giant icecream tub sump?

spamreefnew · 01/31/2011, 08:32 PM

A friend of mine has come upon some huge icecream mixing tubs. I guess they are 3'x3'x3' or 4'x4'x4' and made of food grade plastic. Anyone ever seen one?

here is my question: my sump is in my basement witch gets as cold as 56 degrees F in the winter,,,and my display up in the living room is only 45 gallons. Will my 200 watt heater be able to keep the tank temp stable? would the heater have to run non stop? Does water volume help you keep a tank warm or hurt that?

tkeracer619 · 01/31/2011, 08:50 PM

If the water is in a 56 degree basement it will hurt it and no I doubt your heater would keep up.

Drewbaby · 01/31/2011, 09:18 PM

I would look into a larger heater or multiple ones at a reasonable size. The larger volume of water will stay warmer longer, but the larger volume of water would be in the sump in your case in the colder temperature basement so it will not work the way you would want it to.

I would recommend insulating the exterior sides of the sump or if possible enclose a portion of the basement like a sump/fish room and run a duct that attaches to the central heat/air. That way you can control the temp down there without having to heat or cool the entire basement.

cherubfish pair · 01/31/2011, 10:00 PM

Depending on what you put in the ice cream containers, you could use a cable heater in there.

01/31/2011, 08:32 PM	#1
spamreefnew Registered Member Join Date: Jan 2006 Location: rhodeisland Posts: 1,491	giant icecream tub sump? A friend of mine has come upon some huge icecream mixing tubs. I guess they are 3'x3'x3' or 4'x4'x4' and made of food grade plastic. Anyone ever seen one? here is my question: my sump is in my basement witch gets as cold as 56 degrees F in the winter,,,and my display up in the living room is only 45 gallons. Will my 200 watt heater be able to keep the tank temp stable? would the heater have to run non stop? Does water volume help you keep a tank warm or hurt that?

01/31/2011, 08:50 PM	#2
tkeracer619 Registered Member Join Date: Jan 2006 Location: Westminster, CO Posts: 17,289	If the water is in a 56 degree basement it will hurt it and no I doubt your heater would keep up. __________________ Hobby Experience: 9200ish gallons, 26 skimmers, and a handful of Kent Scrapers. Current Tank: Vortech Powered 600G SPS Tank w/ 100gal frag tank & 100g Sump. RK2-RK10 Skimmer. ReefAngel. Radium 20k.

01/31/2011, 10:00 PM	#4
cherubfish pair Registered Member Join Date: May 2004 Location: Libby, Montana Posts: 7,061 Blog Entries: 1	Depending on what you put in the ice cream containers, you could use a cable heater in there. __________________ pairo chero Thanks for looking at my build thread and subscribe to it if you already haven't yet! Current Tank Info: thirty rimless

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01/31/2011, 09:18 PM	#3
Drewbaby Registered Member Join Date: Dec 2008 Location: FL Posts: 874	I would look into a larger heater or multiple ones at a reasonable size. The larger volume of water will stay warmer longer, but the larger volume of water would be in the sump in your case in the colder temperature basement so it will not work the way you would want it to. I would recommend insulating the exterior sides of the sump or if possible enclose a portion of the basement like a sump/fish room and run a duct that attaches to the central heat/air. That way you can control the temp down there without having to heat or cool the entire basement.