquarium and basically I have two options.

1) I could get a decent size tank (at least 200 litres) which could be placed in a conservatory. or
2) A biorb life 45 litre placed in a corner of the dining room.

I would love to have a big tank in the house as this would allow me to have a larger selection of fish but the only place for this to go would be in the conservatory. I'm not sure if this is a good idea or a stupid one. My conservatory is a fair size and faces east so only gets direct sunlight in the morning, because of this it doesn't get too hot in there like some conservatories can in the summer. I know algae growth could be a problem in the summer months, but I think fitting a UV device could help prevent this. My main concern would be the lack of heating during the winter months, would the heater in the tank be able to cope with such a drop in temperature? or could I install another heater to help with this? or is there another solution?

I have a feeling that option 1 is not possible and that I will have to keep a small aquarium only. Any advise on this would be much appreciated.

Thanks,
Steve

 

[aly_starh]

Welcome to TFF,

I'd say go with option 1, the bigger the better!
If your willing to clean up algea everytime it appears, then why not! Just make sure you don't turn your tank light till after the sun has gone. Also keep the heater maybe 1-2 degrees lower as there will be natural heat. If the tank heats up too much you could always get a colling fan.

And during the winter time a heater will be fine, get a thermometer to keep an eye on the tempreture.

~betta_246

 

[mixmaster jay]

option 1 would be best imo too

 

[Stevieboy]

Thanks guys for your responses, this sounds encouraging as I thought that the heaters in the tank would not be able to cope with the cold temperatures during the winter months and I resigned myself to getting a small tank with a few tetras for my dining room. However I shall now shop around for a decent 200 litre tank which will be able to support a good variety of fish and I think I will take it very slowly to start with, only adding a couple of fish during winter period, closely monitoring the temperature to make sure all is o.k.
The same goes for the summer and like you say I can add a cooling fan if required but I can't see it being a problem.

Thanks again for your advice,

Steve

 

[tropic_john]

not to let you down, but whn I had a consevatory tank it got up to 31+ on numerous occasions. Though this will not happen [probably] because 200l is far more water to heat up than 40l

 

[three-fingers]

The conservatory tank could be awesome, if you plan it right.

Plant it heavily and make use of the natural light to combat algae, treat it like a high light tank with a plant substrate and lots of circulation. Read up on planted tanks, you may need to add some additional CO2.

Also look into species that prefer high temperatures and hardy ones that can tolerate them, and have a fan or two on standby in the summer.

 

[Stevieboy]

That sounds a really good idea using the light to your advantage, a good planted tank would look really good and I totally agree that good planning is the key ti making this a success so I think I have alot of reading to do!
I have some more beginner questions I'm afraid, can anyone help me with the following
What is the best way to maintain good water quality within the tank? should I be making water changes weekly/fortnightly?
How much water should I replace at one time? and how is the best way to do this with a large tank? will I need to purchase a large plastic container for this and install a heater to maintain correct temp before adding to the tank?

Sorry if these questions seem obvious, but being new to this I want to make sure I know what I'm doing before I jump in head first!

Thanks again for the advice.

 

[Curiosity101]

Depending on exactly where you place your tank, is there no chance you can put a background on 3 sides of the tank to just leave the front open...that way if you could then angle the front of the tank away from the light and you'd be in the same situation as if your tank was inside the house.

If not then three fingers idea is definitely your best bet.

As for heating it in winter, worst comes to worst, have a second heater on standby that you can pop in if neccesary. They wont heat the water any higher, but they will heat it faster keeping it at a more stable temperature.

 

[ZoddyZod]

Something else that you should consider is the cost of heating the tank if your conservatory obtains little heat from your house in the winter.

You might what to check what your electricity unit rate is and then figure out how much it will cost to run the heater/s almost continually 24hrs a day.

 

[Curiosity101]

Not sure how effective it would be...but if you were to put backing on 3 sides of the tank, you could always use something like polystyrene that has been spray painted to the colour you want on one side, and left white on the other.
Hopefully it would help reflect away heat that comes directly from sunlight, but keep in a bit more heat during winter.

Oh and to answer the water change question. Normaly 20-30% weekly should be fine. Depends on the exact fish you want as some prefer more or less water changes.

Also best way to empty it for you at a guess will be via a python. Or a verrryyy long syphon, because if the tube on your syphon is long enough then you could trail it out of the house and onto the garden or something when emptying the tank.
If not then you will need a bucket.
To refill you can either use the bucket method again, or if you have a sink close enough then you can use a python attached to the taps to refill your tank. Though obviously make sure you have enough water conditioner in the tank to neutralise and chlorine in the water as it enters the tank.

At the mo I have a 125l tank, no where near a window or sink, so I syphon off 24-36l into a 12l bucket (I make 2-3 trips to empty it).
With where my tank is it's on the same floor as a shower.
So I empty my bucket into the shower, and refill using the showerhead. Roughly matching the water the the temp of the water I've removed. I then return with my 12l back to the tank, pop a bit of conditioner into the bucket and pour back into the tank being careful to to disturb sandbed etc.

 

[Stevieboy]

I may even consider buying a python now, lol
Some more good ideas, thanks to you all. I think the sunlight problem won't be too much of an issue as the tank will be placed against the back wall of the conservatory several feet away from the windows and I don't really want to put background on all sides as this will spoil the view. Placing polystyrene on the sides sounds a great idea but I think for now I will just buy a cooler fan for the summer months & an extra heater for the winter, I hope this will be sufficient!
I'm looking on ebay now for a 200 litre tank (with a cabinet), wish me luck!

Thanks,
Steve

 

[JoolsA2]

I may even consider buying a python now, lol
Some more good ideas, thanks to you all. I think the sunlight problem won't be too much of an issue as the tank will be placed against the back wall of the conservatory several feet away from the windows and I don't really want to put background on all sides as this will spoil the view. Placing polystyrene on the sides sounds a great idea but I think for now I will just buy a cooler fan for the summer months & an extra heater for the winter, I hope this will be sufficient!
I'm looking on ebay now for a 200 litre tank (with a cabinet), wish me luck!

Thanks,
Steve

good luck

 

[mattlee]

my maim tank is in the conservatory. it does warm up the water in the summer, this year it rose to 31 degrees but only for about 3/4 days or so. also its very hard to stop algae without covering the tank in something to block out the light, i run a uv filter on mine and they only zap algae thats in the water so any on you tank sides etc wont get touched so get a good tank magnetic cleaner...... i dont get any of the noises that come with a tank set up as i can just close the door and still see my tank so the best of both worlds! ive not had ir running over a winter yet but i expect the heaters to be on constantly to maintain a good temp but the cost of running will be worth it in the end i would think, ifits what you want then do it.......... you will only want a larger tank once you have a small tank........