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Retirement and forum shutdown (17 Jan 2022)

Hi,

John Howell who has managed the forum for years is getting on and wishes to retire from the role of managing it.
Over the years, he has managed the forum through good days and bad days and he has always been fair.
He has managed to bring his passion for fish keeping to the forum and keep it going for so long.

I wish to thank John for his hard work in keeping the forum going.

With John wishing to "retire" from the role of managing the forum and the forum receiving very little traffic, I think we must agree that forum has come to a natural conclusion and it's time to put it to rest.

I am proposing that the forum be made read-only from March 2022 onwards and that no new users or content be created. The website is still registered for several more years, so the content will still be accessible but no new topics or replies will be allowed.

If there is interest from the ITFS or other fish keeping clubs, we may redirect traffic to them or to a Facebook group but will not actively manage it.

I'd like to thank everyone over the years who helped with forum, posted a reply, started a new topic, ask a question and helped a newbie in fish keeping. And thank you to the sponsors who helped us along the away. Hopefully it made the hobby stronger.

I'd especially like to thank John Howell and Valerie Rousseau for all of their contributions, without them the forum would have never been has successful.

Thank you
Darragh Sherwin

Insulation

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26 Aug 2017 09:21 #1 by robert (robert carter)
Hi all , 4 of my 5 tanks are heated and i was just wondering about the idea of insulating them in an effort to reduce electricity cost . They are located in such a way that the viewing panel is the front pain of glass . I was wondering about wrapping the other three sizes in some form of insulation maybe polystrien or other insulation . My question is for the small outlay cost wise would it be practical to do and would it reduce running cost , finnally what tpye of insulation would be best . As always your views and ideas are gratefully accepted

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26 Aug 2017 09:45 #2 by JohnH (John)
Replied by JohnH (John) on topic Insulation

Hi all , 4 of my 5 tanks are heated and i was just wondering about the idea of insulating them in an effort to reduce electricity cost . They are located in such a way that the viewing panel is the front pain of glass . I was wondering about wrapping the other three sizes in some form of insulation maybe polystrien or other insulation . My question is for the small outlay cost wise would it be practical to do and would it reduce running cost , finnally what tpye of insulation would be best . As always your views and ideas are gratefully accepted


Robert, whatever you can do to effect savings is worthwhile.
However, some people would consider styrofoam (polystyrene) to be rather unsightly but if this isn't a problem for you I would suggest you should go for it.
It's worth considering that most heat is lost from the top of the tank (heat rises...) so consideration should be given to this fact.
In the past I have also draped a sheet of bubble wrap across the front of tanks overnight (when no fish-observation is happening) - I'm not certain of how much heat is saved by doing this, but in the words of the Tesco advert 'Every Little Helps'.

Maybe more members can add their observations?

John

Location:
N. Tipp

We're just two lost souls swimming in a fish bowl - year after year.


ITFS member.



It's a long way to Tipperary.

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26 Aug 2017 12:57 #3 by robert (robert carter)
Replied by robert (robert carter) on topic Insulation
Hi John , thanks for your thoughts , is there any better insultion than the styofoam , the tanks are inalcoves so the sides and the back cant be seen . But i wonder would this save me any money , the tops of all my tanks have glass covers

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26 Aug 2017 13:10 #4 by JohnH (John)
Replied by JohnH (John) on topic Insulation
I personally think the styrofoam is pretty efficient and if it won't be seen I reckon it's as good as anything I've ever tried.
Kingspan do insulation boards which are faced with sheet foil so might just be better, not sure on that one.
Either WILL save you money on electricity bills - I'm not altogether sure how much, but in this day and age any saving is worth consideration, however small.

My largest cause for concern (perhaps concern is too strong a word) is the amount of heat you must lose with only glass for top cover. Maybe you could look into this a bit further?

John

Location:
N. Tipp

We're just two lost souls swimming in a fish bowl - year after year.


ITFS member.



It's a long way to Tipperary.

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27 Aug 2017 08:09 #5 by gunnered72 (Eddy Gunnered)
Turn all your heaters down a couple of degrees...Your fish will be fine...

24 degrees C is just a general average guide...Its not set in stone...I mean fish of all kinds experience different temperatures at different times of day and during different times of the year...

Most heat escapes via the top as heat rises just like John stated...So the top of the tank is what needs to be addressed more so than the sides...

The cooler your water the less evaporation also...

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27 Aug 2017 08:40 #6 by Aldrin (Aldrin Martin)
Replied by Aldrin (Aldrin Martin) on topic Insulation
I would recommend getting the silver foil insulation thing, I am pretty sure it would have a noticeable effect as it did with my house, the silver foil is supposedly has more insulative properties than earth wool .

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27 Aug 2017 10:16 #7 by gunnered72 (Eddy Gunnered)
Insulated wallboard such as Kingspan make...

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28 Aug 2017 17:13 #8 by robert (robert carter)
Replied by robert (robert carter) on topic Insulation
Going to have a look at the kingspan insulation after the hols next month , while i know most of the heat raises and is lost through the top of the tank, is there anyway to reduce this better than just a piece of glass

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