# The Greenhouse, Tank II



## Cocobid (Jan 26, 2007)

Remember I'm banned from any more large indoor tanks......The Husband errrrrr.
Yesterday I bought for 15$ the perfect greenhouse tank. Not an indoor planted but perfect for this setting. It is a tall tank 30in long, 12.5 wide, 22.75 deep. Really have learned a lot just with the 10G. What has amazed me the most is the water temps. I have not had the GH shaded this summer so it gets really hot in there. Did that on purpose to see what the "worse" possible situation/scenario is heat wise. The water has only risen to 85!!! What we have learned, with a shade cloth in summer we will be able to control the situation heat wise. 
Here the plan.

Lighting~~This tank will have natural overhead & side lighting. If needed will provide AC lighting. The small tank is doing well down there, things are growing like crazy. This is not to be a perfect tank more of an overflow (critters) and grow out tank.

Here are some issues that need addressing.

Stand~~~
What type of racking system would you trust to hold an aquarium of this weight? The water, soil and tank should weigh somewhere in the neighborhood of 330-350lbs. I use the metal ones for plants now. But I want something really strong. Also something worth mentioning. This tanks bottom needs to be at least 3' off the floor of the GH. It's a heat thing..The first 2' of a greenhouse bottom is known as the cold zone.

Heating this tank in the winter~~~ I am a big fan of cool greenhouses. I let the night temps drop into the mid-to-upper 40's and day temps rise. So I need good aquarium heating. Thought about black foam board insulation on the back and sides, that would create natural heat absorption. Any suggestions on heating this guy?? 
The greenhouses are heated, after 35+ years of enjoying & owning greenhouses, for insect control the cool nights keep the plant critters down.

Filtration~~~
Bought another Eheim 2215 20$ to filter it with. Concerns with the Eheim are will it function in temperature swings??? I could do a home made box type (trickle) filter down there. I built one for the pond and it works like a champ.

Soil~~~
Eco-complete with some Aquasoil Powersand lateral layer underneath.

Water~~
The plan is to use tap, allow it to sit down there for a day to dechlorinate will have to heat the water in the winter~~~maybe?? Our water here has so much junk in it. I'm the one with the pipes issue, old neighborhood broken pipes and lots of chemicals when we have line breaks in the area.

Algae~~~
We have glass algae. No critters in the 10G so will have to take that one step at a time and see how we progress.

These are the basic things to get it started.....

Any words of wisdom to add....speak freely need all the comments and suggestion you can throw my way.
Karen

_I may post this over on TPT and will definetly start a journal on my blog as contruction begins. _


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## northtexasfossilguy (Mar 6, 2009)

I would put two heaters in it during the window to have a redundancy. A canopy with a computer fan or two ought to keep evaporation lower but allow circulation and air to get into the water via ripples. Any wood or metal stand would be good, but maybe wood would be best as it isn't going to heat up as much if the sun hits it. As long as it isn't in direct sunlight it shouldn't get too hot. I don't think you need any kind of insulation in winter as long as one of the heaters are working, but who knows. You might also want an auto top off so that if evaporation does get out of hand you have a backup.


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