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tanks off the grid



     
     At present I am considering doing away with all my tanks. This is 
     because I will be moving house for a short spell, and then moving again 
     (hopefully) into a newly-built house, considerably smaller than the 
     rambling farmhouse I have now. The new house probably will not be 
     connected to the grid and will have a generator to supplement a 
     photovoltaic array that will slowly increase as I get together the clams 
     to build it up.
     
     This presents something of a challenge. Does anyone on the list have 
     experience in running a 12-volt system? Of particlular interest would be 
     information dealing with low temp. plants (for instance, it is said that 
     some echinodorus species require near freezing temperatures in their 
     cycle), or a way to heat a smallish (140 litre) tank without draining 
     the house batteries. It occurs to me that an automatic water changer 
     could possibly be used in conjuction with a small solar collector in a 
     closed loop driven by a small solar pump; what is defeating me at the 
     moment is a means to regulate the temp. of the tank i.e., if the tank 
     suddenly recieved a dose of water at 65 deg C the plants would probably 
     respond negatively. 
     
     Does anyone have any ideas? The thought of having to do away with the 
     tanks is pretty depressing, especially as they have become pretty sexy 
     with all the help and ideas I've picked up from this list. 
     
     On the bright side, the property I'm looking at has a half million litre 
     dam on it. What a pond!
     
     This is a pretty off-topic subject so perhaps responses should be sent 
     to my e.mail address.
     
     Cheers, Chris Holloway.
     
     Ps. If there's anyone on the list who lives close to Canberra Aust and 
     would be interested in some cheap second-hand systems drop me a line. 
     You may even be eligible for a free set of steak knives.