I would like to put a few tanks in the garage mainly for grow out tank for both fresh and salt, What is the lowest temp you think I would be able to maintain without having a chiller on the system? Of course winter months are not an issue assuming my heater doesn't go out so Im really talking about summer months.
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garage tank (1 Viewer)
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Diesel
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Been there did that.
No AC in the garage you're cooked.
Even with freshwater.
About 10 years ago I started breeding freshwater shrimp in the garage during winter.
Well with heaters it was all fun and games but when summer came around the water got up to 98 degrees.
And the shrimp.......................turned pink!
No AC in the garage you're cooked.
Even with freshwater.
About 10 years ago I started breeding freshwater shrimp in the garage during winter.
Well with heaters it was all fun and games but when summer came around the water got up to 98 degrees.
And the shrimp.......................turned pink!
toefu
Guest
fishcraze's tank is in the garage, he faces major temperature swings.
lesd's setup has his main tank in the house, and his frag tank in the garage.
Not impossible to do, but you'll definitely need chillers and heaters galore.
lesd's setup has his main tank in the house, and his frag tank in the garage.
Not impossible to do, but you'll definitely need chillers and heaters galore.
I have 130ish gallons in the garage and a 138g display in the house. It's all plumbed together. I had to run a pretty good fan this past fall, and I haven't seen a real summer yet. I have a robust chiller that is tied in, but I haven't run it yet. I'm sure I will have to soon. I do run heaters right now and they have done pretty well so far. I haven't really had any problems yet, but I'm knocking on wood... Daily! 
Personally, I did it for extra space to do maintenance and frag my corals. Also, there is space for a FOWLR if I want (and I want!). It's definitely a work in progress, and I'm hoping to be caught up with the punch list soon. I'm real close to construction completion.
I say do what you want but definitely be ready to spend the money for a chiller and a bigger electric bill. I'm sure LEDs would help, but I'm not into them. I, like Quoc, rely on my metal halides to help keep my tank warm in the winter, and the chiller to cool it in the summer.
I recently went to his house and to Les' house. Wow! I'm positive I made the right decisions so far, just based on what I saw.
Personally, I did it for extra space to do maintenance and frag my corals. Also, there is space for a FOWLR if I want (and I want!). It's definitely a work in progress, and I'm hoping to be caught up with the punch list soon. I'm real close to construction completion.
I say do what you want but definitely be ready to spend the money for a chiller and a bigger electric bill. I'm sure LEDs would help, but I'm not into them. I, like Quoc, rely on my metal halides to help keep my tank warm in the winter, and the chiller to cool it in the summer.
I recently went to his house and to Les' house. Wow! I'm positive I made the right decisions so far, just based on what I saw.
K
kyle1284
i personally have a 210 (3x400 watt radiums,2 2VHO)in the house and the sump(40 gallon) , frag tank (40 gallon), chiller and GEO 818 CA RX all in the garage and my 1/3 HP chiller will run all summer long taking breaks every 30 minutes for about 30 minutes. if it wanted to it could maintane a constant temp of 75 but that would be running all day and night.
It would help if i had the chiller venting outside of the Garage but that is a project when summer gets closer.
swings in the winter go from 75-79.2
summer months 78.5-80.5
It would help if i had the chiller venting outside of the Garage but that is a project when summer gets closer.
swings in the winter go from 75-79.2
summer months 78.5-80.5
I have 180g in my display inside the house and another 150 or so out in the garage in those big rubbermaid containers. Having the 180 in the house tied into the whole system probably helps. I had a max water temp on the hottest days this summer of about 82-83 degrees without a chiller. Our house is brand new so it conforms to the latest energy star requirements, the garage faces east, half the garage walls are insulated since these walls are shared with the interior, and it's positioned on the north side of the house so no direct sun after the late morning. All these factors will determine the heat in there during the summer.
fishcraze
Lifetime Member
It depends on several factors eg. which lighting system (MH, T5, LED?), volume of water, your garage orientation and wall insulation.. But generally it will be hot for Houston summer, and winter heating could also add costs.
I have my entire 220 gal tank/sump/ and a frag tank in the garage. I have a 1/2hp chiller for the whole system, with the garage door slightly open to let the hot air venting out. In the peak of the summer it runs almost nonstop in the afternoon w/ all 3 MHs on. I have to start raising my tank temperature controll from 82F in May and all the way to ~86-87F some time in late August or early Sept. Yeah corals (even SPS) can live in 87F that's why when my chiller system failed this past July and my tank temperature went all the way to 89F for a while and most of the corals doing fine except for a few new pieces that were not used to such high temp swings.
I have 4 250W heaters in the sump to keep the tank warm in the winter. During the cold days, these heaters are on most of the time... so still cost me a lot of electricity due to that 1000W of heater. Even with that much heater wattage, it's not enough to keep up with the cold weather (below 45F) if the cold temp stays for several days or weeks. In fact, I was on vacation in Orlando this past Chrismast. Knowing the cold front coming by that week, i was quite worry about the tank when checking my tank temperature through the internet (with help w/ my AC3pro). The controller is set at 78F, but the tank temp still dropped from 78F during noon down to 72-73F at ~ 4-5am. So, I had to remotely turn on my MH light early in the morning at 8am to help the heating process, the heaters alone couldn't do it! Had to leave the MH on until midnite to get the tank temp up to 79 F before it started to drop again during the night time.
So you should think about the electricity cost if you are going to build a large system in the garage. A small frag tank may be ok with some fans on..
I have my entire 220 gal tank/sump/ and a frag tank in the garage. I have a 1/2hp chiller for the whole system, with the garage door slightly open to let the hot air venting out. In the peak of the summer it runs almost nonstop in the afternoon w/ all 3 MHs on. I have to start raising my tank temperature controll from 82F in May and all the way to ~86-87F some time in late August or early Sept. Yeah corals (even SPS) can live in 87F
that's why when my chiller system failed this past July and my tank temperature went all the way to 89F for a while and most of the corals doing fine except for a few new pieces that were not used to such high temp swings.I have 4 250W heaters in the sump to keep the tank warm in the winter. During the cold days, these heaters are on most of the time... so still cost me a lot of electricity due to that 1000W of heater. Even with that much heater wattage, it's not enough to keep up with the cold weather (below 45F) if the cold temp stays for several days or weeks. In fact, I was on vacation in Orlando this past Chrismast. Knowing the cold front coming by that week, i was quite worry about the tank when checking my tank temperature through the internet (with help w/ my AC3pro). The controller is set at 78F, but the tank temp still dropped from 78F during noon down to 72-73F at ~ 4-5am. So, I had to remotely turn on my MH light early in the morning at 8am to help the heating process, the heaters alone couldn't do it! Had to leave the MH on until midnite to get the tank temp up to 79 F before it started to drop again during the night time.
So you should think about the electricity cost if you are going to build a large system in the garage. A small frag tank may be ok with some fans on..
